«(...)
Have you noticed how few are now ready to offend the religions and defend free speech? The government only just failed to pass the "incitement to religious hatred" bill because Blair himself accidentally failed to turn up to vote. The way some imams outrageously misused the Muhammad cartoons to stir global riots has been highly effective in paralysing mockery or even criticism of Islam. Well-meaning guidelines on hate crime, issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers, are being bizarrely interpreted by some to suggest that anyone can go to the police to say they feel offended about just about anything.
Of course an elderly couple of evangelicals shouldn't have had the police summoned by the council for expressing homophobic views. Of course Sir Iqbal Sacranie should be allowed to say homosexuality is harmful without getting a call from police under the Public Order Act: thanks to Blunkett, if a public-order breach is "religiously aggravated" it can get a seven-year sentence. Not satisfied with blasphemy laws, the Vatican wants a new offence of Christianophobia. Sikhs want the right to ban the play Behzti, militant Hindus want naked pictures of a goddess banned. At a free-speech rally recently, an Iranian dissident was charged for holding a placard with one of the Danish cartoons.
Now the Council of Europe proposes to appease religions with a "code of conduct" or even a law to protect believers' sensitivities. Only the National Secular Society doesn't blench; other rights groups have been muted. Threats against anyone are banned in every civilised country, but protection against being offended should never trump free speech.
(...)»
(Polly Toynbee no The Guardian; ler na íntegra.)
Mensagens
Sem comentários :
Enviar um comentário