Jan 2, 2006
What Price Free Speech? Part 2
The New Year sees a new call to suppress free speech. It's rather ironic that a gay humanist magazine is in the firing line. But the right of Moslems not to be offended takes precedence in Blair's Britain.
I quote from today's Guardian:
A gay magazine which described immigrants as" criminals of the worst kind" and Islam as a"barmy doctrine" has been condemned as racist by other gay rights groups. According to the magazine of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (Galha), Islam is growing"like a canker" in the UK through"unrestrained and irresponsible breeding".
The magazine also published an article endorsing the rightwing populist Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, and described immigrants as"ill educated and culturally estranged Third Worlders".
Peter Herbert, chairman of the London-wide Race Hate Crime Forum, said he would be writing to the Crown Prosecution Service about the remarks and would"vigorously pursue" a prosecution of the editor or writers who had made the"racist and degrading" comments.
I haven’t read the offending article in its entirety but, on the basis of the extracts printed in the Guardian, I can understand why Moslems would be offended. But offense should be no reason for the state to prosecute the offending writers.
I quote from today's Guardian:
A gay magazine which described immigrants as" criminals of the worst kind" and Islam as a"barmy doctrine" has been condemned as racist by other gay rights groups. According to the magazine of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (Galha), Islam is growing"like a canker" in the UK through"unrestrained and irresponsible breeding".
The magazine also published an article endorsing the rightwing populist Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, and described immigrants as"ill educated and culturally estranged Third Worlders".
Peter Herbert, chairman of the London-wide Race Hate Crime Forum, said he would be writing to the Crown Prosecution Service about the remarks and would"vigorously pursue" a prosecution of the editor or writers who had made the"racist and degrading" comments.
I haven’t read the offending article in its entirety but, on the basis of the extracts printed in the Guardian, I can understand why Moslems would be offended. But offense should be no reason for the state to prosecute the offending writers.