plant your hope with good seeds, don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds

[frith_in_thorns]

Hello! This is mainly of use to people currently in Oxford. But I shall spam everyone with it anyway. Since I spend most of my LJ time spamming Ox-friends with fandom, it seems only fair :P

To copy the blurb I wrote for the Facebook event:

"On the week beginning 25th March, Exeter College is hosting the group Christian Concern to hold a conference. Christian Concern (http://www.christianconcern.com/) is anti-lgbtq rights, anti-Islam, and anti-choice.

We believe that these values have no place in Oxford and should not be implicitly supported by allowing the group to hold a conference here. Therefore we will be protesting on Turl Street, outside the conference, to make it clear that Oxford, and the student body, is absolutely opposed."

An article written for the Guardian about the situation is here.

So! I'm pretty sure I invited nearly all of you via FB, but this is another plug in case you'd forgotten. Come and join us, from 11 by the Missing Bean. We've not been allowed to know exactly when the people are arriving, so we'll potentially be there all afternoon, come and join us any time. Bring banners and stuff! (Don't bring glitterbombs, it's bad for the environment and we promised Exeter we wouldn't. Also we really don't want to be in trouble with the police.)

Also, in case it's unclear: This is in no way an anti-Christianity protest, many of the protesters identify as Christians. This is a protest against the hosting (and therefore implicit/implied support or at least lack-of-problem-with) a group with political pull which in the UK is one of the main campaigners against gay marriage, against abortion, against people who are non-Christian.

The LGBTQ campaign had a banner-painting picnic this afternoon in the parks, some photos are below the cut for your entertainment. I'm the one with the dinosaur t-shirt and the extremely frizzy hair, if you wanted to know. Also the one who's signs look like they were made by a 10-yr-old XD (I like rainbows, okay :P)







Expect a photo-heavy post tomorrow evening of how it goes! :D

Comments

[aristh]

Ah, never mind my asking about the protest. This is what comes of reading my flist in reverse chronological order, really!

[helle-d.livejournal.com]

Woe that I am not currently in Oxford to protest alongside you and your pretty banners. And SO MUCH RAGE at Exeter for taking their money and refusing to cancel 'because it would be rude'. When you see the whole list of despicable things that Chrisitan Concern is concerned about, it is infuriating how then can try to justify such hateful beliefs with their religious background. RAGE.

[frith_in_thorns]

Woe indeed! You can rage with us in spirit. It is indeed very infuriating...

It occurred to me earlier, though, that if this by some impressive feat got picked up by the national media or something, this would be a pretty hilarious way to out myself to my father and his side of the family XD

[helle-d.livejournal.com]

Oof, that would be ... an interesting experience. Also highly unlikely? At least you wouldn't be covered in glitter...

[frith_in_thorns]

It would be HILARIOUS. :D

[helle-d.livejournal.com]

I am wishing, then, that it would happen. As long as you had a safe distance away to observe the hilarity from...

[dmk0064.livejournal.com]

More power to you!

[dmk0064.livejournal.com]

Ps nice to see a face to go with a lj

[frith_in_thorns]

:D Thank you! It should be fun. Interesting, at any rate!

[(Anonymous)]

I support you in spirit.

[frith_in_thorns]

Thank you! :)