That is the question. The story goes thus: There once was a rabbit rescue sanctuary based in Wales. This sanctuary had a Twitter (X) account. They posted pictures of their rabbits. Occasionally, they would retweet something someone said because it interested them. All so innocent you would think, wouldn’t you?
Ah, but, dear reader, nothing is innocent in the world of bunny rescue. They had a policy of following anyone who followed them. This it seems, was their first mistake. The second was to retweet the words of an evil heretic – J K Rowling – the evil anti-trans witch. You see where this is going, don’t you?
The people running a rabbit rescue sanctuary suddenly found themselves in the middle of an Internet pile-on from the followers of the ‘be kind’ trans cult. The demand was that they removed the offending tweet – which, unfortunately, they did – and apologise and tweet out a message telling the world that they were welcoming to all alphabet people – which, thankfully, they didn’t. What they did was state that they were an animal rescue sanctuary and were politically neutral. This, of course, was not enough for the activists who had now smelled blood. The pile-on continued with complaints to the charity commission and further demands about who they follow, claiming that following someone automatically means they are anti-trans, because they cannot comprehend anyone who does not live in an echo chamber.
The bunny people remained firm. Word got out and the opposite of a pile-on occurred as decent people fought back. The charity commission merely suggested a complaints form on their website as an outlet for such complaints (that could then be suitably rebuffed and ignored).
Does this story have a happy ending, you ask? Well, yes, it does. The sanctuary is still online and still posting pictures of the rabbits. They have increased their exposure and have lots more followers and fans. They have even been offered gratis some artwork for mugs and T shirts by a well known, evil TERFy artist and now have a new range of rabbit themed merchandise to sell that people are buying, thus raising more money for the bunnies. So, far, everyone is living happily ever after. And the activists? They are still bleating into the ether, having been blocked. But no one cares.
What this little story tells us – the moral if you like – is that cancel culture doesn’t work if you stand firm. Also that the technique is on the wane. People are much more likely to tell the activists where to get off. The weapon has lost its punch. And finally, if your target is a rabbit rescue centre, you really should be engaging in some deep introspection.
“If your target is a rabbit rescue centre, you really should be engaging in some deep introspection.”
Nice and polite but probably too subtle to be intelligible to them . . .
Obsessive, self-righteous activist types don’t have much capacity for “deep introspection”. If they were willing to question their own behaviour and consider how it might appear to other people, they wouldn’t be obsessive, self-righteous activists.
I thought about joining but decided against doing so when I saw the recipe for rabbit and rat stew.
Beautifully and amusingly written and I agree with everything you say.
The reply I always give to the cancellation police consists of two words, the second of which is off.
When you are next accused of being Islamophobic invite your accuser to read the Koran and the Hadith. Let them see what Islam really teaches and what sort of man Mohammad was. Then ask them why they are not Islamophobic.
Apologies for being off topic yet again but I know that this an issue that you have dealt with in the past. From a recent comment over at Samizdata, this has to be the most concise rebuttal to that particular accusation that I have seen.
I always say about Islam that it teaches Mo was perfect and that he married a 9 year.
The implication is scary.
He was, apparently, also ginger which might explain a lot.
The guy driving this campaign – Comerford- is a grad A certified whack job who should really be residing in a nice rubber room somewhere but sadly, instead, he’s left free to harass whoever he feels like. My fondest wish is that one day he does it to the wrong person.
A 35-post thread in one go. That was some marathon. He’s obsessed.
My one concern is that, much as you do from recollection, I feel quite sorry for the person who is Trans and just wants to get on with their life. My worry is that the likes of Cornerford, who as Julia M identifies really does need detention in a mental hospital for a sustained period are so intolerant and so awful that it will lead the majority to treat all Trans people the same way as ISIS would. That would be an unfortunate outcome.
Yes, there are trans people who quietly live their lives. The activists are a menace to them as well as everyone else. It’s the activists who are the problem here.