March 19, 2020 - 3:18pm
I wrote my first article for The Guardian in 1996. I was a feminist campaigner against male violence and used the platform to get the message out about crucial issues such as rape, child abuse and domestic homicide.
In 2004, I switched to journalism full-time. And I always loved writing for The Guardian. But in recent years, a censorious fog has been descended over some of the sections of the paper. Over the past five years, I know of three — at least — lengthy features on the conflict between feminists and some transgender extremist views being spiked at the last minute because a commissioning editor feared a reaction from the ever-powerful trans-Taliban.
But the latest example of this hypocrisy and non-journalistic journalism is the appalling treatment of the redoubtable Suzanne Moore. The Guardian has long presented itself as a liberal media platform, inviting a broad range of opinion, including a justification of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and a feature sympathetic to paedophiles — as well as other content that might greatly offend one group or another.
It would seem that the issue of transgender ideology is in a different league from child abuse and terrorism. When Moore wrote a perfectly reasonable opinion piece on how feminists are being abused, de-platformed and otherwise silenced by trans-extremists and their allies, 338 cowardly snakes signed a letter to the editor, on the condition that their names would not be made public, denouncing ‘trans-phobic’ coverage in the paper. It came very soon after Moore’s piece was published, and was leaked to Buzzfeed the same day, presumably by one of the signatories.
Moore did not attend morning conference post-publication at which there were well over 200 in attendance, some baying for blood, and a few brave souls speaking up for actual journalism. In fact, Moore never goes into the office, so must have been quite flummoxed when accused of pushing transgender staff members to resign over the past year.
Now Moore, who clearly has been pushed to the brink by her treatment by colleagues — some of whom she deemed friends — published the full list of signatories on social media. There are a few big names, including Owen Jones, Simon Hattenstone and Eva Wiseman, but the majority appear to be non-editorial staff. How on earth have they been allowed to hold writers to ransom? And I would love it if any one of them could provide me with an example of anything ‘transphobic’ that Moore has written. Journalists are supposed to be truth tellers. Those that signed that shameful letter might consider the disservice they are doing to their own trade.
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SubscribeIt is unconscionable that people who should know better and understand what the concept of freedom of speech means choose to pile on with this bs. I desperately hope that one day soon, it will backfire on them. Thank goodness for courageous women who keep fighting against all odds – Jule Bindel, Meghan Murphy, Suzanne Moore and many others. These are terrifying times made even more so for women and girls dealing with the transgender trojan horse. It’s a juggernaut that nobody could have expected 10 years ago, but here we are having to justify what the word ‘woman’ means. It’s surreal, actually.
Thank you Julie.
Any pretence the Guardian had to being fearless guardians of the Truth or the upholders of freedom of opinion is in tatters. The only thing genuinely surprising is that you’ve, apparently, only just realised it. They’ve been at it for years; have a read of Melanie Phillip’s Guardian Angel.
The constant, predictable, preaching from the G, the peddling of fear and loathing is lowering their appeal to a narrow sub-set of similarly inclined nutters.
Hopefully they’ll wake up or sink into well deserved obscurity.
They are absolutely infested with warmongers and elitist, out of touch intellectuals. They might bomb the odd hospital in the Middle East and what have you, but the sickly sweet grin on their face always helps remind the teemingly, sorely beliberated masses of the MENA that we should never give in to one-sided opinions on war and peace, or indeed any other matter. They are pathologically addicted to ‘moderation…’ Except when they’re not, which does see to happen at some rather inopportune mmometns.
I was recently banned from commenting (again) by The Guardian, because I wrote something that was too pro-Israeli for comfort.
I suggested that when Israeli scientists come up with a cure for Coronavirus, many Guardian writers, as well as most of its readers, would feel obliged to boycott it, as a matter of principle.
They didn’t like that.
Just waiting for Viner to write Rachel Corrie – The Musical.
The comment monitors on the Guardian, the Washington Post, and many other papers are overwhelmingly composed of the Woke, who impose their opinions on others by screening out and banning those who are unWoke. These people are unemployable in most normal places, and end up in the comment monitoring business as it is the only choice they have.
They could probably become ‘social justice activists’ and continue living online! I believe the pansexual, genderqueer, self-partnered, demisexual, two-spirit neutroid penguins are pretty lonely these days.
I was banned from the Guardian about 5 years ago for calling an article claiming the Britain had a “pro rape culture” “Femo tosh”
I’ve been banned from the Guardian twice. Firstly for it’s coverage of anti-antisemitism within the Labour Party, which I still believe was a coordinated smear campaign, but couldn’t say that (or even talk about it) apparently, which to me is a bit of an admission of guilt on the Guardians part.
I opened another account and was banned for questioning the proportionality of lockdown measures and the scaremongering that appears to have taken place. Banned again.
It was then I discovered unherd, and although I don’t agree with many of the writers here, they allow informed educated discussion on almost any subject and their coronavirus coverage has been second to none. A degree of scepticism, but an opening up to all views as demonstrated by their interview with Nial Ferguson.
This really is the anti-thesis of the Guardian at the moment, although back when I started commenting in 2005, it was a really good place to let off some intellectual steam. Since the new editor it has become nothing more than a highly political but laughable rag. RIP Guardian.
Nope…the co-ordinated campaign was systematic abuse of Jewish people within the Party and anyone who spoke up against this. The EHRC report vindicates them. If black people complained of racism within a mainstream political Party, would you dare to accuse them of co-ordinating a smear campaign and portray them as the villains? Would you expect them to keep quiet and ignore what is happening for the ‘good’ of the Party? What does this remind you of?
Where is the EHRC report does it say there was “systematic abuse of Jewish people”?
I believe the Guardian are not mad keen on those who oppose antisemitism. They prefer ‘anti-racists,’ as according to their convoluted metropolitan logic, antisemitism doesn’t really count as racism, and anyone who says it does is a wrecker, a spoiler and a saboteur. Not many people know this but for some reason or another, they seem to have a habit of using words in a rather different manner than the rest of us mere mortals… The mind boggles!
It is because of the sheer awfulness of The Guardian (a newspaper I once bought on a regular basis) that so many of us are turning to Unherd, Breitbart and various other sources.
If you sign the petition, you’re ‘one of us’, if you demur, you’re a traitor.That’s how to get 338 signatures of friends and unknowns onto a petition.
Factionalism on the left and LBGTetc communities – who would have thought! Like the Labour party the Guardian has lost its way and is no longer readable. I hope it can get a new editor who can forget about preaching identity politics, which is a dead end. There are lots of serious issues to address as shown by Unherd, 1828, Spectator, The Article and many more.
Can someone explain how the ‘Transgender Taliban’ (a pretty workable label) has come to wield such influence and power. Its no surprise they can seize the helm of the leaky Black Pig that is the Grauniad but no platforming seems to be happening all over the shop. I tried so hard to understand and like Owen Jones but I am driven towards the sometimes nutty Jordan Peterson.
How did the trans-talibran come to their position of power?
1) They are loud, out, and completely unwilling to compromise. To combat them, we must be the same.
2) It is the militarization of luxury beliefs – many can support the trans-taliban at little cost to themselves, and it benefits them by virtue-signalling.
3) As Nicholas Talib has noted, a small group can change public opinion by their complete and absolute dedication to their cause.
https://medium.com/incerto/…
On the other hand… Suzanne Moore tweeted on Jordan Peterson (currently being treated in Russia for addiction to benzodiaprene from which he very nearly died and was held alive in an induced coma):
“Jordan Peterson holed up in rehab in Russia. f**k me gently with a chainsaw….let me do that story . Come on!”
So I guess if you want to dish it out for the mob you have to be prepared for the day when the mob want to dish it out to you.
When it was announced that Jordan Peterson was severely ill in a Russian sanatorium; so ill, mind, that he had to be put into an induced coma in order to survive and may suffer lasting neurological damage; this following his wife being diagnosed with terminal cancer; Suzanne Moore tweeted:
“Hello Editor types
Jordan Peterson holed up in rehab in Russia. f**k me gently with a chainsaw….let me do that story . Come on!”
It drew many similarly spiteful comments from her followers -the gist being that this was Peterson’s comeuppance -presumably for challenging ‘liberal left’ thinking of a certain type -and so intelligently and articulately.
Moore has still not removed the tweet.
One might say that if you live by the sword you will likely die by it too.
But it’s also proof, if proof were needed, how if you operate in certain paranoid schizoid circles, where the ‘in crowd’ is always looking to slake its unquenchable thirst for denouncement and public hanging, it is incredibly easy to fall from being the darling of the mob, to becoming its next victim.
The main of the transgender movement is simply adopting the same identitarian tactics which proliferate amongst so many (but not all) activist movements – victimhood as an unnassailable fact, group identity over that of the individual, no platforming, shaming and cancelling of alternative points of view, collective guilt and reductionist thinking -it’s an unfortunate and profoundly unhealthy -by which I mean thoroughly anti developmental – approach. It aims to close down thinking and debate. It idealises power over others above all things -ironically the exact same sort of power it so vehemently denounces everywhere else.
I don’t at all support the very unprincipled maltreatment of Suzanne Moore, but when Taliban thinking is so alive and well , and thriving virulently amongst the ‘liberal left’ it’s hardly a surprise.
In this atmosphere there will be many more similar public denouncements, because this sort of paranoid ideological organisation demands for its ongoing survival a continuous supply of offending objects for it to eliminate. Once this drive has taken hold it is pretty insatiable, so we can expect a good few show trials to come yet.
Thank you, Julie Bindel, for your scathing account of the dire treatment and attempted cancellation of Suzanne Moore, one of the Guardian’s most original and engaging columnists. Lovely as your description of the woke contingent who signed the letter as the Trans Taliban is, I think it’s less apt than seeing the mass letter writers as the direct descendants of the Soviet Writers’ Union, who routinely used denuniciatory mass letters in Pravda to exclude the brilliant poets and writers like Osip Mandelstam who defied the cultural tyrannies of dogmatic Soviet orthodoxy
Crikey – all those people on the payroll and still the only vaguely rational section of The Guardian is the Football section. And I’m not even visiting that right now because there is no football being played.
There’s always the Crossword puzzle section. Guaranteed in perpetuity to be emancipated of them pesky mind-ge-forg’d manacles of trigger words, microaggressions and the merest infinitesimal vestige of common sense!
The trans-taliban needs to be called out and stopped. Not cancelled – we on the true-liberal side do not cancel. But they should not be allowed to speak anonymously, and they should be confronted when they issue their hateful and fascistic statements.
There is truth, and the truth is that trans is simply another way of disguising yourself – when you change your gender, you merely put on a disguise, and normal people can easily see through it.
Comment monitors here at unHerd make the comment section completely useless. Open the comments up!! Stop restricting comments!!
The Guardian, a paper that will grant space to justification for 9/11 (that attacks the Great Stan USA) but boots off people for mentioning BTL that the ECHR have said that sharia is “incompatible with democracy and human rights”!
Now only fit to be used as toilet paper.
I’m shocked by the Guardian’s disgraceful lack of support for Suzanne Moore and equally surprised by some signatories’ names. Not surprised that the vindictive Owen Jones is in there, though. This looks like a case of constructive dismissal. Perhaps regime change at the Guardian is in order, Ms Viner?
Owen Jones is an absolute joke, and it’s sickening such a cult of personality should surround a ‘thought leader’ of such obvious mediocrity. I don’t know what lies behind this accusation towards Moore, but he’s basically the Tucker Carlson of left-neoliberal wokeism; if the Guardian are capable of rallying around him and a couple of other complete non-entities I’ve never even heard of, it’s not looking good for the Graun.
It really is such a pleasure to watch two strident and obnoxious pressure groups such as the feminists and the trans activists eating each other. More popcorn anyone?
I think you will find your grossly reckless and flippant reference to ‘p**co*n’ is grossly insulting to the ketogenic and carnivore diet communities. Now I am NOT saying you’re a BAD PERSON, but please don’t do it again. Part of what we’re doing here is learning from our mistakes. And we WILL mistake. BIGLY! But just apologise, own your mistakes, and move on. 🙂
Julie B like Suzanne M& many other ‘feminist warriors’ have been getting money for old rope for writing on equality long after it was attained in law….adding nothing but conflict between men&women.
This firestorm is just another false flag..like those they planted themselves,with unforseen repercussions.