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Damien Donnelly

@ddonnelly.bsky.social

860 followers 580 following 1.7K posts

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Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · Feb 8

A wee reflection on section 28/2A I wrote for LGBT History Month:

Ungagged! @ungagged.bsky.social · Feb 8

@ddonnelly.bsky.social explores the Legacy of Section 2A and finishes by saying, "We will not allow their identities to become unspeakable again."

It's a fascinating read to get to that conclusion.

leftungagged.org/2025/02/08/s...

Section 2A: The Legacy - Ungagged!

Damien Donnelly writes - "We will not allow their identities to become unspeakable again."

leftungagged.org

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Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 3h

Yeah - maybe you should read a book about right wing propaganda.

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Reposted by Damien Donnelly

Tristan Grayford @tristangrayford.scot · 3h

I think it would have surprised even the most pessimistic if you'd told people during the 2024 campaign that a year into Government Starmer's team would be negatively briefing against the ECHR and Council of Europe for daring to question their assault on trans rights

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Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 3h

I'll be calm again when this global wave of fascism is done, thanks.

Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 3h

I'm not presuming anything about TS' intentions but using 'protect the family' as a slogan (which is how it appears when plastered on merch) is a well-worn right wing tactic.

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Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 6h

Aww that's sweet

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Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 6h

It's not about getting to claim anything. This is a well-worn right wing trope. If you are going to deny what it actually says on the hat then there's no point in discussing anymore. Enjoy your overpriced and problematic hat!

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Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 6h

I know it's directly from the lyrics but surely you understand how snipping that part AND highlighting 'protect the family' specially is the issue. It's not ceding language to simply not choose to highlight a dogwhistle phrase on merchandise. Lots of lyrics to choose from.

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Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 6h

It *is* a dog whistle, whether it's intended or not. I didn't say it's political; I mentioned the political context (the US being marched into right wing authoritarianism). Of course it's about individual interpretation but I'm saying she should know it's a dog whistle.

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Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 7h

Of course they don't but that doesn't take away from the point I'm making. Dog whistles rely on plausible deniability and political context.

Reposted by Damien Donnelly

Jordan @jordanpfot.bsky.social · 8h

Very good letter from the human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe about the troubling legal situation emerging for trans people in the UK following the For Women Scotland Supreme Court judgment.

rm.coe.int/letter-to-pa...

rm.coe.int

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Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 8h

Yes it is. It doesn't matter who's wearing it. Based on your responses, you seem to know that 'protect the family' is potentially problematic and that's all I've pointed out. Megastars need to be more careful.

Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 8h

It is, though...

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Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 13h

I know and I have listened. Do you understand the connotations of putting the words 'protect the family' on a hat in the current political context?

Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 1d

I've seen lots of 'Taylor Swift has gone conservative/maga/trad wife' discourse and maintained a level of benefit of the doubt. However, I've just seen this 'Protect the Family' baseball cap in her new merch range and...wow. surely she can't not know!

Web page headed Taylor Swift with URL showing it's the UK online store. Picture of a baseball cap with 'leave it with me. I protect the family' embroidered on the front. Price shown is £30.

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Reposted by Damien Donnelly

Helen 🏳️‍⚧️✊🏻💕 @mimmymum.bsky.social · 2d

The ‘Transit’ gender clinic in Spain has a 3 WEEK waiting list! 😳😳😳

It covers a population of 8 million, (equivalent to the population of Scotland & Wales combined, or 1/7th of the population of England) It has a total of 43 staff, a majority of whom are part-time, working 6-7 hours per week!

Trans health waiting lists are a political choice

I’m just back from an awesome trans healthcare conference in Norway (blog on that to follow). Here I wanted to share information from a presentation by the founder of the transit trans health…

growinguptransgender.com

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Reposted by Damien Donnelly

pickwick @pickwick.bsky.social · 2d

"ban antifa" in practice means "make it illegal to be left-wing" and that's the point

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Reposted by Damien Donnelly

James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 5d

I’ve been saying this for ten years now but possibly not often enough: Ask Them What They Think The Words They’re Using Mean. And then ask them to name the ‘problematic’ people. We had ‘sovereignty’, ‘laws’ & ‘unelected bureaucrats’. The US now has ‘Antifa’, the ‘radical left’ & ‘insurrection’. Ask!

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Reposted by Damien Donnelly

Jess O'Thomson @jessothomson.co.uk · 5d

It cannot be made clearer.

If you continue to support the Harry Potter franchise in any way, you are directly funding the removal of trans people's human rights in the UK.

JK Rowling pledges to keep up fight against SNP trans policies

Author vows to bankroll campaigners after Scottish government fails to pay group's legal fees in Supreme Court equality case

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Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 5d

I am dying to know if this is who first came to my mind. A man?

Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 6d

My favourite thing about all the Taylor Swift discourse on TikTok is how much I'm hearing Charli XCX's Sympathy Is a Knife and finally realising what a tune it is 🤯

Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 6d

That'll help all the rising bigotry

Reposted by Damien Donnelly

Aliza Adi (she/her) @alizaadi.bsky.social · 6d

On a national stage, Kate Barker, CEO of the LGB Alliance, called Trans+ healthcare “grotesque”

When a charity leader uses such extreme and hostile language about life-saving care and Trans+ people, it raises serious questions about the group’s charity status and it's influence on government

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Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 7d

Except when it's propaganda about trans people, you mean?

Reposted by Damien Donnelly

Tanja Bueltmann @tanjabueltmann.net · 7d

I say this with the bluntness it requires: they will get people murdered if this continues. This is not just populism anymore either: it’s completely unhinged and a deliberate choice that does endanger lives. I am not saying this lightly at all.

Screenshot of an Express article; it says: Robert Jenrick lists 30 'activist judges' he vows to axe in war on UK's open border

In a bold move, Robert Jenrick is set to unveil a controversial plan targeting what he calls 'activist' judges, at the Conservative Party conference.

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Damien Donnelly @ddonnelly.bsky.social · 7d

How can people who stand on the wrong side of the escalator, when everyone is rushing to work, not know what they're doing? Sometimes I'll say 'excuse me' when I'm in a rush and they always act like I've scared them 😭

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