Woman-hating in Port Townsend, WA
August 17, 2022
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On Monday, August 15, a group of around 35 women held a press conference at City Hall in Port Townsend, Washington, to speak out about the sex-based rights of women and girls. For that offense, they were attacked, yelled at, and assaulted by a mob of around 350 people (mostly men, many wearing antifa garb and shouting with bullhorns). The local mayor publicly supports the mob against the women.
The context was an incident in July, in which an 80-year-old woman was showering in the locker room at the Mountain View pool at the local Y, when she heard a man’s voice. She peered out from behind the shower curtain and saw a man wearing a women’s bathing suit and watching young girls take their suits off. She told him to leave. She was then reprimanded and banned from the pool.
The city council held a hearing on August 1, during which residents were invited to present their views on the matter. The council later stated that it planned to issue a statement during an upcoming August 15 meeting. That evening, the city mayor issued this statement:
I, David J. Faber, Mayor of the City of Port Townsend, do hereby proclaim that the City of Port Townsend values our transgender residents and visitors and urges all residents and visitors to be respectful, welcoming, and kind to everyone regardless of gender identity. I further proclaim that discrimination and prejudice, in any form, particularly against transgender people, are unwelcome and have no place in the City of Port Townsend.
David Faber, an elected official, also maintains a colorful Twitter account. His Twitter bio reads: “Mayor, Port Townsend, WA. Socdem. YIMBY af. V offensive and frequently stupid, but I care! Personal account; nothing official happens 'round these parts. Lawyer.”
A group of women gathered to support the woman who had been banned from the pool. According to this article in the Port Townsend free press, the following ensued:
An angry white crowd screaming at a Black woman pleading for civil rights. Threatening her. Intimidating her. Senior women linking arms to protect a rape survivor trying to speak. A lesbian being shouted down by a mostly male mob decked out in Pride colors. A man with an AR-15 imposed over a Trans flag on his ball cap, the impression of a handgun in his left cargo pants pocket, hiding behind sunglasses and a mask that made identification difficult.
This was the face of rage and hate Port Townsend showed to women who asked for equal rights, to have their spaces respected, to be able to go to the bathroom and showers in pubic facilities and not suffer PTSD flashbacks from memories of being raped and assaulted because there is an adult male human being where they once could feel safe.
Video of the event can be found here. As you can see in the video, during a woman’s speech, someone rips a suffrage banner down from the building and others heckle a black woman who is speaking out for the sex-based rights of women and girls. Here is additional coverage of a man assaulting a woman and ripping off her shoe. The police arrived eventually, but they were nowhere to be found during the majority of the abuse.
The next day, Mayor Faber sent this tweet about this appalling and racist attack on the rights of women and girls to freedom of opinion, expression, and assembly that was on full display at the city council building:
What an incredible night. The Port Townsend community showed up in huge and beautiful fashion to say that hate has no place here. Trans and cis-allies alike spoke love & support, and the only TERF speaker was from out of town. Tonight reminded me why Port Townsend is home.
This is, first of all, simply not true. Many women (TERFs, if you like*), spoke movingly about the sex-based rights of women and girls and about the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, and assembly, and many of them were local. The main event organizer, Amy Sousa, spoke about sexism and about surviving rape. It is also bizarre that the town mayor is just blatantly lying on Twitter, and wildly offensive that he is not standing up for the rights of women and girls who live in Port Townsend to speak about wanting the freedom to shower in a locker room without having strange men around.
*More on TERFs here.
I am familiar with what it’s like to be subjected to this type of treatment, having been subjected to it myself in Philadelphia earlier this month (although what happened in Philadelphia was mild compared to what the women were subjected to in Port Townsend).
It’s time to recognize this supposed “movement” for what it is - an angry, misogynistic, far-right, regressive, authoritarian, corporate, abusive mission to eradicate women’s rights and abolish the material reality of sex. If these people had any coherent arguments, they would make them. They don’t. All they have is bullying and attacking women and girls. Sadly, they have the support of numerous elected officials at all levels of government.
This month marks the 102nd anniversary of the 1920 ratification and certification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” There is a reason that women were not permitted to vote for the first few centuries of this country’s existence. It was not on the basis of some vague, nonsensical, notion of “gender identity.” It was on the basis of sex, i.e., because they were women. These people are literally ripping down suffrage banners. So-called TERFs refuse to now pretend that sex isn’t real just because a bunch of bullies (including many of our elected officials) are demanding that we do so.
Article 4 of the Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based Rights reaffirms women’s rights to freedom of opinion and freedom of expression and Article 5 reaffirms women’s right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. If the bullies have their way, women will lose all of it.
This isn’t happening in a vacuum. The bullies want you to think this is a legitimate civil rights movement to secure the rights of a marginalized group of people. It isn’t. It’s a conservative, regressive, corporate machine, bought and paid for by wealthy, white, women-hating men. The bullies on the ground are their foot soldiers. If you want to learn more about the money that is fueling the madness, check out the 11th Hour Blog. It’s all there.
If you haven’t, please consider signing the Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based Rights. You can find the U.S. chapter of Women’s Declaration International here.
Check out my book The Abolition of Sex: How the ‘Transgender’ Agenda Harms Women and Girls, also available on Audible.