Worzels World - Hating hate speech

 

I was once acquainted with an older fellow who, back in the day, was called  ‘opinionated’. Now he would be labelled a ‘racist bigot’. Free with his advice, some of it has stuck in my mind; Never trust a smiling Arab or a Maori in a suit he said. He also told me to purchase my fruit and veg from the Chinese rather than the Indians because they’re cleaner and wont cheat you. 

He is dead now, of course, and probably in hell in the sole company of smiling Arabs, besuited Maori and Indian fruiterers. However if there was a campaign to protect the rights of such people to express such opinions I would join it. Scientists have long been in the habit of tagging species with Latin titles. I think this is to prove that they went to private schools and were forced to endure a classical education. They have labelled we human beings as ‘Homo sapiens’ which translates as ‘Man of Wisdom’. This proves definitively that science is not always right.

The Latin term Homo sapien is now politically incorrect as it is not gender inclusive. However the Romans didn’t require political correctness. They preferred to rely on structure and discipline. These are as foreign as Latin to modern person-kind. Romans conquered the known world of that time and weren’t shy about executing those who opposed them. Consequently very few complained of being offended by gender exclusivity. 
The recent penchant to take offence at free expression has in no way checked the proliferation of absurd and contradictory ideas which sprout up all around us like evil mushrooms and spread like a mind-numbing virus. Nobody is right all the time but nowadays even obviously crazy stuff seems to gain credence. 

We are encouraged in these times of high irony to be intolerant of intolerance. Campaigns to end female circumcision in Muslim nations runs side by side with championing the right of transgender men in the west to have the whole kit and caboodle lopped off. We focus on eradicating bullying in schools but forget to address bullying in the public service, in politics, in business and corporate life. With schoolyard bullying kids may actually learn how to stand up against the evil of unjust tyranny, yet these other varieties can deeply impact peoples lives and the lives of their children and are often outstanding examples of unjust tyranny. 

What happened to ‘speaking your mind’, ‘calling a spade a spade’, ‘telling it as you see it‘ and whatever happened to the concept of, and the right to ‘freedom of speech‘? There is, in some quarters, talk of prohibiting ‘hate speech‘. What strange species of animal is that?

Call me weird, call me crazy. Say I am strange, simple or silly. Call me anything you please. I don’t mind. At this stage of my existence, whatever you call me, there is a better than even chance that I have been called it before. During my time on this planet some have said terrible, hateful and very uncomplimentary things about me, and occasionally to me. What makes it worse is that some of these things were true. The words though never hurt me in the slightest. If anything they made me stronger and more determined. Sticks and stones can break my bones but names or hate speech cannot hurt me. 

Who is it then that decides what hate speech is and how to define it? Facebook and YouTube have taken to censoring certain material from their forums. If anyone should be the guardian of what should and shouldn’t be accessible to the general public – and I don’t think anyone should – we must surely agree that it shouldn’t be Facebook or YouTube. 

There is no shortage of actual physical suffering, pain and persecution in the world. While a gullible populace is sidetracked by such peripheral issues as hate speech and gender inclusivity, death, destruction and deception ride their dark horses at a gallop. 

Truth and freedom walk hand in hand. When we no longer have the freedom to say what we think, even when it is rubbish, both freedom and truth are lost. Anyone who ever said anything of any importance or shared a good idea has upset people. It disappoints me that I don’t seem to upset nearly enough. But alas, we live in apathetic times. I hope there are a few readers who under different social conditions would take the time to pen a short burst of hate speech directed at some of the more contentious views expressed in this column. Or do you all agree with me all the time? I hope not. 

That most of my readers never complain corresponds with the fact that very few kiwis take a stand on the gradual undermining of their freedom to do so. Freedom is precious and all freedom begins with freedom of speech.

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During my time on this planet some have said terrible, hateful and very uncomplimentary things about me, and occasionally to me. What makes it worse is that some of these things were true.