Content warning: this post discusses harassment
Goldsmiths Welfare and Diversity Officer, Bahar Mustafa, has upset the right wing press. Her evil crime? Suggesting that women and non-binary people of colour should organise in their own autonomous spaces. The media outlets–coincidentally, owned and run by white men who like to yell over everyone else–are freaking the fuck out over not being welcome everywhere. And, of course, white cis men with “free thinker” in their twitter bios are tediously predictably jumping on the bandwagon that media barons want them to be aboard.
I could go from top to tail about why they’re wrong, but other writers have already said it, and better than I could. I recommend reading these articles by Sam Ambreen and Lola Olufemi, as well as the open letter from Goldsmiths students. Suffice to say, there’s a lot of foolishness coming from Bahar’s detractors.
There is one point I would like to add to the above. Bahar’s detractors are fixated on her ethnicity as a Turkish Cypriot, and keep churning out burbled nonsense about how this makes her the oppressor in Cyprus (and personally responsible for the Armenian genocide). As a Greek Cypriot, let me just say this is one of the most absurd things I’ve ever heard, and they are mixing up Turkish Cypriots–a Turkish speaking ethnic group who’ve lived on the island for centuries, and the state of Turkey (which perpetrated the Armenian genocide and invaded Cyprus). So, as a Greek Cypriot, these shitbrains really need to stop using me and mine as a shield in their risible crusade against a young woman of colour.
Bahar has done nothing wrong, and everything right. Every screech coming from her detractors strengthens the case that white people must be excluded from BME safe spaces, and men must be excluded from women’s spaces, and that cis white men should basically be excluded from life generally. As a little experiment, tweet the hashtag #supportbaharmustafa, offering your support, and see how many white men reply to you with their absolutely ignorant opinions about what racism is, and their demands to be educated, and the boring and wrong shit about Bahar’s ethnicity, and their #GamerGate hashtagged profiles.
Imagine these people being in the spaces they demand access to, yelling over the real conversation. At best, they’d be demanding to be spoonfed 101 information they could easily google, like squawking gannets. These are people who want everything to be all about them, all the time. They should–and must–be excluded from spaces so that actual organising can be done.
Join me in supporting Bahar Mustafa, for her strong stance on how organising should work. And hear every single detractor proving her more and more right.
P.S. Yep, I’m white. That space isn’t for me. It’s still important, because unlike the pissbabies, I know the world doesn’t revolve around me.
Another angry woman 
“Bahar has done nothing wrong, and everything right”
(Does this include use of the “kill all white men” imperative?)
Yep, maybe try researching my opinions on the matter before coming in asking facile questions.
Why are men so absolutely fucking useless at even using google?
Fine I’m going to create a safe space for cis white men and that’s it…is it discrimination?
There’s already one of those, sweetcheeks. It’s called “the world”.
The really stupid thing about this is that the kind of people who complain about it are not the people who would attend these events in the first place. That is, even if they were allowed access to ‘safe spaces’, they wouldn’t go (except perhaps to harass) as they have no interest in social justice. Their only interest is in stopping others from organising.
No one who actually understands what privilege and oppression are about complains about being excluded from an event for oppressed groups; those who complain justify their own exclusion.
No, it was for the calling of murder of the white race.
I bet you will not share this comment or allow it to post.
Think of your reasons and why you will not share it, then think to yourself “Is this path I am on the correct one for a better world?”
Of course I’m going to share this post. I want the world to see that poor little Andy Keene doesn’t understand rhetoric, bombastic statements or the directionality of structural violence.
The poor little pet.
I know that you will not share my comment, but, here I go:
How about the women that will be killed, because some men read the Mustafa stupid joke? What do you say?? I bet you say… Collateral damage!!
Why do some lesbians like yourself have to be so stupid?? Why the gay community, taht I belong, must have stupid people like yourself??
You know whose fault that is? The men who murder, using a joke as an excuse.
As the Margaret Atwood quote goes, “Men are afraid women that will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” So, in your own way, thanks for showcasing this perfectly with your threat.
I’ll make sure it’s passed through networks that men are planning violent crime in retaliation, and we’ll make ourselves safer by keeping men far, far away.
Er… no, sorry sweetie, you’re the stupid one here.
I am a straight white male and by virtue of those three characteristics am incredibly privileged indeed. And most of the time I am not even aware of it which is exactly how privilege manifests itself in the first place. So if those who are less privileged than myself wish to create a safe space where they can feel entirely comfortable in being open about their experiences it is not my place to open my straight white privileged mouth and start complaining because I am excluded from that particular group. Although if I did I would actually be demonstrating with total clarity why they need to exist in the first place. In an ideal world one could sit around a table and discuss absolutely anything without fear of prejudice or discrimination as everyone would be genuine equals. But unfortunately one does not live in such a world. So one needs to take back seat when those less privileged want to discus how they feel in relation to all that. And so the best thing one can do is to just let them be and if public pronouncements are subsequently made to just listen to what is being said without trying to impose upon it by reinforcing one own axes of privilege. I should add that I only speak for myself here and not all straight white males
If you guys didnt have 20-30,000 people blocklisted you would realise that support for Bahar Mustafa is across the spectrum, especially by the anti-identity politics and free speech crowd as criminalising offence (in particular perception of offence as defined by the lived experiences of the individual) is the primary goal of the regressives, and safe space and trigger culture relies on criminalising of offence to maintain the safe space.
Even bloody gamergate has a large faction supporting her lead by Nero.
If true (and somehow I doubt it) I want to see you all tweeting #KillAllWhiteMen and #JeSuisBahar and nothing else. bc all I see is you lot bleating about how she deserves it and getting excited about criminality.
I have only a few hundred blocked who have personally attacked me. This comment is nonsense.
Well yeah, obviously. I think he’s just bitter and lonely that women don’t want to listen to his special snowflake words.
content warning: this guy is really problematic
I approach this from the perspective of my non-white, Muslim/apostate identities, and where I apply intersectionality and my lived experiences as a minority in defence of other problematic minority identities that are persecuted by social justice culture, and also how this ties into free speech issues. I am not your ally. I am problematic, I am an outspoken asshole.
I take back my blocklist comment, having made the incorrect assumption that this particular part of the community are users of Blockbot and other lists.
The Communications Act defines offense or concern of threats as of the perception of the complainant, i.e the person who complained about Bahar to the authorities.
The law ignores lived experiences, personal truths, privilege theory et al and is only concerned with the perception of the offended/threatened individual, which in this case, is highly likely to be someone who identifies as a white right winger. They are applying identity politics and the existing law to persecute Bahar and her right to express her views, and only to prove a point and silence what they see as another uppity SJW, there is clearly no danger posed by Bahars comments and I suggest this is entirely fake concern.
This is the issue with yearning for protection from offence from the law, the law doesn’t care about privilege theory or peoples personal definitions of who can be offended. i.e Bahars defence using power+prejudice and structural racism in that she cannot be racist against white men is very unlikely to work in a court of law, which operates using evidence, logic, facts and reason, not experience, feelings and values. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe a court of law will agree with Bahar, but I suspect I am not. All they can do is apply the existing (badly worded) law from a detached, non-personal, non-emotional viewpoint. The more criminalisation of offence/cyberviolence is pushed, the more your dreaded white men, Tories and patriarchy will use it to their own ends.
I do believe a kickstarter for Bahars defence fund is being organised (or at least being pushed) by the freespeech/anti-identity politics faction regarding this, as tweeting hashtags to show support isn’t really going to help Bahar, or indeed, anyone.
Ok she doesn’t need a defence fund. I take it nobody’s asked her, because they’re ghastly, bad-faith misogynists.
So show solidarity by not being anti identity politics, she doesn’t want your money, but action and learning
You stand in solidarity? Ok then, tweet Bahar’s messages from your own account and identify yourself to the police. Oh, so your solidarity amounts to hectoring from the side lines?
I’ve clearly already blocked you on twitter, haven’t I, if it’s escaped your notice.
Hang on, Mustafa is Turkish Cypriot. An identity built on the backs of the blood, oppression and genocide of the Armenians and Cypriots, something the Turks STILL won’t admit to, and yet she claims oppression? I know a Greek Cypriot from university who told me some horrifying stories about the war crimes of the Turks, and a Turk plays victim while hiding in an identity built on a pile of corpses.
I’m Greek Cypriot. Don’t fucking presume to explain to me the fucking situation based on what someone you once chatted to told you, which you clearly fucking processed through your know-nothing brain.
In fact, the tensions in Cyprus were down to situations created by the British.
Now fuck off, trashbag.
Excellent post finally a white person who admit white privilege and that whiteness isn’t the centre of the world.Keep writing hun.