Recently I wrote about the case of Marion Millar, a mother of vulnerable children who faces prison for tweets. Harmless, innocuous tweets. I know they’re harmless, because I’ve looked at Marion’s timeline. You can look, too.
Marion’s case is ongoing and I’m not allowed to name the cowardly, bullying gobshite who reported her to the police in case it prejudices the outcome.
Unfortunately, this also means I shouldn’t name the chicken-shit bellend who similarly reported my friend Ceri Black, also for supposedly malicious tweets.
Because they are the same person. This is a man whose approach to activism is to report women with opinions to the police one at a time. It’s a silencing tactic. And when the silencing doesn’t work (as it won’t in either Marion’s or Ceri’s case) it becomes a smearing tactic.
But let’s be clear: Ceri Black: mother, lesbian, activist, co-founder of LGB Alliance Ireland, was reported to the Irish Police Service for tweets. The police now want to interview her under caution for:
Offences under the malicious communications act, homophobic hate crime, transphobic hate crime
https://twitter.com/FemmeLoves/status/1451291505751203848
That’s right, the co-founder of a lesbian, gay and bisexual advocacy group is being investigated for homophobia at the instance of a man known to have form in using the police as a tool for political activism.
The Irish Police Service fairly leaped into action in stark contrast to the way they responded when Ceri previously reported targeted abuse, rape and death threats against her. On those occasions they advised her to stop posting “political” things online.
They ignored the credible threats and blamed the victim.
Now that a man of dubious character and intent has maliciously fabricated offences against Ceri, they can’t do enough to accommodate him.
Ceri was due to speak at the #ComeOutOfStonewall event in Belfast yesterday. She used her talk to speak about her treatment.
Her wife, the brilliant Lauren, filmed it.
I can’t say anything that will beat that. Watch it. Be disgusted at the man who did this to both those women. But be more disgusted at the police forces of Ireland and Scotland who piously capitulated with the demands of a demented, power-drunk bully.
And be more disgusted still at Stonewall: the organisation that has so ideologically captured these and many other UK police forces and public bodies, that the bullying of innocent women has become prioritised over the policing of death and rape threats.
Ceri doesn’t hate. She only tries to help people.
#IStandWithCeriBlack
#IStandWithMarionMillar
And if you don’t, there is something disturbing wrong with you.
More on Stonewall in a later post. With Extra Dinosaur Footage!