Theresa May made her latest speech as Minister for
Irony today, as she invoked tolerance, freedom of speech and diversity while
announcing that a future Conservative government would introduce anti-extremist
laws that can only be described as, well, extreme.
Britain has no shortage of anti-terror laws that make
expressing an unpopular opinion dangerous (particularly if you're a Muslim) [?????]but
the language being used by the Home Secretary and by Prime Minister David
Cameron today has revolved around people who have not actually committed any
crimes but who hold and express extremist views. The government would, under such a system, be able to
define what views were "acceptable" and those which were not. People expressing
ideas deemed "extremist" could be prevented from attending rallies or being able
to argue their case on broadcast or social media.
Thought-crime, under such a regime, would be a
reality. Simply holding and expressing a view that made people feel "distressed"
or "afraid" could be grounds for censure. Whether you intended to or not, if
your views upset people, you could find yourself on the wrong side of the law.
With a stunning lack of awareness, Mrs May claimed that the new measures were
aimed at protecting people from "intolerant attitudes shown to people of
different beliefs", while proposing a system in which some beliefs would be
illegal simply by virtue of being unpopular.All this might sound fine to those of us who trust
our governments implicitly and who believe that they only ever want what's best
for us and always get things right. It might also sound fine to those who see
all Muslims (who will feel the most at risk every time they utter a critical
word about our society) as enemies. It may even sound reasonable to those whose
views are routinely in the centre of popular opinion. Free speech is fine, you
might say, but some opinions are just wrong and should be stamped out.
AOL.
The trouble is, my dear chap, thought crime is already HERE from the LEFT! Try preaching the Gospel on our streets!
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