Banknote campaigner's Twitter rape threats ordeal: Bloke, 21, cuffed

A 21-year-old man was arrested on Sunday after a feminist campaigner was repeatedly sent abusive messages - including rape threats - on Twitter. Scotland Yard said in a statement to The Register that the suspect was cuffed in Manchester over claims of harassment. The Met added: The arrest is in connection with an allegation …

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, if this is specifically about the rape threat....

A rape threat is a rape threat, regardless of the medium. If they've tracked the Twitter account back to the right person of interest, he will likely do some well deserved time.

[Evil Auditor]

Re: Well, if this is specifically about the rape threat....

AC, I couldn't agree more.

[Loyal Commenter]

Re: Well, if this is specifically about the rape threat....

Absolutely agree, it sounds as if this was a credible, repeated, and particulalrly nasty threat made by a thoroughly unpleasant individual. The medium is irrelevant, other than forming the means by which the perpetrator is identified.

Compare and contrast with the ridiculous case some time ago where a totally non-credible and clearly jokey 'threat' was made on Twitter about Robin Hood airport, where the prosecutors jumped in with both jack-boots, and cries of 'terrorist' without thinking.

The sort of unpleasantness exemplified here illustrates the real perils to our society come not from oveblown terrorist threats, but from the much less publicised sociopathy that we seem to allow to go unpunished. I'm glad to see that this is not the case here. Lets hope that the individual involved gets more than a slap on the wrist.

[Daniel B.]

Re: Well, if this is specifically about the rape threat....

Compare and contrast with the ridiculous case some time ago where a totally non-credible and clearly jokey 'threat' was made on Twitter about Robin Hood airport, where the prosecutors jumped in with both jack-boots, and cries of 'terrorist' without thinking.

Or the more recent case of Justin Carter. Now even making sarcastic jokes flagged as being jokes can land you in jail. Incredibly stupid.

At least this case does seem to be based on actual threats, not only stupid people jumping the gun...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Well, if this is specifically about the rape threat....

Unless it would seem it is a threat against someone the public doesn't like, in which case a rape and murder threat are A OK

[S4qFBxkFFg]

Re: Well, if this is specifically about the rape threat....

Source?

[Craigness]

Re: Well, if this is specifically about the rape threat....

Did The Register see any rape threats or are they just joining the throng and reporting it as fact? Criado-Perez herself tweeted these links as evidence of the abuse she received, but there is only 1 which could be considered a rape threat (and it's not credible unless you believe the people behind the tweet would rape all the police).

http://iwillnotputupwiththis.blogspot.mx/2013/07/more-misogyny-now-with-side-order-of.html

http://iwillnotputupwiththis.blogspot.mx/2013/07/and-they-just-keep-getting-braver.html

Here's the first in the series on that blog, which wasn't on the same tweet:

http://iwillnotputupwiththis.blogspot.mx/2013/07/twitter-land-of-brave.html

Using the word "rape" does not constitute a threat. But in some people's little minds a poor-taste joke about women belonging in the kitchen is a rape threat. Note that Criado-Perez retweeted the tweet which asked for the alleged "rape threat" to be pointed out, so she must have known people wanted to see the evidence. Why not point out actual rape threats?

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-W7N1nuQAmkQ/UfLmLAzWj4I/AAAAAAAAAEM/qM4-wGi5xP0/s640/blogger-image--1251756416.jpg

I also saw a tweet which stated someone posted "what they thought was CP's address". Not that it would take long to know the minds of the people trolling her, but can anyone really be sure what that tweeter was thinking? And is being tweeted something which is not your address really such a threat?

As you might deduce, I spent a while on the case. I wanted to see if it was real or just the feminists' time-honored tactic of demanding victim status and claiming to be made uncomfortable. I didn't see any credible rape threats and only the 1 tenuous rape threat in total. If anyone can provide compelling evidence please do.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Well, if this is specifically about the rape threat....

So that one person who downvoted thinks it's perfectly acceptable to make threats of rape or death whether on the street on social media? wonder if they'd feel the same if one of their relatives (male or female) suffered the same torrent of abuse.

[Anonymous Coward]

Idiots breaks the law, idiot gets arrested.

So tell me why we need law changes?

[Professor Clifton Shallot]

Absolutely right - we do not need new restrictions on our freedom in order to control abuses on the internet and we shouldn't tolerate any such impositions.

[Anonymous Coward]

Who is asking for a law change or is that your default response to everything? No-one is asking for a law change, just to make it easier to report abuse when you are being deluged by people (men in this case) who don't like you voicing an opinion. The Police have been informed and they are following up inquiries....no law change requested. See?

[Amorous Cowherder]

As a bloke I signed the petition to get a woman on a banknote, the campaign was not just to make a point about the notes but to bring to attention the fact that women have contributed so much to our advancement as society yet their achievements are still not fully recognised by some brain-dead trogs who still seem to think that women should be seen and not heard. The irony of this situation is that the primary campaigner, remember that this is in the 21st Century, is being targeted in much the same way as the women she's standing up for were many years ago.

Most of us, both men and women, have grown up and see we both have equal parts to play in making society better, once again it's pathetic minority of bread-dead cretins that get all the attention for all the wrong reasons.

[Mad Mike]

Get rid of images of people

I'm all for getting rid of the varied images on the back of banknotes. All it does is encourage people to run campaigns to have someone from group X or group Y on it. Today it's women, tomorrow it'll be a black person or a homosexual or a XYZ. All it does is cause division all the time. No matter what you do, there'll always be some group or another that feels it hasn't been equally represented. We don't have images of notable people on the backs of coins, so why do so on notes?

This isn't to say I denigrate the impact women have made on society and the leaps they have caused/supported. It's just I'm fed up with all these pressure groups all the time.

[pepper]

Re: Get rid of images of people

Not a bad idea actually, pre euro we had notable dutchman residing on our notes, the euro has structures on it(bridges, something else etc). Not very recognizable except some sort of span bridge and a roman double layered viaduct.

[Tom_]

Re: Get rid of images of people

We should get rid of images all together and just have plain banknotes!

[FredBloggsY]

Re: Get rid of images of people

... or print a government health warning on them.

[Smig]

Re: Get rid of images of people

"Fiat Currency is bad for your financial health".

Mine's the one with the silver helmet.

[Loyal Commenter]

Re: Get rid of images of people

So you are saying you would have a problem with banknotes having images of black people or homosexuals on them? Personally I have no problem with images of people on bank notes - if the person has made a contribution to the history of this country, I see no problem with them on the back of a bank note.

The real problem is that until relatively recently, pretty much everything in this country was run by upper-class white males (some woud argue that it still pretty much is), which means that when you make a list of famous people from this country, that one particular socio-economic group is over-represented.

I think it's only reasonable to put more women on bank-notes, as there are a fair number of women who have made a valuable contribution to this Country.

Alan Turing would too have been a good choice, not because he was homosexual, which should be considered an irrelvance in such things, but because of the contribution he has made to computing.

I think it is wrong to suggest that ampaigning for such people to be on the notes causes division, except amongst those who are already prejudiced. In a way, it helps society by allowing us to see who the arseholes are.

At the end of the day, it can be summed up as two questions; should we have people on our banknotes, and personally I think we should; and who should they be, and I think they should be anyone who has made a positive contribution, regardless of colour, creed or gender.

[MrXavia]

Re: Get rid of images of people

I'd be very happy with alan turing being on the bank notes, he made a great contribution, I always found the focus on his sexuality an indication of bad education in society.

I think a change-up of who is on the notes every 10 years or so is a good idea.

Whether they are women/man heterosexual/homosexual black/white/yellow/green as long as they were British and have contributed to society in some way.

[Mad Mike]

Re: Get rid of images of people

@MrXavia.

Absolutely agree. So, why was the campaign for a woman? Why was it not for a named person with their accomplishments listed?

[Bronny]

Re: Get rid of images of people

There was a campaign for a woman because the update in the notes meant that no woman was currently represented on any bank note (and no, the Queen does not count). It's all very well saying only use the best person regardless of gender, but who draws up the short list of candidates? If there are no women on the list they can't be considered for selection.

The Bank of England are bound to follow equality guidelines in their selection and to prove they do so - they didn't and can't so they caved in. That was the point of the case being taken to court. The fact it needed to go to court shows that the short lists are not fairly filled, hence the need for a campaign to ensure half the contributions of over hald the British population were recognised.

[Babbit55]

Re: Get rid of images of people

I say get Turing on there! then we can have 2 queens on 1 note!

[Seanie Ryan]

Re: Get rid of images of people

@loyal commander

"So you are saying you would have a problem with banknotes having images of black people or homosexuals on them?"

Dont think he said that at all.. how did you get that from his post?

Anyway, deciding to have no images of people on the notes so that there are no divisions of opinion just means you are giving in to negatives. Not a solution.

Plus it will only create a division of its own.. those who want images and those who dont. Then those who do will only want X images, not Y. So back to square 1

Solution? Just do it and let the idiots get over themselves.

Crap. I just realised there's a dictator in me trying to get out !!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Get rid of images of people

You probably need to work on your reading comprehension skills...

[Mad Mike]

Re: Get rid of images of people

@Loyal Commenter.

I certainly don't mean that I would have a problem with anyone of any sexual orientation, colour, creed, sex etc.etc. Frankly, I don't care who is on them. Irrelevant to me. What I was pointing out is that people should be on there because of their contribution to the country. Therefore, saying we should have a woman on there is as bad as saying we should have a man etc. The comment should be that XYZ should be on there because they did this or that. Their sex, sexual orientation, colour etc. is not relevant, their actions are. As you rightly say, Turing could be a good candidate because of his brilliance and contribution, not because he was gay. However, just as the campaign was to put a woman on banknotes, the campaign would probably be to put a gay person on there. The campaign is focused on the wrong thing.

So, let's have campaigns to say XYZ person should be on there and list their contributions rather than campaigns to say XYZ group should be represented.

Hence, I get rather upset with pressure groups that say someone should be on there because of some 'group' they're in. As people seem obsessed with grouping people by some characteristic rather than their acts, the easiest way is simply not to have anyone on there.

[Omgwtfbbqtime]

Re: Get rid of images of people

Turing? ok but I would prefer Eddington first. Another with alternative lifestyle choices.

I believe the rules are similar to stamps - nobody who is alive except for Her Maj.

Though I would say that Maggie is not a good choice for a maybe another 50 years - by the same token bLiar and Broon should never be depicted.

Famous women? Nightingale and Fry have been done....

Ada Lovelace.

EOM

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Get rid of images of people

@Mad Mike - If a particular group isn't well represented in society, I have absolutely no problem with a petition being brought to the powers that be, in order that they are represented in credible manners. Why would I not?

I look forward to seeing Alan Turin or Mary Seacole on a bank note.

[Mad Mike]

Re: Get rid of images of people

@AC.

You don't get around bias by simply introducing another bias. Positive biases are as bad as negative biases. Therefore, campaigning for a woman is as bad as campaigning for a man. The campaign should be for an individual with the reason being their accomplishments.

It's just like in employment. You want the best person, regardless of whether they're male/female, gay/straight, black/white etc. So, you need to look at their qualifications and abilities, not their 'grouping'. By campaigning for a woman, you're simply campaigning for a grouping and being as biased as those who chose not to put that 'grouping' on banknotes in the past.

It's all about the individual regardless of their 'group'. So, by all means campaign for a person, but based on their contribution, not their 'grouping'.

[Blitterbug]

Re: tomorrow it'll be a black person or a homosexual...

... or other strange and unrepresentative types...?

[Mad Mike]

Re: tomorrow it'll be a black person or a homosexual...

@Bitterbug.

I was merely commenting on the campaigning for a group rather than a person. Campaign for any person you like.

[jonathanb]

Re: Get rid of images of people

"Today it's women, tomorrow it'll be a black person or a homosexual or a XYZ."

Well I certainly would have no objection to Alan Turing appearing on a bank note. I can't think of a Black British person of a similar standing to him right now, but I think that is a good reason why you should put such a black person on a banknote so that they can become better known.

Personally I would have chosen Ada Lovelace rather than Jane Austen. I've nothing against Jane Austen, but I don't think she changed the world in quite the same way that Ada Lovelace did. A world without Jane Austen would be much the same as the one we are in now, as there are other authors of similar standing, however, a world where computers were just calculators would be a very different place. Also people think of programming as being a man's job, but they don't realise it was invented by a woman.

[Irongut]

Re: Get rid of images of people (jonathanb)

A world without Jane Austin? Oh what a utopia!

We wouldn't have all those hours of identical TV dramatisations of her terrible books. Maybe the TV people could do someone else's books, anyone else's books! (just not Dickens or Shakespeare, they do them too much already)

[Alice Glass]

Re: Get rid of images of people

Don't try to mis-represent this as being about minority groups demanding equal representation, women are 51% of the population.

[Cliff]

>>As a bloke I signed the petition to get a woman on a banknote

From '75-'92 we had Florence Nightingale on the tenner. Totally agree we should represent all contributors to Britain, not just ones with lumpy bits in the groin as opposed to chest.

As for ' tomorrow it'll be a black person or a homosexual or a XYZ' - I'd quite like to see Alan Turing, but not for being homosexual, but for his work.

[JimmyPage]

Re: >>As a bloke I signed the petition to get a woman on a banknote

Ok with Florence Nightingale, but out of curiosity, was Mary Seacole ever considered ?

If you need to click this link, you've kind of proved my point.

[King Jack]

I seem to remember that Florence Nightingale was on a bank note. Last time a checked, she was a woman.

I don't think any gender should get preference. Any one should be considered on merit. This Man v Woman shit is getting out of hand. Blame 'Girl power' and stupid TV like the apprentice who always pit male against female.

[Anonymous Coward]

No problem with a woman being on a note

But do a quick straw poll of every man you know and ask them to name a Jane Austen novel.

Now, do a quick poll and ask them to name a Mary Shelley novel.

Repeat with women, I guarantee you all the women could name one in each, the blokes fumbled for Austen but all named Shelley, so why have we got Austen? Okay, admittedly it's personal taste, very few men have probably read either Shelley or Austen but at least they know who the blazes Shelley is (that's Mrs Shelley, not Mr, in fact I don't think I can name anything he wrote either, his mate Keats however, I can).

[Frankee Llonnygog]

Re: No problem with a woman being on a note

I think you over-estimate people's literary knowledge. Most of my colleagues would struggle to name the author of the Da Vinci Code. They'd be able to name the Mary Shelley novel but only as the answer to "Name a film about a creature stitched together from body parts". They'd probably think Jane Austen wrote 50 Shades of Grey.

As for not being able to name anything written by the male Shelley, all I can say is, "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

[Kubla Cant]

Re: No problem with a woman being on a note

Most people's experience of 19th century novels is through the medium of TV and film adaptation.

There have been far more adaptations of Jane Austen than Mary Shelley, even allowing for the long tradition of Frankenstein films. Partly this is because Austen wrote more books, and partly because, in all honesty, she wrote better books.

Also, despite the adaptation entitled Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the story is better-known in the Boris Karloff and Hammer interpretations, which have a tenuous connection to the original author (or, indeed, the original story).

So I rather doubt that either sex knows more novels by Mrs Shelley. WRT Mr Shelley, a lot of people probably have some knowledge of Ozymandias, even if they don't know who wrote it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: No problem with a woman being on a note

Ozymandias? The geezer that sings at the front of Led Zeppelin?

[h3]

Re: No problem with a woman being on a note

Austen's books are boring. She is massively overrated (Maybe because she is female ?)

Read some James Joyce or Thomas Pynchon.

[Maharg]

Re: No problem with a woman being on a note

I would have to say that is more to do with education standards rather than any sexism on anyone’s part, I think you will be hard pressed to find many people who have read Shakespeare who were not forced to read it at school.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: No problem with a woman being on a note

Ok let's have Beatrice Potter and think of the export posibilites to the Mercan's and Japanese!

Easy.

[Ted Treen]

Re: No problem with a woman being on a note

Why should it?

I rarely get too see many of my banknotes:- SWMBO has usually sequestrated them, so a woman on banknotes seems apposite...

[Fink-Nottle]

Re: No problem with a woman being on a note

> do a quick straw poll of every man you know and ask them to name a Jane Austen novel.

• Allegro
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[Craigness]

If you signed the petition you're part of the problem, not part of the solution. Having no woman on the banknotes at a single point in time does NOT signify that no women have contributed to our society, it just means that we have only 4 bank notes and fewer than 25% of the people worthy of being on a banknote are women. In the top 100 of the BBC's greatest Britons only 12% were female. If we were to use that list as the source of banknote images, should the final 13 males on the list be replaced with less worthy females just to placate the feminazis? (Not that we should use the list - Tony Blair and Robbie Williams are on it!)

Should Montgomery of El Alamein be banned from the banknotes on the grounds of gender?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, signing the petition was not a problem. The use of feminiazi is part of the problem, the need to decry women's attempts to ensure equal portayal in our day to day lives. "Less worthy women" - I suspect that sums everything we need to know about you.

[Craigness]

Anonymous,

It's not about equality though, it's about ensuring women take up 25% of the places even though fewer than 25% of qualified people may be women. It doesn't matter that 51% of the population is female or that 6% is muslim or 10% is black or gay, in an EQUAL society we should select people based on their characters rather than their characteristics. Feminazi because they select for characteristics rather than for virtues alone.

There are some men less worthy of contention than other men, and some women less worthy than men. When there is a rule discriminating in favour of women, men will be overlooked. Your refusal to acknowledge this fact sums up everything we need to know about you.

[Anonymous Coward]

Your comments are laughable. You are really trying to suggest that there are so few women that have done anything of consequence that they don't deserve one banknote to themselves? Just bloody out yourself as a misogynist and have done with it, don't waste time trying to rationalise your sexist arguments. At least be honest with yourself if not us.

[Anonymous Coward]

petition to get a woman on a banknote,

There already is a woman on every banknote.

And on every coin too.

(but yes, I know: the point is that great figures from history were not all male)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: petition to get a woman on a banknote,

The point is that the Queen is not there as a result of her contribution to society, she's there because of her birthline. Imagine how it would feel, come the next monarch, if all other people on bank notes were women and you were told "shut up, you have a man on the notes what are you complaining about"?

[Stratman]

Being ultra picky, every banknote since 1953 has had a woman on it.

Mine's the one with the tenner in the pocket.

[h3]

I want one with the Prophet Muhammed on. (I suppose him being a paedophile makes that less acceptable).

Locking up people unnecessarily wastes the money of the taxpayer and police time for stuff that actually needs to be done. (They waste so much time on pointless stuff like the Saville thing the time to do anything about it was when he was alive. They failed).

Feminists are more like Female Supremacists, They want all the good parts but without any of the bad ones.

Bad really because most women are fine.

Anyway there is a woman on every bank note the Queen. So if making things fair is the goal. (For whatever pointless reason to balance out that woman then the other side should have a man on it).

Totally logical otherwise is unfair....

[JP19]

Re: As a bloke I signed the petition to get a woman on a banknote

Amorous Cowherder?

Someone who gathers and controls multiple females of the species with the desire to shag them?

So did you sign the petition to promote sexual equality, or did you sign it so you can tell all your lady friends about it in the hope of getting laid?

[AceRimmer]

All my banknotes...

...Already have a woman on them.

[mccp]

Re: All my banknotes...

The Queen does not count as a "woman of note" as there is a difference between attainment and an accident of birth.

[Peladon]

Re: All my banknotes...

If I may - I'll disagree :-).

Some, I believe, may consider the Eiffel Tower, the Parthenon, the Great Wall of China 'places of note'. And they were indeed 'attainments', if you will.

but, again if I may, I'll suggest Mount Everest is a thing of note - even though it is an accident of geography. That the Grand Canyon might also be considered in a similar light.

Is Queen Elizabeth II not 'of note' because her position (as opposed to anything anyone may or indeed may not think she has done through that position) is one of birth? I would suggest she is in fact 'of note'. In fact I'm fairly sure most places she turns up she's noticed. Or that 'note' is taken of her and her presence :-).

Of course, I'm probably wrong. After all, I'm...

The Idiot

[John G Imrie]

Re: All my banknotes...

The Queen does not count as a "woman of note"

That's because she's the woman on the note.

[DavCrav]

Re: All my banknotes...

"The Queen does not count as a "woman of note" as there is a difference between attainment and an accident of birth."

Accident of birth is almost certainly the primary reason why almost all historical figures are famous. Do you think there weren't a thousand people in Britain at the time capable of writing novels of the same quality as Austen if they had been switched at birth? Note that she was landed gentry, so in fact her position was mostly obtained by accident of birth, rather than attainment.

(I'm not picking on Austen, the same is true of most famous people in history: Churchill was the grandson of the 7th Duke of Marlborough; James Watt was a member of a prominent Scottish family; Elizabeth Fry's mother was part of the Barclays, of Barclays Bank, to choose some from banknotes current and new.)

[Anonymous Coward]

reason

Only reason she was targeted in this way is because she spent to much of her time campaigning, and not enough time ironing shirts and making sandwiches.

I'm joking, don't arrest me.

Also, the term troll, In this case the guy/s werent trolls, they were just bullying cretins with nothing better to do. A troll in my mind is some one who will say/do something clever to get a response. The person getting trolled won't see whats happening and falls for it. Tolling in this sense can be immensely funny but only if done right. Not with malice.

[pepper]

Re: reason

Agreed, insulting and trolling are different things, trolls usually try and provocate a response by posting something close to the topic at hand but ever so slightly off. A troll doesnt want to get insta-banned in most cases so wont go for the direct insult route.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: reason

Yeah, make a joke about women being threatened with rape and other vile things. Really funny. Hysterical. Bullying cretins? No, criminals.

[nsld]

Rewind three or four weeks

And some daft woman posted a joke about beheading help for heroes t shirt wearers and then went to the police when she got rape and murder threats and was herself prosecuted for a malicious communication.

I don't recall one single MP or feminist activist standing up to defend her in the wake of the threats of rape and murder she received.

I guess defending someone who made such a sick joke in the wake of the horrific murder of Lee Rigby is not as politically expedient as supporting a feminist yet the threats made where the same, the double standards on this are shocking, the message being that its ok to make threats of rape and murder dependent on the individual its aimed at.

A report abuse button on twitter would create a denial of service level of traffic given the amount of crap posted on twitter, no company could afford the manpower to deal with that, the simple solution is don't use twitter.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Rewind three or four weeks

My thoughts exactly.

Basically it's fine to threaten people the "public" don't like.

[Steve Davies 3]

Re: Rewind three or four weeks

That's where the words

'in the Public Interest' come in.

You can make up your own mind about who sits where on this.

A few verbals against someone pretty well all the population hate might be better than someone deciding to top said person.

However those same verbals against someone who has clearly done no wrong is probably the wrong side of the fence.

[Don Jefe]

Re: Rewind three or four weeks

Underrepresented groups have a very, very long history of using the same tactics they protest against on their 'oppressors'.

Their actions are defended by the fact they are doing it for a good cause; their cause. In their rabid drive to prove themselves they become the very thing they seek to destroy. Sad really.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Rewind three or four weeks

Like the Whale Wars people who think throwing stuff and getting in the way of a large moving object is OK until said object doesnt turn away in time, then the whalers are in the wrong of course, not the idiots in the small wooden floating thing.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Rewind three or four weeks

So the large moving object is 49% of the British population and the small wooden floating thing is 51% of the British population? Nice analogy. I'd be so pleased to be lumped in with the whalers f I were a British man.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Rewind three or four weeks

But Isn't that how the whole justice system works?

Threats of action if you do something that has been deemed 'wrong' in the eyes of greedy politicians?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Rewind three or four weeks

I think that's a case of 'Don't dish it out if you can't take it yourself'.

She was happy to do the cretinous bullying, but call the wah-wah-wambulance when she got it back...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Rewind three or four weeks

Cretinous bullying? No surprise that this article has encouraged the creeps to crawl out from under their stones. She took the Bank of England to court, not bullied, using the law. They caved because they couldn't prove the followed their own equality guidelines - that's their problem not hers. And because of that you think it's acceptable to receive death and rape threats? You're lovely, you know that? Your Mum would be so proud.

[Anonymous Coward]

While I don't by any means endorse the rape stuff...

Doesn't this prove that feminists have won everything when they're down to proving how done down they are by pointing to women on banknotes? And then to campaign for such an utter girls blouse as Jane Austen...

[Tom 7]

Re Anonymous Coward While I don't by any means endorse the rape stuff...

And if the feminists do win only a complete jerk would actually think they've lost anything valuable. Its not a battle for supremacy - just decency. When the feminists have won everything they (we) need to win we'll all be better off.

And would you really prefer a picture of Andy McNab on your tenner? He's definitely not a big girls blouse but I would hardly call his work insightful social commentary with some subtle biting irony that you may have missed the first time you read her works. I do feel that most people are put off the works they are forced to read in school when too young and cloistered to have a chance of grasping their content. Especially us males wot take a lot longer to grow up.

[Craigness]

Re: Re Anonymous Coward While I don't by any means endorse the rape stuff...

If you think it's about equality you've not been paying attention. Do they campaign to end violence or to end violence against women? Do they campaign to end genital mutilation or the genital mutilation of females? Do they campaign to get all people more equally represented in parliament or to get women into parliament? Do they campaign for equality in divorce courts? What about funding for disease research based on the number of people affected regardless of their gender?

I'm for equality, so I'm a humanist not a feminist.

[Zombie Womble]

@Craigness - Re: Re Anonymous Coward While I don't by any means endorse the rape stuff...

Hear, hear!

[Irongut]

Re: Re Anonymous Coward While I don't by any means endorse the rape stuff...

"When the feminists have won everything they (we) need to win we'll all be better off."

And there is the problem. They aren't trying to win everything they need to win. They are trying to win everything.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Re Anonymous Coward While I don't by any means endorse the rape stuff...

If you ask them they are entitled to half of everything anyway. Just because they have sex with men, I guess.

[MissingSecurity]

Re: Re Anonymous Coward While I don't by any means endorse the rape stuff...

They're not trying to "Win Everything"! Thier trying to gain equality. It's a battle that won't be one by females alone, of that I'm certain, enough males need to stand up and point out there is a major imbalance in this equality.

It's pretty ignorant to claim this is a male vs female battle for Supremacy. There is a major difference in status no matter how much to want to place double standards in the mix.

[Toastan Buttar]

@MissingSecurity

"there is a major imbalance in this equality."

This is a tech site. It's not an equality if there's an imbalance.

(a == b) // Balanced

(a < b) // Unbalanced

(a > b) // Unbalanced

Perhaps you meant to say "equation" or "inequality".

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't think that perhaps all the "rape stuff" shows that women still have a huge fight on their hands (and men as well because no-one benefits from having idiots and criminals in our society)? The fact that women are pointing out that female role models need to be visible is exactly the same reason why there are so few women in our industries.

And Jane Austen wasn;t campaigned for, the Bank of England chose Austen, the campaign just pointed out that the money that we all see everyday should have a female face on it becuse of her accomplishments. Hardly a sign of success for women, more a very sad indication of our society.

[Craigness]

Anonymous,

What rape stuff? I looked for it and didn't find any. Even on the blog posts with screenshots of the abuse there was no "rape stuff".

We should have scientists on the money to encourage people to respect scientists, farmers on the money to encourage people to respect farmers, transsexuals on the money to highlight their contribution to society, etc. But there is a limited number of places and if we deselect notable people simply because they weren't transsexual, that's not equality.

[Anonymous Coward]

Look harder. There is a lot of "rape stuff". I have a feeling the Police didn't just arrest someone of the words of a "feminazi", despite their world-dominating thrust for power.

Try the front of a couple of newsopapers this morning as well, an MP has also been threatened, yes another one of those mouthy women.

[Anonymous Coward]

@Mad Mike

'I'm all for getting rid of the varied images on the back of banknotes'

I Agree - let's start a campaign...

:o/

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't believe this idiot is really that simple to think its OK to threaten someone with rape in any medium, would he do it via letter or face to face? Perhaps he was actually thinking about Men's rights and that it is time to have a man on a large quantity of coins and it just came out wrong? No perhaps he is just that simple or an idiot as I like to call him. If I had my way a few years working for free in a woman's prison or charity would suit him until he grows up or send him to a part of the world where Woman are still persecuted and see if he enjoys his time. I am offended by him as a man.

All he has done is reinforce extremist feminists view that Men are evil, I wonder if he truly realises that. Surely we are past this as a nation?

[Craigness]

It's hard to state how stupid an their anti-equality campaign is in just 160 characters. Rage comes too easily.

[Anonymous Coward]

Come on Craigness, use your words. Or is it that you can't find a suitable way to explain your misogyny that would be acceptable to the nice folks on here?

Anti-equality? What exactly were those nasty mouthy women proposing then? Bad, bad women daring to voice their opinions. How very dare they!

[Craigness]

The nasty women are proposing that there should be a place for women instead of for more notable men - they want men removed because of their gender. In the BBC's 100 greatest britons, the public selected 12 women in the top 100. So with 4 bank notes and a democratic selection system it's fair to assume there would be no women on the bank notes 50% of the time. Do you think the misandrists would accept that as equality? It's not equality when people are promoted because of their gender! If the women on the BBC list are evenly distributed then you'd have to go to number 208 to get the 25th woman, who would be treated as being equal to the 75th placed man, who is 86th on the list.

I'm no misogynist and why does my spellcheck not think misandry is a word? Smash the feminarchy!

that's more than 160 characters, but I didn't need to rage.

[Anonymous Coward]

Get your facts straight. The court case was about getting the Bank of England they had a democratic process, and they couldn't prove they did. It's about equality not misandry. You need to work on that paranoia.

[JimmyPage]

Before Alan Turing - why not Ada Lovelace ?

or Linda Lovelace - either works for me

[Tom 7]

Re: Before Alan Turing - why not Ada Lovelace ?

Linda is a Yank - but the old tenners could be folded to make the Queen give a good impression of her!

[Werner McGoole]

The tech solution

Is banknotes printed on paper that's a foldable display with an embedded chip. Then your wallet can download whatever pictures you prefer to display on the notes you own.

Oh and Google can track all the money - and use the data it's gathered on you to put an advert underneath.

[Anonymous Coward]

Maggie Thatcher for bank notes.

[Frankee Llonnygog]

To choose who goes on the back of the tenner ...

... Harry Hill could set up a fight.

[NomNomNom]

maybe we should put the faces of convicted rapists on banknotes so we can all recognize them in the street and give them a good kicking in

[magrathea]

Austen is such a miserable, dreary choice. Lots of women have made solid, tangible contributions. Jane Austen? really? What about Rosalind Franklin, to name one of many whose achievments were actually substantial and important

[IsJustabloke]

I was under the impression that....

every single note and coin minted for use here in blighty has always had a prominant woman on it.... not unlike our postage stamnps for that matter.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I was under the impression that....

Only since 1953! If you have a look at a few old thrupenny bits (no, not that sort) etc you'll find a selection of Georges and possibly some Edwards.

I thought one reason there weren't so many women on banknotes was that the Bank of England wanted profuse curly beards on the figures to annoy forgers. I'm not quite sure what the feminists would propose to solve this problem.

PorNotes anybody?

[sml156]

They could put Aunt Jemima on the note I don't care as long as I get two pints from it I will be happy

[The Dude]

It is no real surprise that feminists receive abusive comments. What goes around, comes around.

Having been libelled/slandered/defamed myself (by militant feminists), I have no sympathy for them.

[Anonymous Coward]

You know, I feel like abusing you so I can understand why all those militant feminists do. I suspect your winning personality was the cause of the abuse rather than them being bad women.

[Craigness]

Anonymous,

Don't blame the victim.

[Mark2410]

Really, seriously the desire to get a woman, any woman got Austin on it? It's things like this that makes me despair at feminists. They weren't proposing some great woman from history, one who truly did something great. The got one who for all intents wrote trashy romance novels. While I get publishing was a step for women it's hardly like she wrote anything meaningful. P and p is nothing more that a period version of mills and boon.

[Don Jefe]

Austen man, Jane Austen.

Although Austin Powers would be cool the money. He is British and has done wonders in highlighting the diverse and colorful culture of the Britons.

[Anonymous Coward]

The campaign wasn't about promoting Austen, the bank chose Austen. The campaign provided a long list of suggestions (yes including Ada Lovelace) and the bank were forced to choose one or lose their court case.

[Winkypop]

I just want the pommy sheila OFF my banknotes

Betty Windsor that is.

What did her Maj' ever do for us?

Except maybe give me a day off school/work for her Birthday (I rather like that bit)

[squigbobble]

Rape threats?!

Seems some chauvinists won't be content with mere kitchen/sink/cooking appliance references.

[Craigness]

Re: Rape threats?!

A cooking appliance reference is a rape threat.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-W7N1nuQAmkQ/UfLmLAzWj4I/AAAAAAAAAEM/qM4-wGi5xP0/s640/blogger-image--1251756416.jpg

Why do people not take this stuff seriously?

[Furbian]

Surprising..

As a chap whose parents came from a supposedly unenlightened area of the world which is supposed to be bad for women, I was quite sold on the idea of 'relative' gender equality here. Find it amazing that so many chaps were so offended by a woman on a note, don't get it one bit. Something new one learns every day.

As for my reaction, told my undergrad daughter about it with some amusement, her desire to study English literature was thwarted by bureaucratic incompetence and (exam board) bone headedness, this was ironic, as it went against the racial stereotype, i.e. girl of ethnic origin wants to do something, parents support it, equality thumping society blocks it, as opposed to girls wants to do something, parents beat girl into submission, society was waiting with open arms for her.

Anyway I would have preferred Agatha Christie, and why did they take Florence Nightingale off anyway?