Will Shetterly's Blog, page 57

Beat up old women and get paid? On terfs and trans folk in a time of nazi-punching

You would think people could agree that it's wrong to hit old women for saying things you don't like. You would be wrong—it's now so acceptable that you can make hundreds of pounds doing it. Before Tara Flik Woods announced that she was going to go beat up some people at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park who, she said, were as bad as "fash" (fascists), her gofundme was at five pounds ($6.76 US).

3 reasons "white privilege" is not like being tall when reaching for tuna on the top shelf

This compares "white privilege" to being tall: Omar Ismail's answer to I am white. That's all you know about me. Am I privileged based on that alone and assuming I am, should I feel guilt and what should I do about it? - QuoraI left three comments there: This is a perfect example of the way privilege theory ignores class. By making everything about height, it erases the people who own ladders.

Understanding the Internet 101: Kill All Normies

Someday I may make a list of books that should be required reading for understanding the internet. Most of the serious contenders are about human interaction; Judy Blume's Blubber and Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciating Correct Behavior are almost sure to make the final cut. The only one that's explicitly about the internet is Angela Nagle's Kill All Normies, a fine brief look at the

Gender didn't exist before 1955. It was briefly useful. We can get rid of it now.

I was born the year that gender was invented. I didn't notice it until I was in my teens, when it came up in my reading about feminism. I thought at first that "gender" was only a politer word than "sex", but I slowly learned what everyone learns who studies this: gender is about sex roles, which were very limited in the 1950s and were only beginning to open up in the '60s. As a way to analyze

Three quotes about the fascist hatred of free speech, especially for Antifa

"Freedom of speech is always under attack by Fascist mentality, which exists in all parts of the world, unfortunately." -Lawrence Ferlinghetti "Fascist movements kill off their critics, literally or metaphorically, while democratic movements value, invite and even welcome criticism." -Parker Palmer "In a fascist shift, reporters start to face more and more harassment, and they have to be more

The Hypocrisy of Privilege Theory

The intersectionality crowd is a cult, and cults are more concerned about having people adopt their beliefs than they are about changing the world. The reason for that is cultists think the only way to change the world is to get everyone to adopt their beliefs. Then something will happen to change the world, but they never say what. The protesters who changed this country could tell you their

Four reasons Antifa needs to reject black bloc tactics and embrace nonviolent resistance

1. Violence changes the subject to violence. The greatest strength of non-violent resistance is it keeps the focus on the protesters' message. See: An interview with Al Letson, who intervened in the Berkeley antifa beating | Salon Antifa Broke My Camera | New Republic Masked anarchists disrupt peaceful Berkeley protest, attack pro-Trump demonstrators | Slate Berkeley: Professor used bike

Five things about Antifa and non-violent reisistence

In a private Facebook group, I said: 1. Antifa is not endorsing self-defense as people like Malcolm X understood it. Antifa is endorsing attacking people who speak in support of things they oppose. 2. Social media is where public discussions occur, for better or worse, and when people are seeking public attention as Antifa does, public discussion is inevitable. Did Germany's first critics of

Rosa Luxemburg knew "the free battle of opinions" is essential to socialism

"Without general elections, without freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, without the free battle of opinions, life in every public institution withers away, becomes a caricature of itself, and bureaucracy rises as the only deciding factor." —Rosa Luxemburg I share this today because the poor guy who was attacked by Antifa for holding a sign saying "The Right to Openly

Antifa vs speech: the right to discuss and the LD50 gallery

I'm posting the following things by people I know little about and may disagree with on everything other than the content of the guy's sign: "The Right to Openly Discuss Ideas Must be Defended." I don't care what he believes. He should be able to stand on the street with his sign. It is only a threat to those who want to silence anyone who disagrees with them. From NO PLATFORM FOR ARISTOTLE –