May 18, 2021 - 9:05am
When Owen Hurcum, a 23-year-old non-binary person was elected Mayor of Bangor, the interest in the North Wales city was global. Hurcum’s tweet celebrating the victory, which garnered over 46,000 likes, was subsequently relayed by US TV network CBS, which described the young politician as ‘genderqueer or agender.’
https://twitter.com/OwenJHurcum/status/1391824181696909317?s=20
Calling it as a ‘historic first’, the CBS article discusses the Mayor’s political career, which includes Hurcum’s resignation earlier this year from Plaid Cymru. It reports that Hurcum left the party for continuing “to platform those who promote transphobia”, singling out Helen Mary Jones for her opposition to changes in the Gender Recognition Act.
This, however, was not the full story. When Jones, former deputy leader of Plaid Cymru, spoke at a Woman’s Place UK (WPUK) meeting, she questioned whether a rise in the number of “women and girls wanting to transition to the opposite sex” had been caused by pressure to look a certain way on social media. This speech resulted in Hurcum’s resignation from the party as well as a demand for Jones to not only apologise, but apologise in the right way: “I want Helen Mary Jones to apologise in a way that is not ‘I’m sorry you’re offended. I want a sincere apology and I want her to make an effort to learn about the community and understand why she’s perpetrating transphobia.”
Shortly afterwards, LGB Alliance tweeted out their support for Jones, which angered Hurcum further:
https://twitter.com/OwenJHurcum/status/1368173359092166665?s=20
Neither WPUK nor the LGB Alliance are transphobic groups, but accusations can be a powerful weapon when they go unchallenged. This proved to be the case when Jones, who is not a transphobe, nevertheless apologised to the trans community for causing “pain and hurt” over her actions on social media. She also promised to undergo awareness training.
But this apology was not good enough for Hurcum, of course. In a statement, Hurcum dismissed Jones’s statement as merely an “initial step”, that was possibly “tokenistic”.
Which just goes to show that even apologies aren’t enough for certain members of the trans lobby. That a 23-year-old could force a senior politician into giving a grovelling apology and reject it out of hand illustrates not only the arrogance of the individual, but the fear that comes with debating trans issues. It leaves news organisations like CBS and the BBC tying themselves in knots by paying lip service to Hurcum’s pronouns — they/them — because they dare not want to risk appearing transphobic.
Join the discussion
Join like minded readers that support our journalism by becoming a paid subscriber
To join the discussion in the comments, become a paid subscriber.
Join like minded readers that support our journalism, read unlimited articles and enjoy other subscriber-only benefits.
SubscribeMost worrying for me is that a 23 year old spouting gender ideology could be elected mayor.
Wasn’t elected mayor by the electorate. Chosen by fellow councillors. No conservative councillors. One Libdem. The rest a very long way to the left of Labour( now down to 4). Its a tourist town with a pier and essentially bankrupt. They need all the media coverage they can get. Sufficiently authoritarian to ban their own young people from their own town centre. Get the picture?
Thanks for confirming.
That explains that.
Ah, thanks for the explanation! Now I understand.
It’s also a university own which may explain why there are no conservative councillors and also why young people are banned from the city centre.
In the U.S., mayors who aren’t elected by voters customarily are mere figureheads. Think of the royal family without all them palaces and crown jewels. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d laugh if the town 5 miles from our rural acreage were to appoint a “transgender” mayor.
The same here in the UK. These are not executive mayors with powers – it’s an honorary sort of position chosen from the politicians on the local council. They only serve a year, so eventually all the politicians get to serve as mayor for one year
The funniest, and at the same time the most annoying thing, is the way that some people can’t just confidently “be”, but have to mount a 3-ring circus act about their life and then be so presumptuous as to not only assume you’re interested, but throw self important toddler tantrums when they realize you’re not.
I’ve no axes to grind, no wish to persecute anyone, and if I want to hear about alternative life stories, I’ll ask, thanks… but you can’t fail to pick a side in this toddlerverse we’re currently inhabiting, it seems. If you refuse, somebody must steps in and does it on your behalf.
“toddlerverse”
Brilliant !!!
What does ‘non-binary’ even mean? Owen is a male. Whether he likes that or not is immaterial. He’s a guy. And these new Jacobins are becoming extremely tedious in their demands that we all actively affirm them. This poor kid desperately wants attention and instead of an apology, there is another two-word answer that far more appropriate.
But the real debate here is not about pronouns, it is about misogyny. of course, it is. Womanhood itself faces an existential threat from this crowd, whether through bio males in women’s sports or the silliness of terms like “birthing people” that are gaining currency in the US. People who give birth are known as women. That’s not radical nor is it new. Perhaps instead of “tying themselves in knots,” news organizations should return to the world of objective reality.
As Douglas Murray would say, this individuals sexual orientation is simply “look at me” regardless of the non binary fashionista crap
Ah, you’ve read The Madness of Crowds.
I expect he will flounce off from his Mayorship in due course. Flouncing seems to be a prerequisite for gender rights activists; join Plaid, flounce off; join the Greens, flounce off, join the Lib Dems, flounce off, rinse and repeat. In a world where craving offence is the primary goal, flouncing is a vital part – far more so than doing anything worthwhile or contributing to public service.
Note that his acceptance speech focuses not on what he will “do” as mayor, but what he “is”. The universe really doesn’t care about what you “are”, or what you believe, but we seem to have an entire generation who haven’t figured this out.
I have no problem with trans people except when they encroach on the rights of others or attack those who slightly disagree with their ideology. This person seems quite poisonous.
I’ve got some miles on the tires, and I have yet to see ANY group that is angrier and weirder than the “transgendered,” not to mention utterly delusional. Oh, and there’s the bad plastic surgery element. Yeah, a handful of them “pass,” but most of them look like aliens from outer space.
This arrogant fool is symptomatic of a self absorption that is endemic amongst certain pampered young pups. This obsession with identity and self has become a form of solipsism. I hope and think it is a passing fashion as others have said. He needs to go out and get himself some real problems.
This arrogant tool
Fixed that for you.
The only time a singular individual should be referred to in the plural is someone with split personalities, such as Jeni Haynes. A most remarkable person.
Anyone who decides they are non-binary is attention seeking, and no matter what they think, they are still a singular being. One, Uno, Una, Ena, Un, Eine.
He is a he, or a she, depending on certain physical characteristics. What he feels like inside is his business.
A very close transgender friend of mine agrees completely with Helen Mary Jones, as does any responsible, caring person.
The important question is why on earth she felt it appropriate to offer any form of apology at all. As long as people continue to do that, this nonsense will go on and on.
To the people who make up the various factions of the “progressive left”, being accused of racism, transphobia or some other Thoughtcrime is something akin to a fate worse than death. It means being cast out from your social circle, losing friends and status as one of the “good” people. As was the case in 17th-century Europe and in Stalinist Russia, to be accused is to be found guilty. If you deny being a witch or a counter-revolutionary, that’s just further proof of your depravity. The only option therefore is to accept your guilt, beg for forgiveness and promise to undergo re-education. Unfortunately, as Ms. Jones found out, even donning sackcloth and ashes doesn’t guarantee your rehabilitation.
Mr. Hughes–
It is not just those on the “progressive left” who grovel. All politicians fear offending anyone who might vote against them. Having no well-reasoned principles to rely on, they are incapable of saying: But I am correct and here’s why. Sorry you are offended by reality.
I’m rarely in favour of banning anything, but banning apologies has a certain attraction.
Were there no other candidates?
Seems to be little information about this; my inclination is to assume not.
Those mayoral robes look very Colonialist to me.
Nobody can stop me thinking this fool looks, sounds and acts like an utter, utter prat.
Perhaps prat and prat’s should be its pronouns
Is he perhaps suffering from a bout of premenstrual tension?
I live in Wales and some of my in-laws live in Bangor. When I first read about Owen Hurcum becoming mayor I called them but they had never heard of him. This most definitely cam from local politicians, not the electorate.
As I am over 50 years old, I don’t agree with this rubbish and I think it is just a fashion which will die out when other fads come along. BUT, in a funny sort of way, I do see it as right for Bangor.
A mayor is supposed to be a figurehead, someone who is representing the city when new industries want to move in, someone who sets the image of the place. Bangor is a terribly dull place and is only ever going to be good for tourism. In a way, the new mayor could be good for tourism.
Bangor is of course, also a university city, with students and associated academics currently making up about half of the total population, if I remember correctly. No doubt Hurcum will be popular with many of that crowd, even if they didn’t actually vote for him/her/they/whatever. Last time I visited, about 10 years ago, it was obvious that the university had been tapping the Chinese student market in a big way. Lots of Chinese shops and eateries in the upper part of the town. I doubt whether the election of a “non-binary” narcissist as mayor will do much for Bangor’s image as a place for wealthy Chinese families to send their sons and daughters.
Mr. Wheatly–
Well done!
Debbie is always worth reading!
This sort of thing is the best reason going for why we should have a plebiscite on whether or not the UK should stay together.
I have nothing in common with spiteful, accusing little misogynist creeps like the subject of this article. Nor I suspect do many of the English. If the voters of Wales are deranged enough to elect clowns like this to office, they should be cast adrift ASAP, and sane people will laugh from a pleasant distance as the People’s Front of Judaea hurls hate at the Judaean People’s Front.
See J StJohn’s post above. I don’t think the Welsh are that mad. The Scots …
He was “elected ” by local councilors not the public
If these words [“non-binary,” “genderqueer,” “agender”] have any meaning, surely he can only be one. I find it astonishing that someone who seems so sensitive that he regards A Woman’s Place as a ‘hate group’ is at the same time relaxed that he’s ‘genderqueer or agender’ when these are not synonyms.
As should happen with every similar apology, Ms. Jones’s apology should have appended E pur si muove (And yet, it still moves), as Galileo Galilei purportedly muttered after being forced to recant his theory that the earth moves around the sun.
I’m surprised no-one’s yet come up witha gender-neutral word for someone who’s neither a mayor nor a mayoress, but who looks like a heavily-made-up town cryer.
It’s probably a mxyor
Not to be pass remarkable, but………
If their hair is anything to go by, they look as if they’ve seriously overdone the lime aid. At first I just thought it was a rubbish photo, but no, it’s lime aid green hair. I suppose it gives them the energy to persecute their life.
Could the Boulting Brothers make a film of this…. Carry on Up Bangor? Perhaps Brian Rix (if he’s still about), Sid James, d**k Emery, Julian Clary, Christopher Biggins, Les Denis. The UK film industry could do with a post pandemic leg over, sorry, leg up.
I think this issue may involve what a Legal Fiction is when a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) is created, for I think the concept of ‘fiction’ may be used as a euphemism for ‘fact’ by some because of its instantiation within a legal framework, since it allows certain actions to be taken in the real world where ‘facts’ can be claimed to exist. So a legal fiction occurs, as I understand it, in a legal conceptual world that allows for the creation of a demonstrable entity (the GRC) in the real world.
If the fact of a GRC is taken as allowing someone to incorrectly claim changing sex has occurred in the real world – since it has occurred in Law (though as a fiction), then this can spread to the use of language as well?
I do not wish to impugn the intelligence of the voters in that part of the world… as they seem quite capable of doing so by themselves.
One day we are going to wake up and realise that it is possible for the best part of 65 million people not to give a toss about the outraged sensibilities of a few thousand prima donnas.
More fool her for apologising in the first place when she’d done nothing wrong. She should have told the jumped up little fascist to F O.
She is to be really and truly, cross my heart and hope to die sorry. That is, she must change her mind through her (re) education. Anything else will not be accepted.
Funny, because apologies really are about accepting that your behavior has wounded someone, or that you have not been responsible. Until now.
—-
I would like a new pronoun term for plural they, as I seem to waste valuable time looking to see if I have. Missed further persons referred to. It would give the trans- and a- and other- denoted genders their preferred pronoun, while moving the rest of us to a new word we can come to trust without having to parse meaning. Any suggestions? Yes, it will take some re education, but it would allow for grammatical clarity as to number of persons, without needing to re-read for clarity.
Mr. Delszsen–
I have recently discovered a new pronoun for an individual of undetermined sex, the gender-neutral word ze.
This is the best thing that has come out of the recent transgender brouhahas, because it provides another two-letter word (along with za and zo) for playing the high point z in Scrabble. (https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/gender-neutral-pronoun-ze-now-allowed-in-scrabble/news-story/253fa7a4177d344ff2e8dfe1ecc7b982)
The English language adopts or invents words of every type, with one curious exception: pronouns. We have lost some pronouns (thee, thou) from common use, but no new ones have endured for long. Some time ago American feminists proposed “po” as a gender-neutral pronoun (who said Americans don’t do irony) but it didn’t catch on.
There is one exception that has survived at least regionally: the plural 2nd person pronoun “y’all” in the Southern US states. No other lasting innovation has appeared for at least four centuries.
Nice necklace. Pity about the eye-shadow.
The very most a “transgender” can do is undergo radical cosmetic surgery in a desperate effort to appear as the other sex. In 95% of those cases, the results are rather unfortunate, to put it mildly. All of which is freedom, until they go this far.
Keep calling out 23 year old men Debbie. Way to go…. snigger.
Well said!
The article at the link is definitive, and was naturally censored by the “woke” Medium, where it was originally published. But it was archived. It’s a head-twister, but quite accurate.
In short: The large majority of the “transgendered” suffer from autogynephilia. It’s true. Confirmed by separate research.
https://archive.is/qb6lR
Elected by the Council and not the people of Bangor, then?