Why do woke zealots think strip shows for kids are a good thing?

In Defence of my comrade Dave from The Stirrer

As some of you are aware, an anarchist website called Montreal Counter-Info recently published a hilarious hit piece accusing Nevermore of a laundry list of unspeakably dastardly deeds.

One of these unforgivable hate crimes was committed by Nevermore co-founder Dave Amis, who runs an anarchist blog in the U.K. called The Stirrer, which is also available here on Substack.

Our anonymous critic takes issue with the fact that Dave, who is a parent and grand-parent, doesn’t think that drag shows are appropriate for children.

They fume:

Nevermore has featured articles from The Stirrer (a UK TERF blog) since 2021, and Nevermore itself has referred its readers to Jennifer Bilek’s work on more than one occasion. In 2022, an article published on Nevermore claimed that“in an increasingly pornified culture, [Drag Queen Story Hour events] are leading to the sexualisation of children, removing innocence from their lives.”

Take a minute to think about that. These people are offended by my comrade opposing the sexualization of children.

Hmm. I wonder why.

WHAT IS THE STIRRER AND WHO IS DAVE AMIS?

The Stirrer is a U.K.-based anarchist blog run by Dave Amis, who I like to call Captain Sensible.

Captain Sensible is one of the co-founders of Nevermore, and was the first of us to be vocal about his misgivings about trans ideology.

This took moral courage, and Dave has suffered social consequences for voicing his concerns.

Our anonymous critic has specifically taken issue with his critique of how drag shows are inappropriate for children.

Now, to be fair, I haven’t seen any of these drag shows, and I try to avoid having strong opinions about books I haven’t read, or movies I haven’t seen, and so on.

Furthermore, I generally think that it is important to support the right of artists to make controversial art.

I don’t think that drag shows for children should be banned, but I definitely think that it’s pretty fucking weird that adults are putting on strip shows for children.

That said, I’m not at all convinced that these shows do have artistic merit. The fact that they seem to be happening everywhere at once leads me to believe that they are part of a transnational propaganda campaign promoting trans ideology.

Could it be that this is a marketing campaign financed by Big Pharma in order to encourage kids to fuck up their bodies with hormone-altering drugs?

I don’t know, but I wouldn’t it past pharmaceutical companies to do so. Not only are they evil, but a lot of trans ideologues actually believe that they are doing something good by encouraging children to become dependent on drugs for the rest of their lives.

I also suspect that this is just one of those issues, like abortion, which statist propagandists like to dangle in front of people in order to get them foaming at the mouths.

Are drag shows for children an important issue? I don’t think so, but Montreal Counter-Info definitely does.

My former publishers feel extremely strongly about the moral righteousness of drag shows for children.

Back in April, they published a report back from a counter-protest in which some putative anti-fascists rallied to oppose some right-wingers who were protesting a drag show for children.

Here’s a photo from that counter-protest:

Note the sign which “White Supremacy is Terrorism”. Apparently opposing drag shows for children is proof of white supremacy, and that’s terrorism. Who knew?

Anyway, if you like laughing at idiots, the report is worth reading. These people are completely insane. They gleefully describe attacking the right-wingers, yet frame their counter-protest as self-defence.

This is consistent with the belief, common among trans ideologues, that because words are violence, initiatory violence is self-defence.

Apparently the idea of pre-emptive retaliation, which was abhorrent and absurd when it was used to justify the invasion of Iraq, is A-OK when it’s used to protect vulnerable aggressors against the opinions of right-wing wrong thinkers.

On many occasions, trans protesters have physically attacked their political opponents, but hey, at least they’re not misgendering people.

Sometimes, biological men have been known to assault biological women, with the full support of their comrades, most of whom probably consider themselves feminists.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons that so many women are disgusted with feminism these days, and why many young women are opting to become the exact opposite of feminists.

You have to dig a little deeper to learn that the drag show was (allegedly) moved to a secret location at the last minute. Allegedly, twenty children were registered for the event, meaning that no more than twenty kids attended, if the event really even happened at all.

Twenty kids, tops. That’s what we’re talking about.

Talk about a tempest in a fucking teapot.

YOU’RE EITHER FOR US OR AGAINST US

The author of the report conflates the “conspiracy theory milieu” with the far right, and generally just seems to view all people opposed to any aspect of trans ideology as part of one monolithic entity.

The message is clear: You’re either with us or against us. Hmm. Where have I heard that one before?

Now, I was trying to have a nuanced position about trans ideology, but if that’s how it is, I guess that’s how it is.

I’m definitely not for you, so if that means I’m your enemy, well then, so be it.

Fuck your ideology. It’s a bunch of bullshit promoted by Big Pharma. It didn’t exist before the internet made twisted, fucked up porn available to children. As everyone who has studied sexology knows, puberty is crucial phase of imprint vulnerability.

It sure seems to me like internet porn has run a train on the impressionable minds of youth, and that it is the true cause of the explosion of the previously unknown mental illness known as gender dysphoria. But hey, I’m a diagnosed schizophrenic who believes in leprechauns. What do I know?

(Yes, I know that gender dysphoria is a real thing and that it has a long history, but it used to be extremely rare. Trans ideologues expect us to believe that a significant percentage of every population ever secretly believed that they were women. By their reasoning, there has been no increase at all in the incidence of gender dysphoria. The apparent massive increase is actually due to society evolving to the point where trans people feel comfortable being themselves. Surprisingly, this is actually one of their better arguments, because I don’t actually know how one go about refuting such an assertion. It’s not like I know what percentage of the Mongol hordes were secretly dying to cut their dicks off and grow tits.)

Furthermore, many proponents of trans ideology are also transhumanists, and see transgenderism as a stepping stone on the road to becoming post-human cyborgs.

Don’t believe me? I encourage you to watch this excellent lecture, which focuses on the utter insanity of Pharma executive Martine Rothblatt, who is both a trans ideologue and rabid transhumanist.

Now, lest you think I’m a closed-minded bigot who doesn’t know anything about drag shows, let me assure that I definitely do. Not only have I hosted drag shows, I also used to be a burlesque dancer, meaning that I have participated in quite a few cabaret shows that also included drag performances.

Don’t believe me? Here’s proof:

Now, let me ask you this: how would you feel about me performing this act in front of a bunch of kids at a school assembly? Would you be cool with that?

That would be pretty fucking weird, wouldn’t it? Well, what’s the difference between me stripping in front of kids and drag queens stripping in front of kids?

Ah, I can hear some of you are saying that there is a difference, because Drag Time Story Hour serves the valuable purpose of promoting tolerance towards queer people. The ideological content of the show makes it okay somehow.

Okay, fine. What if I did a strip show which also promoted my political ideology? Here, I’ll give you an example. I’m a big believer in the value of psychedelic drugs, and I think that teenagers would be well-advised to take mushrooms and acid before the age of 16 (if they want to).

What if I made a strip show which also promoted the responsible use of psychedelic drugs? Would that make it okay?

I didn’t think so. But how would that be different from what these drag queens are doing?

Oh yeah, I’m straight and they’re queer. How could I forget?

DO DRAG SHOWS FOR KIDS CONSTITUTE “GROOMING”?

I’m not a parent and I don’t have strong feelings about grooming.

The word “grooming” has only entered the discourse recently, and I have my doubts about whether or not the threat exists to the extent that some folks in the conspiracy theory milieu seem to think it does.

I think that the woke zealots might actually be right about something for once - the “grooming panic” that right-wingers have twisted their knickers in a knot over might be yet another example of a moral panic.

I think that the Powers that Shouldn’t Be cackle with glee when we’re at each other’s throats.

I tend to agree with Bill Burr’s take on pedophiles.

That said, if an adult trains a child to have an attitude towards sexuality that makes it more likely that they that child will want to have sex with them in the future, I guess that is grooming. So I’ll concede that grooming is a real thing.

Iain Davis has a very nuanced, fair-minded take on this question. He writes:

According to the UK National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children(NSPCC) a sign of child-grooming is that the child exhibits "sexualised behaviour, language or an understanding of sex that's not appropriate for their age." The NSPCC describes the processes that lead to this sexualisation of children:

Children’s sexual development is shaped by their environment, experiences and what they see. [. . .] Sometimes children may have been sexually abused themselves and not understand that what happened to them was wrong.

The NSPCC considers that anything the child sees that leads the child to develop an age-inappropriate understanding of sex is abuse and part of the grooming process. Exposing children to such experiences is "wrong."

The NSPCC is particularly concerned about the "premature sexualisation of children" and the increased risks this presents to the child:

The premature sexualisation of children is an issue that concerns parents, politicians and policy makers alike. The NSPCC is particularly concerned about the extent to which sexualisation drives abuse or other harm to children.

There is nothing wrong with men and women dressing up in garish costumes to entertain children with age-appropriate song & dance routines or pantomime, etc. Nor is there anything wrong with appropriately dressed drag queens reading suitable stories to children.

But wearing bondage gear, thongs and nipple tassels, simulating sex acts, exposing yourself or adorning a comedy erect phallus in front of children is "wrong." The NSPCC are among the child protection organisations that consider this a form of "grooming."

If anyone performs lewd acts in front of children that is a form of abuse. Should drag queens be excused from this adult responsibility?

Amen to that.

WHY DO TRANS PEOPLE THINK THAT THEY’RE ENTITLED TO RIGHTS THAT THE REST OF US AREN’T?

One of the annoying things about trans ideologues is their belief that they are entitled to rights that other people aren’t.

For instance, they tend to believe that trans rights include the right to control what other people can say about them.

Trans ideologues want people to think that it is hateful and violent to refer to someone with the wrong pronoun, or by their “dead name”, which is often their legal name.

They also tend not to like it when people point out that biological sex is real, and often believe that folks who say such things should face consequences, up to and including acts of physical violence.

I only started speaking up about trans ideology after it was adopted by the Trudeau regime as part of their friendly, inclusive fascism, but really, the line was crossed years ago.

As a wise man named Brother Ali once said, human rights are only pure when they’re applied universally.

Straight people don’t have the right to control what people say about them, do they? So why should trans people have that right?

I’m quite sure that people will look for hatred in my words, but all I’m really saying is that trans people should have the same rights as cis people.

Is that really so hard of a pill to swallow?

I FULLY SUPPORT MY COMRADE DAVE AMIS

Dave makes it clear that he stands by his words, and his comrades have his back.

He was basically excommunicated from his anarchist community in the U.K. because of his heretical, unacceptable views, but Nevermore is the anarchist journal of heresy and thoughtcrime, and we aren’t into disowning our friends for thinking the wrong thing.

And that’s the thing with cancel culture - it only works if people are too afraid to stand up for their friends when they come under fire.

We’ve been through the storm, and we’ve emerged on the other side of it stronger than ever.

What the editors of Montreal Counter-Info don’t get is that the woke reign of terror is over. We’ve gotten wise to how cancel culture works, and now we’ve got our own platforms and our own milieu, and we can say what we want.

Don’t like them bones? Too fucking bad. Going forward, you’re going to have to compete in a free marketplace of ideas just like the rest of us.

Or you could double down, bury your head in the sand, and insulate yourself within an echo chamber of people who think just like you do. Your call.

Captain Sensible is obviously principled, level-headed, and intellectually honest.

If the woke mob thinks that it’s some kind of sin to think that it’s a little weird that adults are putting on strip shows for children to promote their paraphilia, it just goes to show how completely out of touch with reality they are.

Without further ado, I present Dave’s defence of his stance on trans ideology.

Standing by my Words

by Captain Sensible (The Stirrer)

Some of you may be aware that I write for Nevermore under the name of The Stirrer. The Nevermore project emerged in 2020 as a critical response to the seemingly wide acceptance by many anarchists of the narrative we were being fed during the Covid lockdowns, as explained here: What We’re About. It's evolved since then, now featuring many articles trenchantly opposing the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the transhumanist agenda that's an intrinsic part of it. To get an idea of the kind of views you'll read on Nevermore, here's the page listing their writers: Contributors.

With an eclectic and arguably controversial list of writers, the Nevermore project has ruffled a few feathers to put it mildly. I've had stick from a number of former comrades for contributing articles to Nevermore. This is the inevitable price to pay for thinking critically rather than thinking tribally. It's a price I'm more than willing to pay as I explained in this piece: Honesty vs tribalism 17.2.23. For the record, while I contribute to Nevermore, I don't always agree with every article that gets published there. The contributors are mature enough to agree to disagree and to then have a discussion about those disagreements. All done without falling out with each other. It's an approach I would highly recommend.

Recently, it's been drawn to my attention that someone has written a 'hit piece' on Nevermore. The piece is by an anonymous writer and was published on Montreal Counter-Information. Here it is if you want to read it: On Crow, Fascist Drifts, and People Who Are Not Comrades. The main focus of the piece was on the comrade who set the ball rolling with Nevermore, Crow Qu'appelle who back in the 'before times' was a contributor to Montreal Counter-Information. This is Crow's response: Great news! The pro-coms are trying to cancel me! 25.6.23. Also coming in for a fair bit of stick is Paul Cudenec who amongst other things, publishes The Acorn.

In my guise as The Stirrer, I get a passing mention in this 'hit piece'. Here it is in full:

Nevermore has featured articles from The Stirrer (a UK TERF blog) since 2021, and Nevermore itself has referred its readers to Jennifer Bilek’s9 work on more than one occasion. In 2022, an article published on Nevermore claimed that“in an increasingly pornified culture, [Drag Queen Story Hour events] are leading to the sexualisation of children, removing innocence from their lives.”10 More recently, another article on the site claimed that drag “is a parody that plays on every regressive gender stereotype that’s put on women” and “reinforces gender stereotypes,” and then compared drag to blackface.11

The two articles referred to above that I wrote can be found here: 10 Where the f**k do we go from here? and here: 11 Why do I do this to myself?

There's a lot the anonymous contributor to this 'hit piece' could have focused on when it came to my contributions as The Stirrer so, it's interesting that they picked on what I had to say on drag queen story reading hours in particular and on drag in general. This selective quote implies that criticising the sexualisation of kids through drag queen story reading hours, and the way drag is a regressive parody of women, is somehow a 'bad thing' to do. Trust me on this, it's not a 'bad thing' to do, it's a social necessity!

In full, this is what I wrote about drag queen story reading hours in this piece - Where the f**k do we go from here?

There are Drag Queen Story Hour readings aimed at kids taking place across the country. Events that raised alarm bells for a fair few parents who rightly want a few years of innocence for their kids rather than being exposed to what is adult entertainment in the name of supposedly encouraging 'inclusivity'. Some elements have tried to defend the drag queen story events as nothing more than a slightly risqué form of pantomime. We had a look at what the defenders of these events have tried to pass off as pantomime and while it may be an admittedly subjective judgement, to our eyes, it looked like drag which, in our view, is strictly adult entertainment. Our concerns and those of many others is that in an increasingly pornified culture, these events are leading to the sexualisation of children, removing innocence from their lives. Whether this is intentional or not is the subject of some fierce debate, with those thinking this is intentional being branded as conspiracy theorists. It's perfectly understandable that a fair few parents are, at the least, very concerned about this development and at the most, absolutely livid.

The problem is that merely raising concerns about this gets you branded as 'homophobic', 'transphobic' and a 'bigot' amongst many other accusations. So as a consequence, many parents and grandparents feel that it's best to keep their views to themselves. Rather than object or protest, they choose to keep their heads below the parapet. While doing so, they are baffled that no one describing themselves as progressive is listening to and acknowledging their genuine concerns and engaging in an honest discussion about the issues at stake. Instead of an open discussion, we get a culture of name calling and cancelling. The inevitable consequence of this is the creation of a political vacuum.

So, it came as no surprise to us when we heard that the likes of Patriotic Alternative and their ilk saw this vacuum, recognised the opportunity it potentially offered them and, self-servingly, called a number of protests outside of these events. It's not the fault of the kids that they're being taken to these events: Bristol Drag Queen Story Hour targeted by protesters as police are called to libraries 28.7.22.However, the parents, grandparents and guardians taking kids to these drag queen story reading events really do need to be asking themselves a few searching questions. The question that has to be asked is this - is a noisy, potentially threatening picket the best way to persuade someone to do some long overdue soul searching?

Inevitably, when the likes of Patriotic Alternative and their ilk cynically seize the issue and turn out to picket and protest, there will be a Pavlovian response from Antifa and the like. As a consequence, a number of these protests were counter-protested by Antifa and their ilk, thereby ratcheting up the tension in an already emotive situation. As for the kids getting taken to these events, they end up as the cannon fodder in a toxic culture war being waged by two sets of supposed adults with diametrically opposing views and beliefs.

Sadly, we now have a situation where anyone raising concerns about the potential harms to kids of these drag queen story reading events is now automatically branded as being in league with the likes of Patriotic Alternative. Legitimate concerns are brushed aside and the accusations fly in the direction of anyone questioning the purpose of these events. Those defending these events and hurling the accusations are unwittingly creating more of a political vacuum for those with nefarious motives to exploit. Both sides are fanning the flames in a divisive and toxic culture war.

Then there's the Mermaids 'charity' and their now disgraced trustee, Jacob Breslow. Here's the lowdown on this character: Resigned Trans Youth Charity Trustee Authored Blog on “Minor Attraction,” Praised a Child Porn Creator - Genevieve Gluck | Reduxx | October 7, 2022. This Twitter thread from @hatpinwoman does a better job than we could in explaining the dubious connections Breslow has. Mermaids are now under investigation from the Charity Commission as a result of this and a number of other issues, including safeguarding: Transgender charity Mermaids under investigation 29.9.22. Even though the writing is well and truly on the wall for all to see regarding Mermaids, there are 'anarchists' doubling down to defend them.

In full, this is what I wrote about drag in this piece - Why do I do this to myself?

Let’s deal with drag queens with particular reference to drag queen story time readings for kids. I’m struggling to get my head round that concept, I really am. Not just because it’s attacking the innocence kids should be able to enjoy. It’s also because as far as I’m concerned, drag is a parody that plays on every regressive gender stereotype that’s put on women. It reinforces gender stereotypes when now more than ever, they need to be challenged so women can lead the fullest life possible without being judged on how they look or behave. It’s not asking much is it?

Blackface is rightly condemned as crude, racist stereotyping. So, why are demeaning parodies of women not only allowed to go unchallenged, but instead, they’re actively promoted? Anti-fascists would rightly be angered at a pub putting on a blackface show so why the f**k do they turn out to defend drag queen events aimed at kids because a few people choose to protest against them? Yes, I know the likes of Patriotic Alternative are involved in the protests against these drag queen events. As I’ve said more times than I care to remember, when anarchists, anti-fascists and the Left, leave a political vacuum by dismissing the concerns of ordinary people about events like drag queen story readings for kids, the reactionaries will step in to fill it. That, my former comrades, is the price you pay for being tone deaf.

Let's get this straight once and for all, as far as I'm concerned, the criticisms made above are perfectly justified and I'll stand by every word I've written on these issues. If there are consequences for doing this, I really don't care. With two grandchildren, I've got plenty of skin in the game on this one and have absolutely no intention of backing down. If this offends or angers any of my former 'comrades', so be it. If you're defending drag queen story reading hours in any way, shape or form, you're no comrade of mine, that's for sure.