UBC Accountable and Men's Rights Activists

Hello Everyone, We are at 516 signatures for the counter-letter. It's amazing how they keep coming in. Read the comments if you feel down about the world. I know that there are students and the precariously employed in Canada who have felt that they can't speak up regarding the Galloway case and the UBC Accountable letter, and that those comments truly help them. Thank you so much. We have successfully changed the conversation about Galloway--it is not possible to discuss what is happening without talking about the rights of the complainants and about what the UBC Accountable letter left out about them. It's also not possible to talk about the letter without talking about its silences. 18 signers so far agree, and have unsigned the UBC Accountable letter. But some of those still there are angry about the influence you, and others like the other petitions out there, are having. That anger is begining to take definite shape. Two Youtube videos by the Men's Rights Activist "Feminism LOL" about Galloway are circulating. They are full of speculation, and appear to endorse aspects of rape culture. The video maker also supported Jian Ghomeshi recently, in addition to other anti-feminist causes. There is also a blog post by Irene Ogrizek, a CEGEP teacher in Montreal, that contains potentially libelous material about the Galloway case, and has an analysis suggesting that "the conventional risk factors for rape" include "wearing a mini-skirt in the wrong part of town, or getting drunk at a party." There are factual inaccuraces in the post, in addition to sentiments that are offense to most if not all of you. I have included a link to Ogrizek's post below because I want you to know that this kind of material is beginning to circulate. I haven't shared the videos but they are easy to find on YouTube. I will say however, that advocates of UBCAccountable's position have promoted the videos on Twitter. That means at least some of those who signed the letter really do think that women are not to be believed or protected in the UBC process, or any process at all. In response to a question about whether they repudiate Ogrizek's post, there was silence on the #UBCAccountable thread. That is troubling too. It is disturbing to me that hate speech, misinformation and Men's Rights Activism are now beginning to surface, providing potential libelous material in the public sphere that attempts to identify and smear UBC staff and students, including complainants. For those of us who are writers, critics, and activists, I ask that you do whatever you can to analyse and resist these accounts, and push back against the rape culture that supports and perpetuates them. As always, respect to those in precarity who can't respond. I also think that these things are appearing because we have had a positive effect. For this, I thank you, always, and am moved by the messages of love and support that I have received, and the messages about what those who can't speak think about what we are doing. It means a lot, because things are getting ugly on Twitter, and that can be hard. I will keep asking writers of conscience to unsign the UBCAccountable letter. More than ever, I think that this matters. Regards, Julie Rak