TERF Alert

The American Anthropological Association and Canadian Anthropology Society recently canceled a session from their joint annual meeting.  The title of the session was “Let’s Talk about Sex Baby: Why biological sex remains a necessary analytic category in anthropology”.  It was canceled as being anti-trans and contrary to current research without being supported by countervailing research.  Of course the panel members immediately started screaming, "Help, help, we're being oppressed," and Reich Wing media jumped all over it.

Let's take a look at the panel and their topics.  Silvia Carrasco was going to talk about how violence against women can't be properly addressed without focusing on biological sex.   Kathleen Richardson was going to talk about how including trans women is erasing gender disparity in IT (Apparently arguing the number of trans women in IT is statistically significant.  Right.).  Michèle Sirois was going to talk about how the Canadian surrogacy industry exploits poor women (OK, trans women can't be included in this group, but a large number of cis women can't be included as well, whether biologically because they are not reproductive, or economically because they are not poor.  Frankly, the problem she is studying is far less biologically based than economically based.  Surrogacy is another of a broad range of mechanisms for exploiting disadvantaged groups.).  Also on the panel was Elizabeth Weiss of the Heterodox Academy, an "advocacy" group founded to combat the sham issue of conservatives being excluded from academe (It was cofounded by Jonathan Haidt and Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz.  Haidt co-authored The Coddling of the American Mind, a by-the-numbers rant decrying the "suppression" of free speech on college campuses and trotting out the usual Reich Wing straw men of "trigger words" and "safe spaces" while conveniently ignoring the real message of "You no longer get to shovel hate just because you're a cishet, white, Christian male, and if you try, you're going to get blowback."  Rosenkranz testified to Congress against the nominations of Loretta Lynch as AG and Sonia Sotomayor to SCOTUS and is regularly cited by Alito and Thomas.).  Carole Hooven of the American Enterprise Institute was supposed to speak but withdrew prior to the cancelation.

Organizing this panel was Kathleen Lowrey, whose recent publications include "Trans Ideology and the New Ptolemaism in the Academy", an extended whinge about her sacking as undergraduate programs chair in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta for her anti-trans views (or as she puts it, her "gender critical feminist views") masquerading as intellectual commentary, and "Gender Identity Ideology Conquers the World: Why Are Anthropologists Cheering?", an extended whinge about cancel culture.  She is routinely platformed on the anti-trans Canadian site Gender Dissent, and she was principal organizer of the anti-trans hate group Women's Declaration International (fka Women's Human Rights Campaign).

It is quite apparent, then, the panel was canceled because it was platforming political rants and not scholarly research.  This is a problem in the social "sciences" that is only getting worse (For nearly a half-century I've been of the firm opinion that "social science" is an oxymoron.  There is no meaningful way to apply the crux of the scientific method, control and variable experimentation, to any significant issue in any of the social studies.  Being degreed in two such fields [history and political science] and regularly called on to work in another [economics/finance], I have some idea.  One of the purposes of scientific research is to predict how things will behave.  Put X load on this material, it will break.  Combine these chemicals, and you will get a reaction producing Y.  While data in the social studies can be used successfully to create occurrence models ["This is what happened."], they are far less successful at creating causation models ["This is why this happened."] and abysmal at creating predictive models ["This is what is going to happen."].  For example an economist will say, "If price goes up, demand will go down.  Unless there are other, not terribly measurable factors at work such as elasticity, utility, oligopoly and collusion, logistic disruption, etc., etc., etc.").  "Scientists" in the social studies sound increasingly like "creation scientists" (speaking of oxymorons), decrying their research being "canceled" while conveniently omitting mention of their research ignoring or misrepresenting all current work while clinging to anachronistic theories, methods, and data (and nondata).  People like those on this panel push their political agendas while ignoring actual research by actual scientists.

Meanwhile, if you want a thorough takedown of Women's Declaration International, I suggest you check Susan Duffy's blog.  And if you want to see what real scientists are discovering in gender research, you might want to start here.

So Megan Rapinoe is Woke Now

She's figured out that dear old Murica isn't a shining beacon of Truth, Justice, and Enlightenment after all.  Given that she's now stepping out with Sue Bird and that she lives in a country run by the most homophobic, misogynistic religio-fascists this side of ISIS, it's about damned time, and welcome to the fight girl.  But you also might want to ask yourself why the US Women's Team (of which you're a member and were in the 2011 World Cup) gets away with muggings, mayhem, and murder no other team can.  Case in point: your 2011 World's Cup match against Canada.  One of your teammates hurdled the Canadian goalie and kneed her in the temple IN THE FUCKING BOX!  For anyone not wearing the Red, White, and Screw-You, it would have been a red card, but for you ladies the ref said, "Play on!"  Because FIFA knows the US Women's Team is the bank (rather like WAC refs used to know BYU was the bank) and is not to be interfered with.  And that can kind of crapitalistic, kleptocratic, kakistocratic entitlement is EXACTLY what creates what you are now purporting to protest against.  Think about it, Megan.

What Then Must We Do?

Call me "T", as my message predates V.  As for "U", well you're U, aren't you?  So, you're wondering what to do now that Der Drumpfenfuehrer and his white trash, Christ-licker stormtroopers are running wild for the greater glory of the 0.01%.  Gather round, kiddies, and let Ol' T impart some wisdom.  What do I know?  Trust me, this isn't my first rodeo.


First, purge your brains of two bits of bullshit that have been standard operating procedure for our pathetic Left for far too long.  1) We aren't going to win, or even survive, by joining hands around the campfire and singing "Kumbayah."  Hell, that didn't even stop the DLC/DNC and the Clintstones, and they're all limp dicks.  It sure isn't going to stop any genuine fascists such as we're dealing with now.  There will be blood, and you'd better prepare for it.  2) Dump all the left wing street theater.  I mean flush it down a commercial toilet and use the TARDIS to send it into a different timeline.  Petitions accomplish NOTHING beyond putting the signers on a right wing hit list.  Demonstrations accomplish NOTHING beyond getting you into a face recognition database.  Occupations accomplish NOTHING but providing new, soft targets for our thoroughly militarized, thug police.  These tactics by themselves have never accomplished a fucking thing.  Leave them to the morons who can't be taught.


Second, organize right.  This is guerrilla warfare; you need to play small ball here.  Form a local cell, a group of like-minded friends who can assemble quickly and below the radar.  Give it a bad ass name.  The days of fluffy-bunny shite like "Peace and Love Fellowship" are over.  You need something like "Eastern Washington Antifascist Brigade".  Or "Franklin County Fist-Fuck the Fascists Faction".

Third, use your organization.  Just because you're playing small doesn't mean you have to be isolated or that you can't support larger movements.  BUT: 1) Don't hook up with another group without rock solid references (i.e. "Don't bring me nobody nobody knows.").  It's tough enough to control your friends (Think Peter Pettigrew in Harry Potter.); strangers are impossible, and they're probably either Ueberklass-funded astroturf shills or thug cop plants trying to infiltrate you.  2) Have your ORGANIZATION support a movement, not individuals.  Any legit outfit (such as Planned Parenthood) loves being endorsed by individuals, but it loves endorsements by organizations even more (OK, have a softer, alternative name to your bad ass name for such endorsements.).  This also gives the members cover.  That's what organizations are really for.

Fourth, work as an organization.  Do projects together.  Arm yourselves together (I told you there would be blood.  And get armed as quickly as possible.  The Second Amendment only applies to Trump supporters.  The last gun control in this country that stuck was 50 years ago when Gov. Ronnie Ray-gunz [Yes, you read that right.] and the NRA [Yes, you read that right too.] joined forces to block the Black Panthers in Oakland from arming themselves.).  Train with those weapons together.  Take self-defense courses together.  Go on picnics together (With weapons.  Open carry, they'll think you're "good guy" Trump supporters and leave you alone.).  Get used to operating as a team.  Individuals get squashed.

Fifth, learn history.  Learn about guerrilla operations, successful and unsuccessful, and dissect them.  Do the same with political movements.  Don't try and reinvent the wheel.  People have already done this.  Use your local library while it's still there.

Sixth, get some mad skillz.  Unlike sociopaths like Yours Truly, you probably haven't spent your lives learning sniper skills, knife-fighting, improvised weaponry, bare-handed killing, explosives, gunsmithing, lockpicking, and farming.  Time to learn, kiddies.  There's a world of information on Teh Interwebz, you just have to remember that most of it is a barrel of bollocks.  For example, as popular and as much fun as The Anarchist's Cookbook is, the explosives section will get you killed.

Seventh, and finally, apply.  Turn the key and put the rubber on the road.  Don't be the Judean People's Front in Life of Brian, constantly resolving and never doing.  There are people out there who need protection.  There are people out there who've already been attacked and need support and information on getting a lawyer who can go after those fuckers ( With any luck it's some fat, redneck sheriff they can go in dry on until his entire descending colon prolapses.).  We need to raise the barricades, and unless we want this to be Les Mis redux, we need to be ready.  The last line of defense is U.

Let's call it what it is

The headline this morning read, "People of faith challenge Democrats." The story was about the usual gang of idiots (Fundy Christians, Ortho Jews, Right Catholics) protesting abortion rights, gay rights, etc., etc., etc.

Hey, assholes, I'm a person of faith. You are a mob of self-righteous shitheads who want the rest of us to live according to your asinine interpretations of the campfire stories of Bronze Age sheep herders. Why don't you people find a group of islands (preferably in Southeast Asia, where you can be in a monsoon track and surrounded by pirates) and build your little theocracies there?