'Peace money' and Northern Ireland's Be-Kind elite

You may disagree with my claim that Sara Morrison’s was the most vicious TERF witchhunt of them all — but it’s definitely among the gnarliest. I called Sara up to swap notes about our professional houndings. Like so many women, I too was unceremoniously removed my duties because of my non-belief in gendershite. But the behaviour of Sara’s hounders — the crème de la crème of the Northern Irish cultural elite — gave me goosebumps for its sheer psychopathy. I was unpersonned like a princess, in comparison.The people who targetted Sara are the #Kindest people in society: the publicly-funded ‘non-government’als involved in woke civil society charities. These are the people who are paid to ‘foster’ the warm-and-fuzzies: inclusivity, diversity, acceptance, tolerance, empathy, openness, fairness, equality, and equity, via public-facing cultural, advocacy and media organisations. In return, they get multi-annual operational grants. But the temporary nature of the arrangement means that Kindsters are permanently only precariously employed, a destabilising and competitive setup that creates perverse incentives (not just in Northern Ireland — the business model is the same everywhere and it’s terrible). It pushes people to exaggerate a problem that needs to be solved, while simultaneously pretending to be solving it. This leads to some crazy hijinks, a perfect example of which we saw this week with the story of the Southern Poverty Law Centre’s self-generated racism problem that they pretended to donors to be fixing. It also produces only a small pool of jobs, and the prestige that goes with these jobs serves to amp up the stakes for everyone involved. The model is the same everywhere, as I said, but Northern Ireland is …different … from other places, to put it mildly. In terms of vibes, the place always felt to me a bit like if Bosnia married and divorced Scotland, and they got shared custody of 1.93 million fearful-avoidant kids.The country has a higher-than-average number of charities working on community projects because, you know, which is typical in post-conflict places. Many of them started out thanks to 'peace money’ that came from the EU, the UK and Irish governments and the Americans. And while a lot of them do very good and vital work (especially in the form of providing essential services), there’s also the usual parasitic gay-race-communism NGOs staffed by people who have to aggressively advertise their virtue in order to stay ideologically kosher in the tight-knit non-profit circle. The trans issue is an extremely touchy subject at the best of times, but throw that grenade into an already fraught and fearful crew of purity-spirallers, and you’ve got the ingredients for the most violent non-violent hate mob I think I’ve ever heard of.Northern Ireland is full of things that are unsayable. Sara’s bold assertions about our right to our own rape crisis centres free from crossdressing blokes seems to have provoked a repressed frustration around the trigger theme of identity that exploded with bizarre ferocity. It’s not good, folks. But you’ll be happy to hear that Sara's really doing well, finally. Perhaps her employment tribunal case, the result of which is out in the next few weeks, should give her former colleagues, friends, and tattoo artist (who also denounced her) pause for some self-reflection. But we should probably not hold our breaths for any peace and reconciliation talks. As Sara said in the speech that caused all her problems: “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business and eventually degenerates into a racket.” You are here. Read this excellent story by Rosie Kay on Sara’s intervention at a recent event on censorship in the arts in Belfast. Here’s Sara on Substack and here she is on TwitterShow notes (AI generated)In this episode of Peaked, Róisín Michaux is joined by Sara Morrison to explore the social, political, and cultural landscape of Northern Ireland in the post-conflict era.The discussion examines how the legacy of the Good Friday Agreement shaped a funding-dependent NGO ecosystem, particularly in the arts and voluntary sectors. Through Sara’s firsthand experience working in these sectors, the episode explores how economic structures, institutional incentives, and cultural pressures contribute to ideological conformity and risk-averse environments.The conversation also moves into feminist politics, gender policy conflicts, and Sara’s personal experience of workplace cancellation following her participation in a public event, leading to an ongoing employment tribunal.Topics discussed: · Post-conflict Northern Ireland economy and society· NGO funding and “peace money” dependency· Arts and charity sector employment structures· Public sector dominance vs private industry· Violence against women and policy failures· Gender ideology and feminist conflict· Workplace cancellation and tribunal case· Protest culture and ideological enforcement· “Militant kindness” and social conformity· Cross-community identity vs modern inclusion frameworksHistorical & Political ContextThe Good Friday Agreement (1998)https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-belfast-agreement· Ended major violence during The Troubles· Led to significant international funding and NGO expansionThe Troubles (Background Context)https://www.britannica.com/event/The-Troubles-Northern-Ireland-history· Sectarian conflict shaping modern Northern Ireland· Long-term impact on identity, politics, and economyPost-Conflict Funding & NGO EconomyPEACE PLUS Programmehttps://www.seupb.eu/peaceplus· Cross-border EU, UK, and Irish government funding programme· Supports community, reconciliation, and economic projectsInvest Northern Irelandhttps://www.investni.com/· Economic development agency focused on business growthArts Council of Northern Irelandhttps://artscouncil-ni.org/· Primary funding body for arts and cultural sectorBelfast City Councilhttps://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/· Referenced in building-use controversy and policy criteriaPolitical LandscapeSinn Féinhttps://www.sinnfein.ie/Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)https://mydup.com/Alliance Partyhttps://www.allianceparty.org/Social Issues & PolicyViolence Against Women Strategy (Northern Ireland)https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/publications/stopping-domestic-and-sexual-violence-and-abuse-strategySexual Violence & Support ServicesNexus NIhttps://nexusni.org/Women’s Aid NIhttps://www.womensaidni.org/The Rowan Sexual Assault Referral Centrehttps://www.southerntrust.hscni.net/services/the-rowan/Sara Morrison — Case & ContextBBC Coveragehttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0gj42l4zeoCase Briefinghttps://sex-matters.org/case-briefings/sara-morrison-v-belfast-film-festival/Let Women Speak Eventhttps://www.standingforwomen.com/J. K. Rowling Support Contexthttps://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/trans-child-women-only-spaces-skdtl3bcx· Public support and financial contribution to Morrison’s caseFeminism, Gender & PolicyNordic Model (Sex Work Policy)https://nordicmodelnow.org/what-is-the-nordic-model/Repeal the 8th Amendment (Ireland)https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/civil-law/repeal-of-the-8th-amendment/Emma Watsonhttps://www.unwomen.org/en/goodwill-ambassadors/emma-watson· Referenced in context of funding support for servicesArts, Culture & InstitutionsImagine Belfast Festivalhttps://imaginebelfast.com/Northern Ireland Screenhttps://www.northernirelandscreen.co.uk/Media & Cultural ReferencesElephanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_(1989_film)Van Morrisonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_MorrisonProtest Culture & “Militant Kindness”Northern Ireland Protest Coverage (Context Referenced in Episode)https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/· Referenced discussion of protests and counter-protests· Highlights tension between grassroots groups and activist responsesGay Not Queer (Referenced by Sara)https://x.com/gaynotqueer· Referenced directly in episode· Source of “militant kindness” framing· Critiques contradictions within activist cultureOrganizations & NetworksNIPSA (Trade Union)https://nipsa.org.uk/Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC)https://www.flac.ie/Key Figures MentionedJim Gamblehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Gamble🔗 X (Twitter)https://x.com/RoisinMichaux🔗 Apple Podcasts — Peaked This is a public episode. 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