Harry Warren writes:

I chanced upon two stickers on two separate Dublin City Council traffic signs located near a girl’s school in Dublin.

Is it only me or do any other Broadsheet readers experience a little sadness, that someone has so much hate in their heart, that they would take the time and effort to have them printed and then hijack traffic signs near a girl’s school to stick their little small-minded pieces of ugliness upon them?

I think the world may be a better place if folks just tried a philosophy of “live and let live” and allow their fellow humans to privately get on with their lives?

I wonder what Broadsheet readers think of the stickers message and the individuals who stuck them there?

Anyone?

Update:

Harry adds:

I note the stickers have disappeared now.

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127 thoughts on “Dressing Down

  1. Bitnboxy

    I do feel sorry for some folks. As day follows night, the poor wretch who acquired and put up these stickers likely has a lot more problems than the imagined source of the ire.

    1. Redundant Proofreaders Society

      It still remains one of the most divisive issues today. When the pandemic talk lifts this will explode (again) and it will cram our discussion forums for months. Lines drawn in the sand.

    2. Can a Da?

      well I do agree with you there
      you’d be better to ignore this Original Poster
      live and let live a bit yourself

  2. Conksi

    kinda missing the point there.
    Its a legitimate point, dunno if i’d agree with it, but failing to engage on a reasonably nuanced issue that’s pretty dang new to society is poor form IMO.

    1. Nigel

      Failing to engage with reasonably nuanced stickers on telephone poles is poor form?

      It’s only new in the sense that the specific scaremongering about trans women in women’s spaces is a recent phenomenon. Trans women have always shared women’s spaces.

      1. Conksi

        yep, granted guerilla sticker campaign is fairly obtuse, 1st 2 posters dimissed – what i saw as the point – immediately as ‘poor fools’
        I’ve no data but i’d imagine the number of folks transitioning is rocketing

        1. Nigel

          What point? ‘A man in a dress is still a man?’ Fair enough. A trans woman is a woman whatever she’s wearing. ‘No men in women’s prisons?’ Fair enough, but trans women should be in women’s prisons. When your sticker-campaign transphobia is too poorly expressed to even make your point.

          1. Clampers Outside

            What is your understood meaning / definition of “trans” in that comment? Do you still, as you have in previous discussions, include Self ID? Do you still subscribe to the idea that transgender Self ID is an identity that can change like the wind from morning to afternoon to evening?

          2. Nigel

            I’m not sure who, exactly, is supposed to be identifying a person as trans, other than the person themselves. From my understanding, the process can vary from individual to individual, so mocking them for what must surely be a difficult struggle for some is hardly helpful, and certanly not a sign of good faith.

          3. Clampers Outside

            No one is mocking. Do you even know an answer the question? ’cause I doubt you do from your past commentary on the subject.

          4. Nigel

            I could cut and paste a definition if you want, but why can’t you come out straight and tell me what it is exactly that you think I’m wrong about rather than faffing around?

          5. Clampers Outside

            That’s ridiculous. How could do as you say without knowing which definition you use.

            You’re being obtuse intentionally, ya spanner.

        2. Junkface

          @Conski
          Yep, the number of teenage lesbians in the USA is plummeting according to latest studies, with teens opting to transition instead. I guess its very popular at the mo. It’s a crazy serious decision that should not be possible until 18 years old. You’re right, there is a real discussion to be had where people with genuine concerns about women’s spaces can find some common ground with the trans communities without being labelled as a terf or a nazi. It’s a much bigger concern in other large countries more than in little old Ireland I would think.

          1. axelf

            actually nige, huey lewis would be the one telling you.

            Bateman would be bleating about the pleasures of conformity before hitting you with an axe.

          2. SOQ

            Agreed Junk- the real concern at the moment is not ‘men in dresses’ but a huge increase in young girls potentially harming their health by taking male hormones, some of which may later regret.

            But as pointed out by Conksi above, there is no room for nuance- not just in this debate but also in a lot of others.

            One thing I am certain of is that is a growing number of lesbians and gay men who are uncomfortable with not just the militancy of some of those under the trans umbrella, but the way in which they have skewed the general public’s perception of gay people.

            Why those posters were placed in such a location remains unknown of course.

          3. Junkface

            +1 @SOQ
            I have noticed more and more well known gay intellectuals and writers trying to distance themselves from this recent movement, or else just call it out as too aggressive or lacking grown up nuance.

          4. Nigel

            Not as uncomfortable as trans people are about this weird and fairly scary cultural, social and political drive to demonise them and deny them their rights and access to health care. It’s understandable that some gays and lesbians and even feminists would not want to get caught in the crossfire, but I fear it’s just a wedge issue and bad for them all in the long term.

          5. Clampers Outside

            No one is demonising nor denying health care.

            In fact, care is improving with proper standards and so called professionals like that shrink in Canada that encouraged kids to fake suicide attempts to get their way…. Vile humans like him are in the way out. That’s the standard of care, similarly carried out in Tavistock, you’ve been wanting kept.

          6. Nigel

            Never has a person made an opening statement and then gone on to contradict it so thoroughly.

      2. Clampers Outside

        You keep stating Nigel that “Trans women have always shared women’s spaces” but you never give any evidence of.

        Also, the definition of “trans” is an umbrella term covering all persons from transitioned persons to those who simply feel that they are another gender – more specifically, Self ID.

        And Self ID is new, and has not “always” been around.

        So, I ask again, what do you mean by that statement?

        1. Nigel

          Trans women have always shared women;s spaces – used women’s toilets, stayed in women;s shelters, gone to women;s prisons.

          Trans as a term has always referred to the condition of being trans, not just to those who have completely transitioned. (If a person is not allowed to ‘self identify’ as trans, then one has to wonder who, exactly, is going to do it for them? You?)

          None of this was especially controversial, at least amongst allies, feminists or LGTBQ, until very recently.

          1. Clampers Outside

            That’s a total fabrication of bullpoo!

            … and you either know it or are so far down the gender theory rabbit hole you don’t know which way is up.

          2. Nigel

            What is? You’re saying trans women didn’t use women’s bathrooms or go to women’s shelters?

            Can you imagine how much fun it must be now to be a trans woman out in public, needing to use a bathroom, but too scared she’ll get hassled, abused or even attacked no matter which type of bathroom she tries to use? God I hope you’re proud.

          3. Clampers Outside

            Seriously Nigel, you’re an idiot who when asked a simple clarification within a topic you are clearly invested in goes full rabid of the person asking for clarification rather than maintaining the discussion. This is clearly your “#nodebate” position whenever you have taken part in these threads on this topic. And it is why the TRA position will collapse under its own weight of fakery and abusive behaviour.

            And many trans persons will celebrate the end of the #nodebate activism of TRAs.

          4. Nigel

            Yes, you saying one thing and I saying something in response and you saying something else in response and so on is certainly what not debating looks like. I can see you have a solid grasp of the basics of not debating.

          5. Clampers Outside

            Youve not once responded without being disingenuous.

            A demonstration of your “no debate” position.

          6. Nigel

            I’ve been quite sincere in all of my responses. I can’t help that they’re not the responses that you want, but your inability to hold your own in a debate does not mean I subscribe to this ‘no debate’ position.

        1. Nigel

          See, I actually quite like debate and argument, but I reckon this farrago is more representative of what trans people and their supporters have to put up with, and how do you debate this ugly nonsense?

    2. Daisy Chainsaw

      Probably the same crowd that were putting up “Abortion is Murder” stickers and “Children Deserve a Mother and Father” posters during the Repeal and Marriage Equality referenda.

  3. Micko

    Urrrgh

    Did we not do this last week…?

    Everyone knows Women are women and Men are men.

    If people choose to identify as the opposite, then as a civil society we should afford them the kindness to treat them as such.

    It only becomes an issue when we are compelled to by law.

    Simples. Will be grand. *

    * (We do have to sort the sport issue though – coz that’s just silly)

    1. Nigel

      ‘Kindness.’ See, I don’t think the experience of trans people leads them to believe they can rely too heavily on ‘knindess’ for their rights, rather than, you know, actual legal protections. If someone ‘unkindly’ denies you your rights you don’t really have much in the way of recourse or appeal. Also it’s bloody patronising.

        1. Nigel

          They have the right not to be discriminated against for being trans. That has to be a legal protection, not ‘kindness,’ or it’s basically worthless.

          1. Micko

            Yeah… when I said “we are compelled to by law.”

            I was talking about people in general – the royal “we” if you will.

            WE should not be compelled to law to refer to someone in a certain way.

            Free speech and all that good stuff. ;)

            As I said, someone’s gender is already protected under Irish law against discrimination.

            But, no one should be compelled by law to refer to someone in a certain way, because that would just be wrong.

          2. Nigel

            Consumer, public service and employment anti-discrimination laws are in place and often dictate how you can and can’t adress people.

        2. Clampers Outside

          Don’t ask him that, as he likely has no idea.
          He stepped into the comments on the Maya Forstater case believing that her winning the legal right to believe sex is immutable, and that people ca not change sex was a “special” (his word) award or privilege when in fact the ruling was a correction in an appeal by a judge who previously ruled incorrectly and denied Ms Forstater’s right to her belief. It took a High Court appeal and support of the UKs Equality & Human Rights Commission to set the record straight and restore that ‘protected belief’ to a par with ‘gender identity’ belief – both beliefs protected by the SAME laws.
          Not “special” ones like the silly lad stated.
          Hasn’t a clue what he’s talking about half the time.

          1. Nigel

            Of course it’s not special. it’s quite an unfortunately common form of bigotry. Of course, there’s nothing new about bigotry being protected by law, it’s just that one hoped the arc of history was beinding more towards tolerance.

          2. Clampers Outside

            It’s not bigotry you foolish child. That’s just you having a tantrum ffs

          3. Nigel

            Of course it’s bigotry. Literally no other purpose is served by it, other than that of bigotry.

          4. Clampers Outside

            Nonsense Nigel, pure nonsense.

            Facts over ideology is not bigotry.

            Try again.

    2. Junkface

      @Micko
      The silliness is getting so tiresome now. Why divide society so much for 0.1% of the population? It’s all overreach and part of a new religious movement. Plus there are plenty of trans people asking for all safety issues to be fully considered and not rushed into law. The silent majority in every country now would have some concerns over some of this issue, but are afraid to speak up because they want to keep their jobs.

      BTW: I don’t agree with the stickers going up around town. It only inflames the issue.

      1. Nigel

        I agree. Why now the sudden surge of scaremongering about trans people being a threat to women? Why now suddenly dividing feminists from trans people, dividing LGBQ people from trans people? Where’s that coming from and what’s it all about? As part of a religious movement? Possibly.

        1. Junkface

          @Nigel,
          From what I have watched, read about, or learned about from many podcasts is that the Feminist movement has been divided for years. Mainly along the lines of traditional feminists who back up their arguments or debate points with facts, compared to radical feminists who reject objective truths and data based on their core belief of post modern thinking, i.e: “this feels right to me so I believe it.” There is no sudden divide among feminists.

          1. Nigel

            The specific division to which I was referring, of course, was the idea that trans women should be excluded as not being women, a position championed by trans exclusionary radical feminists, presumably of the ‘this feels right to me so I believe it’ variety to which you refer.

          2. Junkface

            Maybe there’s more factions in the movement than you know about? Let’s think about the language and meaning of the groups name here. Feminism should be concerned about spaces for women and girls over all other groups in society. This is why the issue of trans women in women’s sports is gaining momentum. If you follow the woke ideology to its logical conclusion, then women’s sports could be more than 50% full of trans women in a few years, leaving naturally born females excluded from their own genders sports. That’s really bizarre and unfair on future generations of girls and women. If you were born a man your physical strength is far higher than any woman’s, even Caitlin Jenner said so, she would know more than anyone from her previous life as a Gold medal Olympian. There’s no influx of trans men entering Mens sports as they would get completely flattened or out paced/out muscled every time.

          3. Clampers Outside

            You have to remember Junk what Nigel believes. And he stated on here that if women were just raised like boys, and played and ate like boys they would be strong women equal to a boy raised to a man in the same manner.

            Biology, physiology, hormones, being a “birther” or not…. None of these things matter.

            That is honestly a belief Nigel holds and argued on this site.

            He doesn’t give a monkeys’ poo for women’s sports.

          4. Nigel

            Trans women have always (okay, not always, but for some time now) competed in women’s sports and somehow their domination remains strictly theoretical.

          5. Clampers Outside

            That’s rubbish. Consider g the numbers, they do better proportionally to population size.

            Take that McKinnon who took up cycling as a sport and was dominating within a few years ; beating women who were younger ; women who were in the sport 3, 4 and 5 times longer ; McKinnon broke World re orda in qualifying for races in 2018/19.

            Then there’s MMA fighter Fox who was only a couple of years in the sport and also older than many other participants, and Fox went on to dominate.

            There are loads of video online of MTF trans athletes beating young women in sports online.

            Your idea that it is not happening is rubbish.

            But hey, your form is to stick to the narrative and ignore facts, or so your previous form has shown. Maybe someday you’ll take your head and out and look around.

          6. Junkface

            Wrong Nigel. There are more videos of trans women taking over on USA women’s college basketball and volleyball teams every month. They are not hard to find online. Same goes for women’s MMA. It is happening, you can deny it all you want.

          7. Nigel

            ‘And he stated on here that if women were just raised like boys, and played and ate like boys they would be strong women equal to a boy raised to a man in the same manner.’

            Your reading comprehension has never been the strongest, so I’m going to need a link to see what comment of mine you’ve mangled here.

        2. Clampers Outside

          You are right in that it is possibly a “religious movement”, but I believe your interpretation is applying the religious movement to the wrong group. It’s in the T.

          The demand for “#NoDebate” by its activism (particularly from Stonewall UK) is good evidence of that.

          1. Nigel

            So being trans isn’t a physical condition, it’s a religious one? And you’re accusing others of not knowing what being trans is?

            Also, who equates religion with not debating? Even the basic premise of your equivalence is faulty.

          2. Clampers Outside

            You’re a panto Nigel :)

            I am knocking your reference to their being one side driven by religion and the fact that religion enforces “no debate” which is what the TRA activist position has been.

            Jaysus you’re one down the rabbit hole for sure :)

          3. Nigel

            And I pointed out that religious people love to debate stuff, so the premise of your ‘knock’ was wrong. Whoever told you religious people don’t like to debate must never have known a religious person in their lives.

      2. Daisy Chainsaw

        Silent majorities don’t exist. If you’re relying on them, your campaign is built on sand.

  4. Liam Deliverance

    I’d like to see the cabbages that put these up get a litter fine for each and every one. Same for all the eejits plastering stickers/litter on everything, especially in the city center.

    1. Daisy Chainsaw

      The cowards never put their details on them, same as the racist ones that go up from time to time. For such strongly held beliefs, they’re very reluctant to put their names to them, whether it’s to avoid littering fines or shame from wider society, who knows!

          1. Daisy Chainsaw

            I’m thankful beyond belief that I’m not stuck in a workplace situation with you.

          2. SOQ

            You are an overpaid civil servant eyeballing the same office politics for the past twenty odd years- am I wrong?

        1. Clampers Outside

          That’s a myth according to those that make the accusation of cowering, in fairness.
          And when cases are given, they say its extremely rare and on and on the denial goes.

  5. NobleLocks

    Oh wow, I’ve had a busy day and only logged in now… Great to see! I see nige and daisy are still towing the line that there is a mythical third gamete called trans… As though the term “trans people” had any merit in an adult discussion.

    How many times are we going to have to say this nige? There is No such thing as a trans person! Trans is NOT something people are, trans is something people DO. I know you won’t stop your sunk cost and drop that line but we see through you lol.

    There are dysphorians, Autogynephiles (the one’s you NEVER want to talk about) and then there is the one’s with complex mental health issues. And thats just the start, but to say they’re all just Trans is bull and you know it.

    The times they are a’changing!

    *Kiera Bell and blew the lid on this sorry little cult
    *Maya Forstater won the other day and even though you probably think it’s small it’s actually huge
    *Sonia Applby’s tribunal case begins today against the Tavistock and when she proves they were hiding safeguarding information from her as the safeguarding officer, I can see the shutters coming down on that mengelean pit.
    *Linda Blades book ‘Unsporting’ is sellting at #1 in Canada
    *Stonewall are a joke now after the Reindorf report and even the NHS is dropping them
    *Multiple organizations are considering sueing stonewall for teaching HR depts the stonewall version of the law and not the actual law
    *Benjamin Cohen of Pink News’ Radio 4 interview was hilarious and he was widley ridiciuled for his crass stupidity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUUdhe6GdPA
    *Legal Feminist are FOI’ing the hell out of the UK to get to the bottom of the institutional capture
    * ….and over 1000 people join the detrans subreddit per month every month and the number is growing

    I really could go on with the list above for quite a while there are so many good things happening for women and children above the wants of straight men

    There isn’t so much a sound of a house of cards falling, it’s more a daily crash of trans plates smashing as they’re dropped in horror that real womens rights actually do matter and reality is actually more important than feels

    1. Nigel

      ‘reality is actually more important than feels’

      There’s so much transphobic bigotry in your comment, but it’s kind of amazing that it all boils down to the idea that feelings aren’t real, which is suggestive that the transphobic tide that’s rising is not going to do much good for mental health in general.

      1. Clampers Outside

        Nigel, you’ve never given a damn iota about the teens presenting with dysphoria when you were arguing to maintain the standard of care that involved diagnosis and prescription of experimental drugs to teens after only one session of a couple of hours (and half that in some cases).

        So please, put a cork in your outrage and look at yourself, you hypocrite.

        Thankfully, that standard of care is improving.

        1. Nigel

          That’s completely unresponsive to my comment as well as a lie you repeat because you don’t want to examine the negative affects of this transphobic campaign on young trans peple.

          You’ve talked openly about your mental health difficulties, something I have always respected you for. Do you think feelings aren’t real?

      2. NobleLocks

        And that’s all you have. False accusations of “transphobic bigorty”. Yawn… what else is transphobic today I wonder… I say that you affirming their mental health problems are the problem nige.

        How Dare you tell people with mental health issues that their self-diagnosis is correct?

        How Dare you affirm their all or nothing thinking? How dare you affirm their belief that the only choice they have is medicalization of their (in the vast majority of cases), temproary issues?

        How Dare you agree with them when they believe falsly that sterilization is the only option

        Where is your duty of care ? Why does childrens safeguarding take a back seat to these (in thevasat majority of cases) mens mental health issues?

        You say I’m transphobic, because you erroniously still believe that that empty slur carries weight. But I say to you that your accusations come to naught in the face of the fact that you and others like you have completely abdicated your societal and social responsibilities in the face of this mental health crisis. You are the problem nige, “you’re just awful”

    2. Clampers Outside

      Sonia’s case is a big one, thought she’d be waiting until 2022. Good to hear its up and running!
      The leaked communications she has shown already are dam ing of Stonewall. Should be a good case to watch!

      1. Nigel

        So, is Nobles’ ‘Theres No such thing as a trans person!’ a definition that meets with your approval or accords with your own?

        1. Clampers Outside

          And for clarification… There are trans persons, but the sex doesn’t change. That’s a fact.

          Even the Gender Recognition Act of the UK acknowledges that fact. (I should check out our own GRA again, but I believe it is so molar of not the same in that regard).

          1. Nigel

            It really doesn’t matter what you think about sex and gender and all that, people much smarter and more knowledgable than us are exploring those areas – all that matters is trans women are women and trans men are men.

          2. scundered

            The people exploring the area are exactly the kind of people you would least want to be exploring it, it only considered knowledge when it suits the narrative they want to project, eg. Critical Race Theorists

          3. scundered

            I’d say you are in no way in a position to make that assumption. At least in the states the tide is now turning, it is actually racist in itself to make widespread assumption about people based on their skin colour, we spent decades getting rid of that and now the extreme left want to drag us back to pre-1960s

    3. K. Cavan

      You’re different from Nigel, Locks, you actually know what you’re talking about, even if I disagreed with you (I don’t) I would have to acknowledge that, as I’m sure everyone reading must. Thanks for the intelligent comments.

    1. Micko

      Well if you wanna do covid we can go all day long.

      “Come at me bro”

      Dances in boxing circle

      “Come at me bro”

      :-)

  6. Bitnboxy

    Jesus Christ- Clampers and Nigel!

    It is incredible that this issue, niche and complex, affecting a tiny minority of generally vulnerable people and as such should be a sole preserve of experts, rouses such rolling insanity in you both. Blinded both by belligerent and ignorant grandstanding.

    Suffice it to say, mission accomplished to the guy who put up the stickers.

      1. Bitnboxy

        You two should NOT be having kids – EVER. Talk about skewed priorities. I despair. That this post garnered so many replies.

        Jesus wept.

        And you make me use a turn of phrase I loathe.

        Sheesh!

        1. Nigel

          Come back and check your comments here next time you have a run-in with Giggs, why don’t you.

        2. Clampers Outside

          We “made” you do something you didn’t want to do :)

          Jaysus lad, get off the internet :)

    1. scundered

      It affects ALL women though, it’s not about a small percentage for that reason and this is why all people need to discuss, to agree on any changes to legislation regarding this hot topic. I agree with Clampers and I would guess most people do, it very much feels like pushing too far, too much emphasis placed on minorities instead of the sum of those affected .

      I think the most obvious solution is to have a third space, however economically that may be completely impractical. The radical left wing pronoun debate also means you could subdivide that infinitely, it’s a can of worms that was so obvious from the start to be pretty much impossible to satisfy everyone.

  7. Casual Observer

    Cop on. There’s no way this could be real.

    Not ALL trolling is done online.
    Some of it appears on lampposts.

    You lot have been trolled, big time.
    Look at yourselves, fighting over something that doesn’t exist.

    I wish I’d thought of it first. It’s brilliant.

  8. K. Cavan

    The US ”Liberal” Elites, who control Politics, Media, Academia, Education, Entertainment, Law & so on are engaged in an Authoritarian war on women, on biology, on reality itself when it comes to the trans issue, based solely on their sophomore, half-baked political viewpoints. Those who dare disagree & express a rational, scientific, apolitical view are subject to assault by a huge, multi-billion-dollar empire, persecuted, run off the internet, banned & censored, denied basic human rights & have their careers destroyed. They are subject to a reign of terror for daring to hold opinions of their own. In this scenario, anyone who sees a problem in some stickers on a lamp-post, containing nothing controversial, mere facts, has either lost all sense of perspective or stands in opposition to all of the most important tenets of Democratic society. Such Fascists should, indeed must be resisted, they are poisonous to our fragile, ailing Democracies, as well as being irritating time-wasters & gibberish-spouters.

    1. SOQ

      And that’s the key point- that authoritarianism used to be regarded as a right wing trait, but people are slowly realising that it can also be a left wing too- some of the most authoritarian regimes in history have been left wing.

      I read a great quote recently- ‘If Mary Whitehouse was alive today, she would be writing for The Guardian’.

      1. Nigel

        Nah, she’d have been regularly in newspapers and national television droning about how she’d been silenced by the woke mob.

      2. scundered

        Absolutely bang on SOQ, the giveaway is in the left wing’s approach to free speech these days, it’s treated like it’s some kind of right wing notion, but snyone with a brain should realise it protects everyone and should be cherished, otherwise you might as well be living in a tyrannical dictatorship. They will label anything as hate that they simply don’t agree with but have no better counter argument, just lazy thinking.

        1. Nigel

          The right wing conception of free speech is ‘that which is threatened when people stand up to us.’

          1. Scundered

            Is that what they told you during your lengthy indoctrination? You seriously need to pull yourself out of that rabbit hole.

          2. scundered

            Do you not want a world that is free to debate anything, instead of authoritarian where your speech is controlled? Up to you.

            The reality is that liberals are no longer liberal in mindset

          3. Nigel

            What was it about a thread of 120 comments where I engaged in debate with several other commenters, including you, that made you think I was against debate?

          4. scundered

            Because you didn’t really engage like the others on the page, just a lot of trolly responses as usual, at least the others on this page seem to respect getting into detail

          5. Nigel

            I have not been trolly, I have expressed my point of view and answered arguments put forward by others and put forward my own. You’re the second person to leave off debating the subject at hand to complain, paradoxically, that my engaging in debate proves that I am ideologically opposed to debate, almost as if the very act sticking up for my point of view makes you mad and you equate it to threatening your freedom of speech. I refer you to my comment @2.45.

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