The fall of the Berlin Wall is arguably one of the most defining moments of change in modern history.
Germany – divided for nearly half a century come the 1990s – was reunited when the checkpoints opened, and East Germans were free to cross into their Westernized neighbor.
Fast forward 35 years and another wall is crumbling, marking the end of an authoritarian regime where those who speak out of line are punished. Stonewall Equality Limited, recognized as Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ charity, is falling.
Somewhat ironically, Stonewall was formed in 1989 – the same year as the Berlin Wall’s demise. Despite its now-tarnished reputation, it was a major factor in helping to bring equality to minority groups in the United Kingdom; homosexuals are now allowed to serve in the military, while the age of consent is now 16 regardless of sexual orientation.
In 2001, Stonewall launched its “Diversity Champions” scheme – a program aimed to ensure comfortability for LGBTQ+ employees in the workplace. By 2005, more than 900 organizations, both public and private, had signed up to the scheme. It also publishes a ranking of the top 100 LGBTQ+-friendly employers each year, referring to those at the top as “allies.”
However, good intentions do not always have good consequences. With Stonewall’s increase in power came a more militant charity, particularly on transgenderism. When, in October 2018, critics urged Stonewall to acknowledge the conflict between transgender and sex-based women’s rights, CEO Ruth Hunt responded. “We do not and will not acknowledge this.”
This marked the beginning of a period of outright woke extremism. One solution to gender identity in offices was to give “gender-fluid” employees separate email addresses, allowing them to switch between the two. Meanwhile, Stonewall’s refusal to acknowledge biological sex alienated same-sex couples whose rights the charity had been set up to protect.
The demise took a sharp turn downwards in 2021 when major organizations began to withdraw from the Diversity Champions scheme. The Equality and Human Rights Commission withdrew from the scheme in May, as did the BBC in November. Universities, public bodies, and government departments followed in the years afterwards.
Stonewall – which once claimed two-year-olds could be transgender – is drifting away. In the space of two years, its total income fell from £11.5million to £7.8million (-32.2%).
Does this mean the end of wokeism in the United Kingdom and the Western world? Not a chance. London Overground lines are still being granted a woke rebranding, and if you say something which may upset a transactivist then you can expect a visit from Police Scotland.
Nevertheless, the adage applies to any institution; if a charity is not safe from falling into oblivion, then neither are public bodies, private organizations, or governments.
If you go woke, you go broke.