Red_Scare

From what I know, it’s rediculous disinformation to try and make the connection between regime-change NGOs and students.

Diana writes the protest leader "learned organizing skills in numerous programs and workshops funded by Western foundations" and both his parents are prominent NGO leaders so it does sound like he was groomed and educated to become a regime change actor, you don't get a more direct connection than that...

Reminds me a bit of how it turned out Joshua Wong took part in some "leadership development course" organised by NED, read regime change training, before orgnising the protests.

Thank you! I'm planning a trip there so wondered how disruptive the protests are cause going with a small child.

Thank you! Could you comment on this article?

https://consortiumnews.com/2025/05/27/diana-johnstone-serbias-organized-chaos/

Honestly I was just thinking exactly the same thing. They will make it unliveable for people and blame it on Russia, and then make them chose, "so do you want peace or welfare? Cause you can't have both" and we'll watch the support for the war skyrocket cause Brits are so used to leaching off other countries they believe it's their manifest destiny.

I’m quite… uh… there’s must be a term in English.

"Liberal"

I’m too skeptical of ideas, to the point of knowing what the parties say, but not taking a stance.

In 300 years, people might look at us like we look at the “rationalists vs empiricists” debate or something like that. Just primitive frameworks

We live so shortly, we know so little… I guess that’s where I’m coming. Like I’m not taking a firm stance on the theoretical because I honestly believe we are in a very difficult position, with little knowledge and little possibility of action.

So cool, so detached, and yet so wise.

I believe that there’s like a theoretical field that should be open to speculation and investigation

I believe GC people should respect pronouns and stuff because that’s just being respectful. It’s no different to someone asking a change in nicknames (...) And not in a patronizing way

And I would expect the same from other sides

I understand the frustration that the trans community must feel (towards) GC. And probably GC feel the same

At the end of the day, we do not have the final answer, so trying to get solutions that serve us all should be our aim.

I don't have it in me to comment beside: free marketplace of ideas, enlightened centrism, tone policing, both sideism.

Calling for GC people to treat trans identities like nicknames but not in a patronising way takes the cake.

And I do not see a problem in questioning these things because I do not think these questions should translate to how we treat people.

That's great for you! Of course these questions do translate to how trans people are treated but you don't think they should so that's ok.

In this case, I believe gender-based rights and words can exist alongside sex-based rights and different opinions. The major obstacle is not ideological but monetary, material. How can we have an AFAB-only club and a women-only club at the same time if capitalism is making it difficult to have even a single club?

Yeah the condition of trans people in the UK is totally caused by scarcity. Damn you capitalism, if not for you we'd have clubs for everyone! Unfortunately, under capitalism we barely have enough for cis people so... Sorry trans folks.

In Spanish people from all sides would call me «tibia» (warm, not quite cold and not quite warm). It’s an insult.

I should hope so

As for the GC points, I do not know if I’m the correct person to try to explain it further, but I’ll try in another comment.

No I'm fine, thanks.

~~Thank you for correcting me, I thought gender critical and TERF are the same thing.~~

I'm struggling to understand some points though.

They believe that human brains are unisex, all brains. Therefore, for them, genders are just mumbojumbo (hence the name: critical of gender, of the idea of them even existing outside our imagination and conviction).

I'm sorry, I don't get this. I thought gender is a social construct which by definition doesn't exist outside human imagination and conviction... Also I haven't heard e.g. trans women saying "I am a woman because I have a female brain", I'm not sure what that would even mean.

What's the difference between saying "there's no such thing as gender, there's only sex" and "gender is the same thing as sex"?

I believe you can doubt someone’s gender is ontologically important, without disrespecting their personhood, their f+$ humanity.

I think knowing the harm misgendering does, the pain of not being able to live as yourself reported by so many trans people, the violence they are willing to risk and the constant struggle they have to go through... I think knowing all that and still "doubting someone's gender is important" is disrespecting their personhood and humanity.

(Edit) Wait the more I read your comment the less I understand. The quote below is shortened for readability:

They are not against “men” expressing their identities even if outside current societal expectations, but they would still be “men” with no right to claim the “women” spaces. To them, sexes should dictate divisions such as bathrooms or sports (some of them are okay with regular sex-based divisions).

OK so that's blatant transphobia. Transphobes nowadays are generally not calling to murder all trans people, they "only" deny their validity, deny them access to gendered spaces, and so on.

If we are to fight transphobia, we also need to understand what is gender-critical feminism and what is transphobic rhetoric disguised as feminism or activism.

I am not in favor of banning real GC debates in universities. But transphobia? Get out of here.

From your description, gender-critical feminism is transphobic rhetoric disguised as feminism. I'm getting an impression you're not a comrade.

Thank you so much for the patience!

This is immensely helpful, I really appreciate you taking the time to explain this.

If you don't mind me asking, I've heard people say sex is a spectrum and what you described kinda sounds like that to me, why do you say sex is a meaningless term?

Sex as a spectrum is easier for me to grasp than the idea that biological sex just doesn't exist at all.

I'm that well meaning person who doesn't understand very well. :)

Do you mean that sex and gender are not the same thing but they are interconnected in our lived experience?

Thank you, I removed that mention. In the UK the discussion is mainly about excluding trans women from women-only spaces so that was on my mind, but of course it's possible to stop menstruating.

I didn't mean to say that "sex should not be conflated with gender" should be our primary argument, just that reading that statement as supporting gender-critical views is ludicrous because gender-critical means exactly opposite.

How was your trip? Are protests visibly affecting regular life, infrastructure, transport?

Thank you for this.