On this week’s #GSPodcast, Stephen Knight (@GSpellchecker) talks to Dr. Karen Garst (@Karen_garst) about her book ‘Women Beyond Belief’. We also touch on the Hobby Lobby controversy, the first amendment, feminism and more!
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#GSPodcast Theme by Dorian Silk & The MCH
My patience is wearing thin with those who assume to tell people which causes they can’t support or have an opinion on due to their location, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender.
It seems a form of identity politics where it’s more important to be seen ‘fighting the good fight’ than it is to actually win the war. It’s going to take more than every woman on this planet to achieve gender equality for instance. Excluding men is counterproductive because if men are the problem they need to be part of the solution too.
There will be many valuable voices in any movement, some with relevant, direct experiences and some without – but it’s going to take more than one particular clique, or a singular political persuasion to make progress on the big issues of our day. This is why sensible allies are vital.
Regardless of whether they have a personal link to the issue, sensible allies can also serve to support, promote and amplify good ideas and challenge the bad ones. And that’s a vital component of influencing changes to attitudes and behaviour. There’s nothing about this view in my mind that prevents one from listening to people directly affected also.
I’ll be joined by Leanne Scorzoni (@LeanneScorzoni) on this week’s #GSPodcast. Leanne is a writer and self-described progressive Muslim feminist who converted to Islam in her adulthood. I’ll be trying to find out to what extent she believes in Islamic scripture and how it is compatible with her progressive values. We also touch on The Catholic Church, Charlie Hebdo and Womens’ rights.
Also available on iTunes and Stitcher.
Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/gspellchecker
Listeners get a free audiobook and trial with Audible at http://www.audibletrial.com/gs
#GSPodcast Theme by Dorian Silk & The MCH
A year on from the horrific terror attacks on the headquarters of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, I’m fortunate to be joined by author Caroline Fourest (@CarolineFourest) on The #GSPodcast. We talk about her excellent new book ‘In Praise of Blasphemy: Why Charlie Hebdo Is Not “Islamophobic”. She helps clear up some of the smears and myths surrounding Charlie Hebdo and we talk about ‘that’ Sky News interview. In addition, we discuss secularism, the far right and hate speech laws in France. #JeSuisCharlie
Also available on iTunes and Stitcher.
Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/gspellchecker
Listeners get a free audiobook and trial with Audible at http://www.audibletrial.com/gs
Thanks to released video footage, there can be no remaining doubt that Maryam Namazie was subjected to intimidation and general thuggish behaviour during her Goldsmiths University talk by members of The Islamic Society (ISOC). It’s now also clear that ISOC lied about what happened too.
Bizarrely, Goldsmiths Feminist Society then came out not in support of the minority female whom male ISOC bullies attempted to silence, but in support of the aggressors themselves. This catastrophic failure to reason had many asking: “Is it possible to be more morally confused than this?”
As if mistaking this rhetorical incredulity for a challenge, Goldsmiths LGBT Society released a statement in support of ISOC’s thuggish Islamists too. Amazingly, they did this after watching the video footage.
A few days ago I wrote about Goldsmiths Islamic Society’s (ISOC) attempts to have Maryam Namazie disinvited from a talk arranged by the Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society (ASH). The ‘reasons’ put forward by ISOC were the usual collection of smears and hyperbole bolstered by co-opting the language of certain regressive principles – namely bleating that their ‘safe space’ had been violated.
Despite all their bluster on social media, no official complaint was received from the student union and Maryam Namazie’s talk went ahead as planned. I previously accused ISOC of attempting to enforce Islamic blasphemy laws on campus, rather than having sincere concerns about ‘safe spaces’, and this latest bout of behaviour seems to confirm this beyond doubt.
