Mick Hartley

Raquel Rosario Sanchez at Spiked – Trans activists now have a heckler’s veto on campus:

At the end of last month, masked protesters roamed around the University of Bristol, on the hunt for a feminist event I had organised. Ahead of the event, a group called TERFs Off Campus branded our feminist student society, Women Talk Back, a ‘transphobic hate group’ on social media. It called on students to demonstrate against the event, encouraging them to cover their faces and bring loud objects to drown out women’s voices. They needn’t have bothered. The university soon made it clear that, as far as it was concerned, we were not welcome on campus….

These are not peaceful protesters. Trans-activist students at Bristol have stated explicitly, including in Guardian op-eds, that their aim is to disrupt and shut down feminist events. They have acknowledged how terrifying it can be when they are wearing balaclavas and shouting at women. In recent years, they have burst into lecture halls during events and stood on tables. Gender-critical events hosted off campus have been met with exactly the same disruption and intimidation. At times, the police have been forced to get involved….

Universities were once able to host a plurality of views and lively debate. But on campuses across the UK today, protesters behave as if the university belongs only to them, and university administrators are increasingly capitulating to this. The interests of the noisy few who are determined to shut down discussion are prioritised over the rights of the many who want freedom of assembly and freedom of speech to prevail. Instead of doing what it takes to ensure controversial events go ahead, universities are inventing new excuses and new restrictions designed to block them.

It's the new sacred men's rights movement. Misogyny dressed up in progressive clothes.