Bapton Books Position Papers:

About the series:

hese Position Papers, commonly authored by the partners and publishers of Bapton Books, jointly or severally, are made available free of charge (in many cases), or at a nominal charge, to the reading public and all those interested in the affairs of the day. hey are issued to inform, to !uestion, to educate, to assert propositions for argument, to challenge, to analyse, and, al"ays, to spark useful and intelligent debate. #ach represents the vie"s of the author or authors of each specific paper. hose vie"s and positions are not attributable to any other authors published by Bapton Books, or, save "here noted, to the imprint as such.

Bapton Books Position Papers:

Free speech & its enemies

$eptember %&'%

$eries: (), ($, *ommon"ealth, Anglosphere, +nternational

,-. .emyss -arkham $ha" Pyle

This Paper represents the views of Bapton Books as a firm.

*opyright %&'% by Bapton Books /iterary rust 0o. '

About the authors:

GMW Wemyss lives and "rites, "isely pseudonymously, in .ilts. 1aving, by invoking the protective colouration of t"eeds, cricket, and country matters, someho" evaded immersion in -ercury "hilst up at (niversity, he survived to become the author of The Confidence of the House: May 1940 and of Sensible Places: essays on place, time, & count yside.

Markham Shaw Pyle, author of 2!ools, " un#s, and the $nited States%: &u'ust 1(, 1941, holds his undergraduate and la" degrees from .ashington 3 /ee. 1e is a past or current member of, inte alia, the 4rgani5ation of American 1istorians6 the $ociety for -ilitary 1istory6 the $outhern 1istorical Association6 the $outh"estern $ocial $cience Association6 the $outh"estern 1istorical

Association6 the $outh"estern Political $cience Association6 the 7irginia 1istorical $ociety6 and the e8as $tate 1istorical Association.

ogether, they are the partners in Bapton Books, and co9authors of )hen That * eat Ship )ent "o+n: the le'al and political epe cussions of the loss of ,MS itanic6 of The -apton -oo#s Sample : a lite a y ch estomathy. and of The T ansatlantic "isputations: /ssays & 0bse 1ations. and co9editors and co9annotators of The Complete Mo+'li Sto ies, "uly &nnotated, and The &nnotated .ind in the .illo"s, fo &dults and Sensible Child en 2o , possibly, Child en and Sensible &dults34

Free speech & its enemies

Declaring an interest

.
principle.

e begin by :eclaring an +nterest. .e are authors6 and "e are publishers. ;ree speech and freedom of the press and of publication,

to the very outermost limits necessary to an orderly society under la", is our position, our livelihood, and our deepest

+t is utterly infuriating that "e should be thus re!uired to declare an interest6 and it is simply contemptible that our so doing should seem in the least to suggest that this position and this principle is a function of our profession, rather than being the interest of every person on the planet save tyrants and their lackeys. ;ree speech, and freedom of the press and

of publication as its corollary, to the very outermost limits necessary to an orderly society under la", is an absolute human i'ht possessed of e1e yone on this spinnin' 'lobe, and ou'ht to be the basic p esumption and fie cely5defended bi th i'ht of each of us4

A word about writers, artists, and other creators

0
fate.

either 1esiod nor 1omer "as the first "riter6 but *assandra < impelled by divine decree to see and to speak, to be disbelieved, condemned,

ignored, rebutted (not refuted), unheeded, and, in the end, dead right < may "ell have been. Poets and sober historians, novelists and biographers < and visual artists, composers, and all those "ho are driven to create and to e8press < all alike share her doom, her +y d, her

*reative artists are odd creatures. =arely do they stand at the head of affairs: .ilson "as a very poor president6 >efferson?s triumphs "ere less glorious than his defeats and failures "ere dark and contemptible6 :israeli fared rather better, but left little lasting monument6 only *icero and *hurchill, the latter a painter as "ell as a "riter, kne" true

triumph < and sa" it slip irresistibly a"ay into the defeat of "hat they most cherished and had striven to preserve. .riters especially believe that to have said or minuted a thing is to have done it, and their inner lives too often consume their lives in this "orld, leaving them to fail at the last amidst all the things they should have s"orn they had done, but had only talked of doing and taken as having been accomplished. All creative artists share *assandra?s doom, her +y d, her fate. And all creative artists, like *assandra, survive their times and their detractors, even if only as the fools and failures "ith "hom greater artists !uarrelled, and, in !uarrelling and contest, made themselves great < and their foils, immortal. All creative artists share *assandra?s doom, her +y d, her fate: for all are fo ced to create, "ill they or nil they. +n the last days of the final edits to this Paper, the authors have been, as so often before, reminded of this. 4n the last eve of $ummer, a friend of -r Pyle?s recalled to him an article -r Pyle had "ritten some three decades prior: one that -r Pyle, after three decades, a breakdo"n or three in health, at least one sei5ure, and much more beside, no longer remembers, although he is gratified that it has been remembered. he article in its turn recalled to him another,

"hich also he had "ritten in his university days: "hich

article he also but vaguely recalls, but the reaction to "hich has not left him. 1e and some friends had been sent to a conference at another university6 and upon his return, -r Pyle "a8ed humorous in print, to the displeasure of several of his ac!uaintance and of the professors "ho had despatched them to the conference: @spitting on the decks?, one of the professors called it. Perhaps it "as. +t ought to have been at that moment < although it "asn?t, yet < that all concerned realised that -r Pyle "as al"ays going to be an inky "retch, a scribbling "riter: for the only response he could make then and can make no" is ;aulkner?s, that @AtBhe "riter?s only responsibility is to his art. 1e "ill be completely ruthless if he is a good one. 1e has a dream. +t anguishes him so much that he can?t get rid of it. 1e has no peace until then. #verything goes by the board: honor, pride, decency, security, happiness, all, to get the book "ritten. +f a "riter has to rob his mother, he "ill not hesitate6 the 24de on a ,recian (rnC is "orth any number of old ladies.? 4n the last eve of $ummer, -r .emyss, pardonably gloating, announced to his friends that he "as availing himself of an une8pected opportunity for a :irty .eekend "ith a young man he?d recently met. -r Pyle?s sole comment "as, @;ine. 4kay. hat?s "hy the revenues in this firm aren?t a D&9D& split, neighbor. But + don?t care if you?re recreating the

fall of $odom "ith the "hole ottenham side, if + email you about these edits, pal, + e8pect a response. 1ave fun < but keep your phone handy and your P* on.? +f -r Pyle takes his te8t from ;aulkner, it is -r .emyss? foible to take his from .ilde, perhaps the only true thing 4scar ever said: @ here is no such thing as a moral or immoral book. Books are either "ell "ritten or badly "ritten. hat is all.? 4n the morning of the first day of Autumn, -r Pyle took his accustomed morning constitutional. here "as a faint veil of ground9mist "here a la"n ran happily a"ay into a small "ood, and another "here a fence of palings enclosed another la"n6 and although these things "ere not ne", and never are, on the day of the autumnal e!uino8 they are al"ays and ever freighted "ith portent, and -r Pyle, being an inky "retch of a "riter, "ithout thinking, marked them, and inevitably endured the irruption into his conscious mind of )eats? @mists and mello" fruitfulness?. here "ere < on this first "eekend of dove season < corvids about as "ell, black as a censor?s heart and as big as original sin, thrice @t"a corbies?, and, "ithout thinking, -r Pyle found himself asking them, @+s :uncan not a"akeE? 1e returned home to find that, in fact, a !uestion about the edits had had its ans"er overnight, at "hat had been clearly the "ee hours in the (). A clearly (if happily) e8hausted -r

.emyss had "ritten also this "ry postscript: @altho? having time of my life am finding self casting events as they occur into narrative prose for later use?. his is life for "riters and all creative artists. ;riends and ac!uaintances (and, apparently, transient amours) find themselves made over into the ra" material of art6 persons "ho interact publicly "ith authors do so at their peril, as anecdotes in this Paper shall sho". .riters literally cannot help themselves: there is that in them that helps itself to incident as at a buffet, piling the plate high. o attempt to censor this is not only "rong6 it is foolish, and futile, and, in the end, doomed. ruth, like murder, +ill out, rather sooner than later. And because no t"o creative artists see the same thing, and neither sees "hat you see, and because they are compelled to sho" you "hat they have seen, it is a "icked disservice to humanity to attempt to suppress those visions. (+t "as, "e seem to recall, -adeleine /?#ngle "ho told the story of a "riter?s conference at an American state university "hich "as running up a ne" building at the time. As three or so "riters "ere passing by the floodlit construction site in the darkness, the poet amongst them turned rhapsode, noting the colours and te8tures of night and light, of materials and earths and machinery. At last she finished sharing her sudden glimpse of vision, and turned < perhaps a trifle

condescendinglyE < to the detective story "riter, the author of mysteries, for his @take? on the scene. 1e shrugged. @,reat place to hide a body,? said he.) Because no t"o creative artists see the same thing, and neither sees "hat you see, and because they are compelled to sho" you "hat they have seen, it is a "icked thing to attempt to suppress those visions: and it is an utte ly futile effo t4 he creative impulse is unsleeping, and it cannot be repressed. #ven in the events of the last fe" days of editing this Paper, it sprung forth6 and even as -r .emyss, in, apparently, carnal ecstasy, had found himself evolving narrative prose to capture and recapture the moment after, in tran!uillity, so also -r Pyle, on his morning "alk, noted his o"n responses and his esponses to his esponses to mist and corvidF, kno"ing that these in turn should find their "ay into these notes. ;or this is the point, at the end: the sharp, poignard point that inevitably, at the last, slips itself bet"een the censor?s ribs, to pierce his black and shrivelled heart. he censor and the murderous mob cannot stop the creative artist, for the creative artist cannot stop himself6 and although one or another creator may be killed or daunted, that killing and that repression in itself furnishes material for creation by others: the creation of art that mocks the censor for all eternity, and is mockingly repeated to him in < as 6 the torments of the hell

that censors deserve, and to "hich their desiccated souls go "hen they at last realise that they are, and have for years of seeming life been, dead as -arley, for all their vestments and parades of piety.

A word on usage

amentably, in discussing free speech and its enemies, it shall be necessary < obviously < to refer, upon occasion, to instances of free speech that are

!uite likely to give maiden aunts of both se8es the vapours. Get more lamentably, the enemies of free speech do include certain groups of people "ho have demonstrated a very thin skin indeed. As a matter of manners, one does attempt, so far as is possible, to designate people by their preferred terms of group self9identity. 1o"ever, accuracy < ruth < is much

more important even than are manners: amicus Plato, sed ma'is amica 1e itas.' *onse!uently, "e shall call the /eft as leftists, not @liberals?, for they are not /iberals. )e are < "hich is "hy -r
' As, indeed, $ocrates himself is effectively made to say, in the Ph7do: HIJKLMKNILOPQRS TU, VWX, Y Z[OO\I ]K MI^ _P`XS, Ra]bL^ VJcROI[ dH^ ]eQ fghRQ: aOKiS OPQ]R[, jQ dOR^ HK\kXLkK, LO[MJeQ WJRQ]\LIQ]KS ZbMJl]RNS, ]mS Tn ofXkK\IS HRfp OqffRQ, drQ OPQ ][ aOiQ TRMs ofXknS fPhK[Q, LNQRORfRhULI]K, Kt Tn OU, HIQ]^ fghu oQ][]K\QK]K, KvfI`RwOKQR[ xHbS Oy dhz aHe HJRkNO\IS {OI dOIN]gQ ]K MI^ aOqS d|IHI]ULIS, }LHKJ OPf[]]I ]e MPQ]JRQ dhMI]If[HzQ RtcULROI[.

.emyss is perforce a member of the *onservative Party, it being the only major party in Britain "ith any room for /iberals (the problem "ith the /iberal :emocrats is that, despite the presence of some !uite decent 4range Bookers, it is neither /iberal nor democratic). ,ladstone "as a /iberal6 as "as =osebery6 as "as indeed 1ayek < and Burke ("hat did you thin# the =ockingham .higs "ereE). Almost all of the @=ight? in America, although called @conservatives?, are classical /iberals, -r Pyle very much included. he /eft are illiberal in every "ay, al"ays and every"here the enemies of liberty, and ought not to be allo"ed to lie about it. And, of course, "e come ne8t to $alafists and other +slamists, and to their ability to mobilise against free speech at least a significant part of the -uslim ummah < and to silence almost "holly the rest of that community, even if it be in fact a majority, "hich one hopes but cannot prove.% he authors happen to be, both of them, members < e8tremely disaffected, because generally orthodo8, members < of the Anglican *ommunion, or "hat?s left of it. +n any case, they are monotheists, because reason impels them to that conclusion, fond as they may be of the music of =ush. Both respect the right of all persons to hold "hat religious or
% +f they are, they "ant to stand up and be counted, this bloody minute: as they are doing in /ibya.

irreligious or anti9religious vie"s they choose, and to have those vie"s, including atheism, tolerated +ithin eason.

(@.ithin reason?: if some recent graduate of an Anglican theological seminary "ere, as is all too possible, to announce tomorro" his creation of the ;irst ;lo"er .ar A5tec *hurch, "ith human sacrifices, or proclaim her becoming Priestess of :iana of the #phesians, along "ith plans for temple prostitutes (under9aged ones at that), then the la" should rightly step in and say, 0o: that is taking tolerance too far, not because "e think it blasphemous, but because "e, the People "ho comprise the $tate, do not permit this under any cloak or affected disguise.) oleration is not approval6 it often does not, and it conceptually need not, imply respect, save for the principle of toleration itself. 1o"ever, the authors are "illing to respect the traditions of their neighbours, "ith the same caveat as before6 and e8pect the same in return. 0either has any personal animus to"ards individual members of other faiths (indeed, -r .emyss? primary interactions "ith -uslims, $ikhs, and 1indus are focussed solely on their run rates "hen batting and their ability to take economical "ickets "hilst bo"ling). And it is precisely this respect that leads the authors to dispense "ith referring to -uhammad, the

founder of +slam,~ as a, or the, prophet. .e do not e8pect -uslims or >e"s to refer to >esus as *hrist, the -essiah, the $on of ,od, ,od the $on, the $econd Person of the rinity: a monotheist "ho thus refers to him has a specific designation, and that designation is, @*hristian?. $imilarly, as monotheists, the authors do not refer to -uhammad as a (or the) prophet, for to do so is, in effect, to recite the shahada and become a -uslim. :id either of the authors, believing as they do in one ,od, also regard -uhammad as the prophet of that ,od, and the revelations conventionally ascribed to him as true, intellectual honesty should compel that author to become a -uslim. .e don?t, they?re not, and "e haven?t done. .ith that much in the "ay of proem, "e may begin.

Presumably, and if he in fact e8isted and "as thus named: a !uestion of historicity that is not in fact settled < and "hich far too many people, no fe" of them armed and dangerous, believe ought not to be raised. >udaism, *hristianity, and +slam all found their creedal statements upon the unity of the :eity. he Shema ends it there: @1ear, 4 +srael: the /4=: our ,od, the /4=: is one?6 the shahada declares the unity of the :eity and then asserts that -uhammad is his messenger6 and of course, as people used to kno", the *reed begins, C edo in unum "eum, @+ believe in one ,od, the ;ather Almighty, maker of 1eaven and #arth?, and goes on to profess belief in @one /ord >esus *hrist, the only9begotten $on of ,od?, in @the 1oly ,host, he /ord and giver of life?, and in @one *atholick and Apostolick *hurch?, @one Baptism for the remission of sins?, @the =esurrection of the dead, and the life of the "orld to come?. +t?s really !uite appalling that "e "ant to remind people of this6 if nothing else, those reading this paper, "hich is after all in #nglish, ought really to be a"are of the lite a y heritage founded upon *ranmer?s prose and the -CP4

The threats to speech and publication

n late >uly, shortly before he ended up in hospital, -r Pyle "as confronting enemies of free speech: secular, political enemies, "ho "ished to denigrate and silence

their opponents, guillotine debate, and < under the usual rubric of @hate speech? ("hich, naturally, they should define for the rest of us) < liti'ate ("ith a vie" to prohibiting) both the publication and the revie" of published papers in the social sciences. heir stance "as clear and unashamed:

dissent and debate must be cut off, and no one save themselves had the right to speak on the topics they designated.D he situation has not improved < indeed it has markedly deteriorated < in the "eeks since. Get this is not a ne" phenomenon. After a period in "hich,
D Ges, of cou se there shall a Position Paper on the underlying topic in due course.

thankfully, "e in the .est had achieved consensus upon these undoubted, inherent human rights, to speak and to publish, being liable only for slander, libel, and the direct and immediate incitement to violent disorder in terms that should lead easonable hea e s o eade s immediately to eso t to 1iolent

diso de , there has been a retrograde movement: much of it the doing of the /eft, cloaking their purpose in appeals to civility, appeals to happy9clappy @unity?, and the bogey of their rickety construct, @hate speech? (boo, hiss +t sounds villainous < and is calculated to do). +n fact, the /eft have attempted to erect a @right? < gleefully sei5ed upon by the =adical =ight on the *ontinent and by +slamists every"here < @not to be offended?. 0o such right e8ists. o claim a right is to claim its universality, its universal application. 4f course there are occasions upon "hich t"o actual rights conflict: the fe" e8ceptions to the rights of free speech and publication are founded in the obvious and ackno"ledged rights of privacy, of freedom from being libelled or slandered, and of being kept safe from the attacks of an incited mob. But a @right not to be offended? is simply ludicrous in principle. +f anyone may claim it, then all may
And that incitement must be immediate, clear, intended, and calculated i esistibly to incite reasonable people4

claim it, and assert it "ithout being re!uired to sho" any good faith or any reasoned justification for it: "hich leads immediately to a complete abandonment of the undoubted rights of free speech and publication, for "hich men have fought and died and rebelled, been gaoled and emerged to topple governments. +f, on the other hand, it is a right that can be asserted only upon a p io sho"ing to a magistrate that the person asserting the right has some special reason for doing so, it is not a right. +f the magistrate grants it, it is instead a privilege. And if it is dependent upon the $tate to grant or deny, as a privilege, it is the death of free speech and it inserts the $tate into deciding "hich individuals and "hich groups do or do not have a right to be offended and to be le'ally p otected a'ainst ha1in' thei p ecious feelin's hu t , as distinct from the citi5enry or subjects as a "hole. And of course that is precisely its intent: to become a privilege reserved to certain identity groups: gays, lesbians, /eftists, +slamists, racial minorities, or "hat have you. +t is simply censorship in favour of Approved ,roups, in a ne" guise (@-+/

40

hou shouldst be living at this hour?: no

0ote the distinction < in terms of prohibiting publication and e8ercising a prior restraint upon speech < bet"een this and bringing an action at la" for damages, or indeed for injunctive relief, upon a claim of libel. -r .emyss hastens to say that he?d not have such a @right? or privilege as a bloody gift, ta ever sodding so. 1e can think of any number of fello" gayers "ho are of the same opinion as he. >ohn, the poet, although -ilton ;riedman should do as "ell. +ndeed, -ilton

one?s bloody read the & eopa'itica, evidently). /ook it the claimed @right? as applied. +magine "ere "e to gather a number of signatories on a petition against the no" common habit, in the (), of serving, "ithout labelling or "arning, halal food to all patrons: some signatories asserting that, as evangelical *hristians, they are offended by this in light of the vision of $t Peter regarding the dispensation from dietary rules (the Acts of the Apostles, the tenth chapter, beginning at the ninth verse: here endeth the /esson), others asserting offence as animal9rights activists, yet others asserting themselves offended by it as $ikhs, to "hom food slaughtered in this manner is forbidden. A panicked *abinet should take to *abinet 4ffice Briefing =oom (A) over it, and the 1ouse spend days on it. Better yet, imagine the inevitable clash bet"een /,B
'&

activists and +slamists over the

publication or performance of, "ell, damned near anything that touches upon gay issues: actually, you needn?t in fact imagine it, because it?s happening and has been happening for some time. his alleged @right? is nothing more < and nothing less < than the erection, or the attempted erection, of a ne" scheme
Berle should do as "ell in the fight against the censor. '& Add "hatever further initials you like to the increasingly un"ieldy initialism. -r .emyss? vie" is that it already sounds like a lettuce, guacamole, bacon and tomato sand"ich in an American delicatessen.

of censorship, and one not of universal application, but, rather, to be e8ercised in favour of $tate9favoured groups. .orse yet, it is the erection, or the attempted erection, of a heckler?s and a te o ist8s veto over free speech. And its advocates !uite often kno" this, guiltily. 4bserve the hypocrisy. he 9e+ :o # Times on % 4ctober ',

editorialising on the e8hibition @$ensation? at the Brooklyn -useum of Art,'' "hich featured $errano?s crucifi89in9a9jar9 of9piss and 4fili?s portrait of the B7- "ith naked arses and elephant shit,'% set out for the un"ashed its @ground rules for government financing of cultural institutions and the political censo ship of constitutionally 'ua anteed f eedom of e;p ession?, saying, @many citi5ens of conscience find parts of the Brooklyn e8hibition repugnant, and it is understandable that many =oman *atholics "ould find *hris 4fili?s image of the 7irgin -ary offensive.'~ 4thers "ould agree "ith our colleague .illiam $afire that "hile the Brooklyn -useum has a right to sho" "hat it likes, the administrators have been clumsy or needlessly provocative. Get AB AaB museum is
'' Can one "rite or read that "ithout cognitive dissonanceE +t?s as if the ate "ere in $"indon. '% People have become blas about this old controversy. .e use these terms advisedly to remind people just ho" outraged many "ere at the time: sufficiently so that the 9e+ :o # Times felt it necessary to admonish the @oiks? from its plane of self9assumed -oral $uperiority. (+f these ghastly little people at that puerile fish9"rap are an elite, America?s buggered.) '~ #vidently, the hacks didn?t kno" any #astern or ,reek 4rthodo8 or any Anglican 1igh *hurchmen.

obliged to challenge the public as "ell as to placate it, or else the museum becomes a chamber of attractive ghosts, an institution completely disconnected from art in our time. AB .e are confident the court "ill see the citys arguments for "hat they are < a prete8t to justify the -ayors anger at a museum that dared to defend artistic freedom.? 4n '% $eptember %&'%, ho"ever, "eighing in on the $alafist mob?s violence < violence alleged (!uite incredibly: the assertion is self9evidently rubbish) to have been a spontaneous reaction to a clip of a film "hich, unlike the @$ensations? e8hibition and the rubbishing @art? in it, "as not publicly funded by the long9suffering ($ ratepayer < the 9e+ :o # Times had something very different to say: that @AhBo"ever offensive the video is, it could never justify the violence in Bengha5i and *airo. But <? ah, the inevitable @but? < @-r. >ones, -r. $adek and "hoever made the film did true damage to the interests of the (nited $tates and its core principle of respecting all faiths.?' his is rank hypocrisy: positively noisome. .hat

motivates itE

he obvious ans"er is, of course, simple

' +t must be said at once that there is no such @core principle? in the (nited $tates. >ust you try and find it in the *onstitution, or imagine making such a claim to 1amilton, -adison, >ay, -onroe, ;ranklin, and .ashington, or to Patrick 1enry, ,eorge .ythe, and the Anti9;ederalists. Gou?d have been lucky to escape "ith your hide, and thanked your ,od that >efferson "as in Paris and unable to get at you.

cravenness. *o"ardice, full stop, tout cou t4

he s!ueaking

"heel gets the grease, the dog in the manger "ins out, and the mad dog heckler9cum9terrorist prevails. *onsider the play"right errence -c0ally and his play, Co pus Ch isti4'D here "ere, shamefully, @cultural? and @social? @conservatives? "ho objected to it, and to its being performed.' here "ere, it is alleged, death threats6 and it

"as hastily and conveniently presumed that these "ere from outraged *hristians.' But, as the Beeb reported on % 4ctober ', "hen the play opened in /ondon < and it did open, as it had opened in Australia despite episcopal anathemata, and as it had opened in America, and as it had opened in #dinburgh for all the dour complaints < "hat -r -c0ally "as faced "ith "as a fat+a 2for -uslims consider >esus to have been a prophet second only, on their vie", to -uhammad) from the soi5disant <$hari?ah *ourt of the ()? and its @sheikh?, one 4mar Bakri -uhammad (n ;ostock, of all unlikely surnames). (Ges, the terror9supporting bugger and long9time benefits claimant, "ho celebrated '' $eptember and >uly: the mid"ife of 1i5b ut9 ahrir in the (nited )ingdom, head
'D 0ot the ;east6 not the *ollege, or the ab one at that 4ther Place in the ;ens6 and not the e8as coastal to"n. he play depicts *hrist and the Apostles as young gay men living on the e8as ,ulf *oast: slash9fiction, -ible fandom. ' hese are the people "ho decry censorship in favour of +slamists "hilst demanding that flag9burning be criminalised. $igh. ' And may have been: the point being that the press failed of its duty to find out and report, because it is politicised to the point of intellectual dishonesty4

of Al9-uhajiroun, and purveyor of messages from (B/: a busy life for a man on the dole. That sod.) +n addition to e;plosi1e theatre criticism, of course, -r Bakri is noted for music criticism (@+f he values his life, A$ir PaulB -c*artney must not come to +srael. 1e "ill not be safe there. he

sacrifice operatives "ill be "aiting for him?) and literary criticism (@A$ir $almanB =ushdie "ill continue living his life in hiding. Any fat+a "ill stand until it is fulfilled. 1e is al"ays going to be "orried about a -uslim reaching him?). 0o", -r Bakri is not precisely taken seriously6 but from the initial fat+a over The Satanic =e ses for"ards, and certainly from the /ondon premire of -r -c0ally?s little play unto this day,' the /eft has been tying itself increasingly in knots trying to s!uare their bien5pensant, muesli9munching,

sandalled, * auniadista pieties "ith their ine8plicable support of the poor, do"ntrodden -uslims < and the sheer terror they feel, "ith loosened bo"els and !uaking knees, at crossing $alafists "hose response to free speech, let alone to being gay9friendly, consists in bombs and beheadings. But of course this sort of thing isn?t al"ays the fruit of sheer, teeth9chattering, pants9"etting funk. $ometimes it is the fruit of ineffable stupidity6 and occasionally, of simple
' 1aving mentioned -r -c0ally?s puerility, a palate9cleanser from .illy the $hake is al"ays in order.

disloyalty to the ideal of these rights of free speech and freedom of publication: adherence, that is to say, to their enemies. he result is in any case the same: "hat 4r"ell

called, !uite rightly, objective fascism.

The common thread

et us take a closer look at recent threats to free speech and freedom of publication, and see "hat they have in common < and "hat those "ho

advocate against free speech and freedom of publication have in common. +n %&'&, a man named Andre" $tack deliberately fle" his light aeroplane into an +nternal =evenue field office in Austin, e8as. Although he left behind a suicide manifesto !uoting -ar8, railing against ,eorge . Bush, and attributing part of his fury against government to the lack of socialised medicine in the ($ < a screed that "as approved "ith only p o fo ma reservations by 0oam *homsky in a %& April %&'& article, @=emembering ;ascism: /earning ;rom the Past?, carried at truthout.org < the /eft and the press (but "e repeat ourselves) rushed to characterise the act as that of a =abid ea9Partier.
-

.hen *ongress"oman ,abrielle ,iffords "as shot in an attempted assassination by a gibbering gibbon named >ared /oughner < "ho, insofar as he "as not an apolitical nutter, "as a /efty stoner < it "as immediately alleged that he had been inspired and incited by the ea Party and $arah Palin. +n both cases, the corollary "as that those not on the /eft, "ho "ere by that very fact someho" guilty by association, must cease to speak, to @"atch their tone?,' to moderate their statements, and to censor themselves. he centre and the =ight are not blameless either. +t is "ell "ithin anyone?s rights to boycott or support one or another play, or book, or indeed fast9food chicken restaurant, and to condemn any author, any "ork, any publisher: as an e;e cise of f ee speech4 *orporations and private institutions may decline to give space, support, a hearing, and lashings of dosh to anyone they damned "ell please, if they are displeased by someone or his vie"s or his "ork. But as an e;e cise of a uni1e sal f eedom, these criticisms and condemnnations end, full stop, at a red line, before reaching the point at "hich they attempt to use the la" and the $tate, or threats against public
' +t is amusing, in a morbid sort of "ay, to realise that the online /eft is forever searching feverishly for anything that can be represented as constituting an admonition by non9/eftists to @mind thei tone?, "hich is, to them, a punishable blasphemy and a clear evidence of 4ppression and =epression (in the :ennis the Peasant sense: @*ome and see the violence inherent in the system. ?#lp ?#lp +?m being repressed?).

order and safety, to prohibit the e;e cise of a uni1e sal f eedom by othe s to read, "rite, publish, paint, act in, or "atch anything they damned "ell please (so long as it?s not snuff films%& or kiddie9fiddling or that sort of thing, obviously). .hat the centre9right ("hich is all save the most palFolithic of palFo9conservatives in America: American @conservatives?, bar the so9called @cultural 2conservativesC? and the most primitive PalFo9*ons of the Buchananite9Paulite fever s"amps, are classical /iberals) must realise, is a !uite simple point. 0o one could call ,erald ;ord a @movement *onservative?6 but he told the =epublican Party something that /ady hatcher could as easily have said. %' 1e reminded them, @A government big enough to give you everything you "ant is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.? hat is true not only of the political and economic threat of government intervention. +t is e!ually true, or more so, of the threat to morals. +f you +ill persist in endo"ing the $tate and the government of the day "ith the po"er and authority, the appearance of legitimacy, to impose your moral standards upon your fello" subjects, you have granted the ne8t government cover to do the same. And sooner or later, that
%& his has nothing to do "ith one?s tobacconist. %' +f not as regarded $ection %, then certainly as regarded $unday opening.

government are going to contain a majority "hich is utterly and "holly of a different vie" of morality to yours. But let us go on. +t is in the culture, more even than in the political, "ars, that "e see these threats asserted most fre!uently. ake poor old $alman =ushdie. 1is publication of The Satanic =e ses "as, in its unintended conse!uences, a major turning9point in the fight for these freedoms. 1e has lived ever since under a fat+a4 1is translators abroad have been subject to assassination attempts, a brace of "hich have succeeded. Protests and threats < even against 1- the ueen, after he got a ) to go "ith his fat+a%% 6 have never really ceased6 there are bounties on his head6 he "as !uite likely the intended victim, as his knighthood "as the prete8t, for a failed bombing attempt in /ondon6 bookshops "ere bombed6 and the failed (and really !uite idiotic) private prosecution brought against him by -uslim barristers %~ for blasphemous libel resulted, at long last, in the elimination of blasphemy la"s from the statute book. +f, ho"ever, "hen The Satanic =e ses "ere published and again "hen =ushdie got his ), there "ere those "ho covered themselves in glory in standing up for free speech and the freedom to publish, there "ere others "ho, to use a guid
%% Bloody cheek. +ndeed, damned impertinence. Gou do not threaten 1-. %~ uite ine8cusably. :isgrace to their +nns, that lot.

$cots term in place of "hat "e?re really thinking, covered themselves in glaur. $ome -uslim leaders on the *ontinent dissented from the fat+a, bless them, and "ere killed (damn the buggers "ho did it). he bungle9"allahs% of +slamic

politics in the () beclo"ned themselves6 the ((sually9 $ounder9 han9 his) then *hief =abbi, after"ard /ord >akobovits, and the then Archbishop of *anterbury, that reliably useless invertebrate =uncie, supported e8tending the blasphemy la"s to cover +slam and prohibit books like =ushdie?s6 =oald :ahl embarrassed himself mightily6 and < of course < >immy *arter made a classic @of course + believe in free speech but? apologia. >ohn Berger and >ohn /e *arr betrayed any principles they might have been thought to have add by calling upon =ushdie to "ithdra" the book. And it yet goes on. /iterary festivals in +ndia dissolve into macabre farce over the book even no"6 and Ayatollah 1assan $anei,%D the right9hand (or perhaps more appropriately the left9hand)% man of the late Ayatollah )homeini, "ho issued the =ushdie fat+a, has sei5ed upon the latest round of +slamist riots and murders to up the bounty on =ushdie, saying, of the film that is the current prete8t for infantile rage,
% .hinge all you like, +nayat. Gou think "e don?t get stick for ou surnames in a good polemical free9for9allE %D Please, please, tell us his middle initial is @0?. % .ell, after all, he is a complete shit.

that it @"on?t be the last insulting act as long as +mam )homeini?s historic order on e8ecuting the blasphemous $alman =ushdie is not carried out. +f the imam?s order "as Apoor bugger means, @had been?B carried out, the further insults in the form of caricatures, articles, and films "ould not have taken place. he impertinence of the grudge9filled

enemies of +slam, "hich is occurring under the flag of the ,reat $atan, America, and the racist ionists, can only be blocked Aor, actually, @be blocked only?6 "ho translates this balls, and does he, actually, speak #nglishEB by the absolute administration of this +slamic order.? /et?s look back a moment, shall "e, to the inglorious responses of some people to =ushdie?s inclusion in the 1onours /ist in %&&. /abour?s ghastly /ord Ahmed decried it < on the grounds ("ait for it) of prudence and the giving of offence: @this man has been very divisive. his man < as you can see < not only provoked violence around the "orld because of his "ritings, but there "ere many people that "ere killed around the "orld and honouring the man "ho has blood on his hands, sort of because of "hat he did, honouring him + think is going a bit too far?6 disgracefully, the *onservative (at least nominally so) -P $te"art >ackson, the hon. -ember for Peterborough and, significantly, the then *hairman of the All Party Parliamentary ,roup on Pakistan,

complained that @A"Be do not need a situation "here "e are gratuitously offending our allies in the fight against terror?. (At the time, (B/ "as most likely in Pakistan: he "as after all eventually found there, and killed, in Abbottabad, "hich is rather like finding, in 'DD or so, that an escaped 1itler had taken a cottage near $andhurst ten years earlier and lived there rather freely since. Abbottabad is not precisely removed from the ken of the Pakistani $tate, or its $tate .ithin the $tate, the +$+. +f $te"art >ackson regarded Pakistan at any time as an @ally in the fight against terror?, one almost sympathises "ith the yob "ho kicked the silly bugger at a bus shelter in his constituency.) >ack $tra" "affled a bit before getting to the point: on the one hand < as if it mattered a damn < he e8pressed an appreciation of the @concerns and sensitivity? in the -uslim community, before < on the other hand < !uite properly insisting there "as @no justification "hatever for suggestions that as a result of this a further fat+a should be placed on the life of -r =ushdie? < as indeed there isn?t. +t "as the rather unlikely triumvirate (if -s >o"ell doesn?t mind being a 1i for a moment)% of :avid :avis -P (the :ave "e ou'ht to have as P-, "ho "as at the time the $hado" 1ome $ecretary), the then 1ome $ecretary >ohn =eid, and the then
% An old gag by a member of the Algon!uin =ound able, if -r Pyle recalls aright.

*ulture $ecretary essa >o"ell "ho shone brightest, even as the -*B (hullo again, +nayat) called the ) a @deliberate provocation? and rioters led by such gentry as Anjem *houdray screamed @:eath to =ushdie :eath to the ueen?% -r :avis said that freedom of speech is a fundamental freedom, and that in any case, 1-?s acts as the fount of honour shall never be the subject of intimidation. % :r =eid made the fundamental point that honours for services to letters are not predicated upon ho" many people agree "ith a "riter?s vie"s, and that that "as and should remain he

British .ay. And -s >o"ell pointed out that it "as necessary then more than ever to stand for freedom of speech. Gou, naturally, have already noted that the conflict here is one of people on one side taking offence and complaining < often murderously < of hurt feelings, and, upon the other side, people standing up for a universal right. +t remains so. he difference today is in "ho is on the right side of that !uarrel. /ook here, damn it all, "e?re Anglicans. +nsult our beliefs and "e?ll debate you if you like6 if ever "e "ere to "ish to crack do"n on dissent sans debate, "e?d offer you a choice of
% And that, children, is "here free speech does cross a line. Also, it?s damned impertinence. % Britons never, never, never shall be slaves. =ule, Britannia.

cake or death. (;or some reason, everyone opts for cake.) he 1oly 4ffice no"adays < under *ardinals imene5 and ;ang, no" that *ardinal Biggles has been translated to Pope < treats heresy very severely: "ith the comfy chair. Get "e seem to be outnumbered. $ir $alman "as brought up a -uslim < he?s not one no" < and "as and remains a /efty luvvie. 1e may have e8pected that -uslims should 1ave heir ;eelings 1urt by

his book (and are sulking yet, if by sulking one means @in many cases getting on "ith trying to kill him?)6 it must have been a shock, though, to find other /efties, then and yet more no"adays, kicking him out of /efty fandom.~& .hy is thisE /et?s keep going: "e may just find out. he assertion of this idiotic @right not to be offended? as a means of compromising or throttling the actual rights to free speech and to freedom of publication occurs in a goodish number of conte8ts that seem superficially rather different. 4h, certainly there are the riots over =ushdie?s book, cartoons in 0or"ay, alleged incidents of 0ot 1andling the )oran .ith the =espect its follo"ers should like to see,~' and All hat. But
~& ~' his is because they don?t read canon, but, rather, ("ait for it) ;anon. hey seem to have an idea that it is < to borro" from $t >ohn < the .ord incarnated (although of course it?s not, strictly speaking, an incarnation)6 that the =eal Presence of ,od is in each copy of the book. his seems rather close to material idolatry to us, but the "hole point of freedom is the right to let them think "hat they like, let us think it very !ueer indeed, and to not cut up ou'h +hen +e bloody +ell say as much4

it doesn?t end there. A friend of -r Pyle?s, in >uly, "ho is a supporter of e8tending the right to marry to same9se8 couples, "as aggrieved by an article that led her to condemn < indeed, the article incited the condemnation of < the American pundit and opponent of same9se8 marriage, -aggie ,allagher. -r Pyle?s friend asserted that it "as time to cease debating -s ,allagher, based upon assertions that she "as an evil person morally responsible for evil actions alleged and attributable to others. -r Pyle demurred. @1ate to say it, but + have to disagree "ith you here.... >udging folks by their faces is several sorts of informal fallacy6 +?ve never seen any evidence that -s ,allagher "ants anyone to hurry up and die, and + cannot imagine any valid argument that changing or not changing a legal doctrine about the ius mat imonium has anything to do "ith such an assertion ("hich "ould in any case be an a 'umentum ad conse>uentiam)6 there?s a valid point to be made that < so far as the argument is clear < proponents of re"riting millennia of common la" are engaged in petitio: to assert that (') an argument (%) over "hether or not something is and must be recogni5ed as a 2civil right,C (~) is foreclosed by () p esumin' and asse tin' that it is Asuch a rightB, sans debate, is an obvious fla" in reasoning6 and +?ll be damned if

+ can e1e agree "ith the proposition that something mustn?t be debated, any more than +?ll agree to the $P/*?s assertions making an appeal to authority cont a, valid.?~% +nto this friendly and reasoned debate bet"een t"o reasonable friends there entered a person named $cott =ose, "ho, it appears, is < in one of our better modern o8ymorons < an @advocacy journalist? "ith $trong 7ie"s. -r =ose, in tones and "ith reasoning that any radical imam should envy, made the follo"ing post, a public one, here reprinted "ithout correction or elision: -arkham $ha" Pyle ;(*) G4( ;(*) G4( ;(*) G4( ;4= .=+ +0, 1A G4( 1A7#0C $##0 A0G #7+:#0*# 1A -A,,4 ,A,,+09 ~~ .14=# 1+0)$ 1A 1# 40/G ,44: ,AG +$ A :#A: ,AG. #ven if the topic "ere not the death of gays, ,aggin"hore has "ritten that she is 2un"illingC to live in a country that gives anti9 discrimination protections to homose8uals < that includes in hiring and in lodgings. -aggot ,aggin"hore?s organi5ation sponsors anti9gay hate rallies "here its speakers yell through megaphones
~% -r Pyle?s objection to the fallacy of appeal to authority cont a is universal. 1is specific objection to the resort to the $outhern Poverty /a" *entre as that authority derives from his distrust of a la" firm, shilling for business, that has labelled perfectly reputable historians of the +th *entury as @neo9 *onfederate? hate9mongers. he $P/* did a good "ork in running )lu8ers out of public life6 but having done so, it chose not to disband, but, rather, to gin up ne" threats and ne" clients by having non9scholars create groups of hate figures "hom it could then accuse of being purveyors of hate. ~~ his is -r =ose?s charming term for -s -aggie ,allagher. 0ote that his belief in the =ighteousness of the #lect < in "hom he makes one < e8cuses to his mind "hat he decries in others.

that homose8uals are 2"orthy to death.C 04-?s head =obert ,eorge also is on the board of the $P/*9 certified anti9gay hate group, the ;amily =esearch *ouncil. And bt", G4(= ;(*)+0, $A*) 4; (0#:(*A #: $1+ < the main reason that the $P/* classifies a group as an anti9gay hate group, is that the group repeatedly promulgates kno"n falsehoods against gay people. $uch as, fraudulently conflating homose8uals "ith pedophiles, and encouraging the public to believe that all homose8uals are pedophiles. hat "hy the ;=* ~ is a hate group < among other )04.0 ;A/$#144:$ that it continually spreads against gay people, "ith the intent to keep them living as second9class citi5ens. =obert ,eorge mentored evangelicals "ho "ent to (ganda and hate9mongered against homose8uals, so strongly that the government there proposed the infamous 2)ill the gaysC la". (gandan tabloids started publishing the names and addresses of kno"n homose8uals and calling for their e8ecutions6 many such e8ecutions "ere actually carried out. *A *ongressman Brad $herman proposed a congressional resolution against (ganda?s violations of its gay citi5ens? human rights, and =obert ,eorge?s ;=* spent ~D) lobbying A,A+0$ the resolution, on grounds it constituted 2pro9homose8ual promotion.C And -aggot ,aggin"hore says that she 2cherishesC "orking "ith the ;=*. ,et it, fuckfaceE he group says you cant condemn a country?s leadership for permitting gangland style e8ecutions of kno"n gay people, because to do so "ould constitute pro9homose8ual promotion. 4h and one other thing, asshole6 you reference to 2re"riting millennia of
~ he 04- is the 0ational 4rganisation for -arriage. he ;=* is the ;amily =esearch *ouncil.

common la"6C firstly, thats "hite ethnocentric. -ost 0ative American tribes honored same se8 long term relationships, including those in "hich the same se8 couples raised children. 4(= =+,1 $ A=# 04 ;4= A0 A$$14/# /+)# G4( 4 :#BA #. =ight. /et?s think about that for a moment, shall "e. 0ot the merits of the underlying dispute, "hich are a subject for another Paper6~D not the mere vulgar abuse6 nor yet the fallacies and bad reasoning: rather, let?s consider that final shriek. @4ur rights are not for an asshole like you to debate.?~ A century ago, *hesterton noted the rise of 2the 0e" BigotryC: + notice "ith some amusement, both in America and #nglish literature, the rise of a ne" kind of bigotry. Bigotry does not consist in a man being convinced he
~D o get it out of the "ay in brief, no": our vie" is that the $tate has no business in the consensual se8ual conduct of any t"o or more competent adults, freely contracting6 that civil unions civil partnerships are fine and dandy so long as democratically chosen and not imposed upon a political entity by judicial ukase6 and that marriage is a bundle of special rights and special responsibilities, implicating everything from agency and fiduciary la" to intestate succession to, in many jurisdictions, the rules of evidence6 and the only possible justification for the $tate?s granting these special privileges to, and imposing these special burdens on, any t"o people, is not that they happen to be in love, but that they are a man and a "oman +hom the la+ p esumes shall ha1e issue: the purpose of marriage, legally, being to create an estate out of the in9la"s? heritable property to be managed by spouses so as to descend to the issue of the marriage. -arriage is a device for the orderly descent and distribution of heritable property, and that is its sole purpose and sole justification in the eyes of the ci1il, secula la+4 ~ -r =ose "rote this not many days prior to the *hic9;il9A boycott and counter9boycott, and the political shootings at the ;=* offices in .ashington. -y the standa ds no+ bein' applied by the ?eft to That =ideo, he @incited? the shootings and is an @accessory?. 4f course, he isn?t: any mo e than is 6 o should be +e e the iots in fact due to That =ideo 6 M 9a#oula as e'a ds the cu ent iots4

is right6 that is not bigotry, but sanity. Bigotry consists in a man being convinced that another man must be "rong in everything, because he is "rong in a particular belief6 that he must be "rong, even in thinking that he honestly believes he is right. his seems to have been an occasion on "hich ,)*?s prescience "as operating properly < and that despite his having notoriously and ine8cusably been "rong in one particular and highly significant belief, not implicated in the above. -r =ose, based upon his published screeds on the internet, all of them, so far as one can see, concerning this issue and gay rights generally, seems honestly to believe that those "ho do not agree "ith him are "icked people "ho must be destroyed, very nearly by any means necessary. 1e has attempted to bring, and may by no" ha1e brought, an action at la" against a university, a scholar, and a peer9 revie"ed publication in the social sciences, all because he disagrees "ith a paper and has convinced himself that it is an evil deed, corruptly funded and published through some "icked conspiracy. 1e has sought to have his political opponents prosecuted. And he appears to be completely convinced that those "ho disagree "ith him ou'ht not to ha1e the f eedom to debate him4 +t is difficult to characterise this as

anything save the return of the paranoid style in American politics, to its natural home on the /eft6 indeed, it is very difficult not to see it as a classic sample of -c*arthyism. @4ur rights are not for an asshole like you to debate.? +t really does suggest that ailgunner >oe is alive, "ell, and "orking for the /eft. here is really only one thing "hich one can say to this < it having been said best, long ago, by -ill:

Let us suppose, therefore, that the government is entirely at one with the people, and never thinks of exerting any power of coercion unless in agreement with what it conceives to be their voice. But I deny the right of the people to exercise such coercion, either by themselves or by their government. The power itself is illegitimate. The best government has no more title to it than the worst. It is as noxious, or more noxious, when exerted in accordance with public opinion, than when in opposition to it. If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. ere an opinion a personal possession of no value except to the owner! if to be obstructed in the enjoyment of it were simply a private injury, it would make some difference whether the injury was inflicted only on a few persons or on many. But the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the

opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth" if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.
+t is necessary to consider separately these t"o hypotheses, each of "hich has a distinct branch of the argument corresponding to it. )e can ne1e be su e that the opinion +e a e endea1ou in' to stifle is a false opinion. and if +e +e e su e, stiflin' it +ould be an e1il still4 .e?ll come back to that in a moment. /et?s e8amine another /eftist < "e?re really terribly sorry, but it is the /eft "ho are making the running "ith this < "ho "ishes to forbid debate by his opponents. 1is name is Brett )imberlin. oday, he is a /eftist activist "ho runs the non9 profits >ustice hrough -usic Project and 7elvet =evolution, funded by the (sual $uspects. -ore to the point, he is a convicted domestic terrorist < the @$peed"ay Bomber? < and perjurer, having started out as a trafficker in drugs. ~ Bloggers < /eft, =ight, and *entre < "ho have had the temerity to
~ $ee, e4'4, $nited States 14 @imbe lin, &D ;.%d %'& (th *ir.'), cert. denied, ~ (.$. '&%~, '& $.*t. ~%&, /.#d.%d (')6 $nited States 14 @imbe lin, ' ;.%d '% (th *ir.'D), cert. denied, (.$. ~, '& $.*t. ', ~ /.#d.%d ~& (')6 $nited States 14 @imbe lin, % ;.%d & (th *ir.'%) (table), cert. denied, & (.$. '&%, '&~ $.*t. '%, /.#d.%d ~D ('~)6 $nited States 14 @imbe lin, ~ ;.%d '~~D (th *ir.'') (table), cert. denied, D (.$. , '&% $.*t. %&, % /.#d.%d ('%)6 and on subse!uent collateral attack, $nited States 14 @imbe lin, ;.%d '%% (th *ir.), cert. denied, (.$. , ''' $.*t. ~, ''% /.#d.%d ' ('&). $ee further, $nited States 14 @imbe lin, ;.%d '~ (th *ir.'D), cert. denied, (.$. ''%, '& $.*t. %%D', & /.#d.%d (')6 $nited States 14 @imbe lin, D ;.%d (th *ir.'%). +t takes effort to commit perjury to a ;ederal grand jury before you graduate high school. -r )imberlin managed.

report these facts (and, in light of these facts, to !uestion, not unnaturally, the e8penditures and management of these non9 profits) have, at the least, been subjected to @la"fare?: an endless string of, !uite frankly, frivolous la"suits filed by -r )imberlin. (4dder things yet have befallen his opponents, but there is not < yet < proof that he is behind them.) 0o" that -r )imberlin has been sued in his turn, after one of his frivolous actions "ent very badly for him, he is resisting discovery as of the time of "riting. +f this reminds you rather of one >ulian Assange you?re not "rong. hey don?t like it up them. ( o get the usual /eaky .ick "hinging out of the "ay: one of the fe" e8ceptions "e are "illing to admit to the right of free speech and freedom of publication is the protection of le'itimate diplomatic and military secrets. -r Assange and his needy, seedy cre"~ apparently believe, or profess to believe, that free speech entails, say, embedding /ord 1a"91a" "ith the troops going ashore in 0ormandy, and allo"ing him to broadcast the order of battle, dispositions, plans, and troop numbers to Berlin. his is puerile. .oodro" .ilson "as < as not infre!uently he "as < "rong about diplomatic secrecy.
~ he reference, appositely, is to such @objective fascists?, including $talinists during the period of the -olotov9=ibbentrop Pact, as $ir 4s"ald -osley, 1arry Pollitt, and Archibald -aule =amsay -P. +t is taken from the earl .interton?s remarks to the 1ouse on -ay '&.

4n the other hand, "e, unlike a certain religion professor at Penn, to "hom "e shall shortly turn, do not believe that freedom to publish prior and freedom < of speech one is should a "ar

contemplate

restraint

unless

correspondent in the midst of battle < by the military.) And so "e come to the video clip, The Annocence of Muslims, and its purported role in provoking riot and murder in 0orth Africa, the /evant, and by no" just about every"here "ith a considerable -uslim population bar Bradford. /et us be frank. +t almost certainly played no role in these mob scenes < it "as no coincidence that they occurred, after much evident planning, on '' $eptember < and it shouldn8t matte a damn if it did4 0or shall "e pause for the ritual denunciation of its merits: those also are absolutely immaterial. he right of free e8pression is as near to absolute as damn it. And incitement is actionable only if it "as reasonably calculated immediately to over"helm and thus incite easonable people. Persons believing themselves to have a right not to be offended, and a right to attack any "ho offend them, are < eo ipso 6 absolutely not reasonable. uite bluntly, there is no right not to be offended6 and, "hat is more, +f your conception of an omnipotent :eity

re!uires that his mortal creatures defend his honour and vindicate his dignity by force of arms, your conception is self9 evidently ludicrous. +f your religion has its o"n Bre5hnev :octrine, it?s self9evidently false. And if these statements enrage you that is precisely you problem. .e are absolutely serious "hen "e say that neither artistic merit, nor good manners, is or may permissibly be made the measure of "hether speech may be allo"ed and be protected. +n fact, "ith the very fe" e8ceptions "e have outlined, it is our vie" that speech and e8pression, and conse!uently publication, performance, or e8hibition, is p esumpti1ely free and protected, "ith the onus upon its opponents to demonstrate conclusively "hy and on +hat a' eed ' ound of e;ception it ought to be limited. hat is not only our vie": it is the natural right of mankind, for "hich revolutions have been carried through, "ars fought, and martyrs made. (0ote that no one has ever set the "orld afire and aised the hea ts of f ee men and +omen +ith his st u''le and his cla ion c y for the sake of being free from having his "iddle feelings hurt.) =ecall this: not only is there and must there be an all but absolute right to speak and to publish6 there is and must be an all but absolute right to be spo#en to, to hear. Gou mayn?t like "hat someone has to say, but you have no right to prevent his saying it so that "e may hea it: particularly if it is

something "e?d rather not hear. *ontemplate for a moment a "orld in "hich the right to e8press oneself "ere predicated upon artistic merit in the e8pression. here?d be some 'k of traffic a day on the 0et.

0e"spapers should be printed on postcards. Books should be burnt for fuel. And of course the !uestion should be, .ho determines artistic meritE !o those pe sons should then become the unaccountable dictato s of the +o ld4 (+magine "ere it "e < "hich is far likelier than its being the /eft, "ith all their proudly @transgressive? minority tastes < and that "e "ere corrupted by that absolute po"er rather than remaining the horoughly 0ice *haps "e are. 7ermeer, *uyp, 1obbema, and Potter should be regarded "ith almost religious a"e. 4"nership of a $tubbs, a -unning, or a ;rith < or in America, a =emington or a =ussell < should grant one a peerage. Picassos should be put in a cellar to moulder6 and $errano and 4fili should be banged up in 1-P Pentonville, not for blasphemy, but for the *ockney impudence of charging the public, in guineas, for flinging a jar of pee and a chamberpot in the public?s face. +t?s damned nearly fraud to call that @art? < but it?s protected e8pression all the same.) 4r imagine a "orld in "hich mannerly speech alone "ere acceptable speech, and all speech remained even so subject to prosecution by anyone "ho chose to take offence. 4ne can

see it no": @4ne moment. *onstable, "hat reason did -r Paulet give for giving -r $eymour in chargeE? @?# said, my /ord, as the prisoner ?ad "ished him 2,ood morningC6 and he said, my /ord, that ?e < -r Paulet, + mean < ?ad a bugger of an ?angover, and in any case ?e "as goin? to ?ave the sort o? mornin? ?e damned "ell pleased, my /ord, and that it "as an #nglishman?s right to ?ave any sort of mornin? ?e chose, and if this sort o? thing "as to be allo"ed, my /ord, the ne8t thing?d be people demanding that one ?ave a nice day, like a lot of bloody Ganks.? @And a very sound statement of the la" it "as, too. + shall direct the jury accordingly. ,o on, *onstable.? uite seriously, it seems to us madness that a /eft that identify themselves so strongly "ith political and religious (or anti9religious) vie"s not held by, and indeed loathed by, the majority of their fello" subjects and fello" citi5ens, and "ho are allo"ed to hold and e8press those vie"s in .estern democracies only by virtue of these protected rights, should be so prone to urging that these rights be limited, repressed, or disallo"ed. Presumably they believe that they are the #lect and shall then have a monopoly on free e8ercise of these freedoms, and the po"er to deny these freedoms to others6 but surely they cannot be !uite that bloody thickE A rather

back"ards adolescent baboon < and "e have al"ays considered that the /eft are at least (and commonly at most) that clever < could readily see that the po"er to reclaim those freedoms from their intrusion, "ere they someho" to sei5e the machinery of the $tate, either in government or in the *ivil $ervice, and launch an open attack upon the rights they have been attempting to subvert covertly for some years, rests in the majority. And those "ho "ould set the constitution at naught "ant to recall that the ;orces are s"orn to its ultimate defence. .ere a gaggle of redbrick dons (or their American e!uivalents in "hatever $*=s the Ganks have) to attempt to suppress these freedoms in a "ay that "as obvious, they or their puppets in office should be s"ept aside, by ballots6 and should they then decline to abide that arbitrament, "ell: the average s!uaddie and the average soldier "orship very different gods than do the /eft. Get look at the reactions to the latest global +slamist tantrum. hese are people, alas, "ho, "hen they thro" their dummies out of the pram, kill bystanders "ith them. .e don?t accept that all or even a major part of this ongoing tanty "as occasioned by a cheap film clip on the 0et6 but some of those thro"ing the fit assert that, and all of those "hose reactions "e no" survey believe, or pretend to believe, that that clip "as the cause of this murderously puerile reaction.

7ery "ell: in that case, it is a straight fight bet"een free speech and its enemies, the latter being gathered at this juncture beneath the banner of 1aving a =ight 0ot to Be 4ffended By Anything #ver. +t is bla5ingly obvious "hich is the right side in that dispute: that of free speech. he regimental colours for ou

side bear battle honours that take one?s breath a"ay, and the mess portraits include such past officers and notable 4ther =anks as /ocke, -ilton, 4r"ell, *oke, Blackstone, $helley, and Blake. But "ho are these arrayed against free speechE .ell, there?s the ($ $tate :epartment6 the ($ :epartment of >ustice6 $ecretary *linton, Attorney9,eneral 1older, the Pentagon, the >oint *hiefs, and President 4bama. hey have all ackno"ledged the professed right of -uslims < and so far, -uslims only < 0ot to Be 4ffended By Anything #ver. ($ diplomats have been murdered, and the ($ government are not only going on "ith the fiction that it "as hat ;ilm that provoked the murders (incidentally contradicting, indeed giving the lie direct to, the /ibyan government?s statements), they are taking the position that hat ;ilm ought not to have been made and unnin' apolo'etic ad1e ts on Pa#istani tele1ision4 +t gives us no pleasure to defend -r 0akoula, "ho seems a nasty piece of "ork < assuming for the moment that he is

indeed @$am Bacile? < and "ho in that case might "ell be liable to be sued to his last farthing by the actors he hired if in fact he misled them about the film and e8posed them to all this. 0or can one condone the initial and mischievous claims that @$am Bacile? "as a >e" and an +sraeli "hose film "as funded by >e"ish investors. But these are civil matters6 "e are concerned "ith the criminalisation or governmental

suppression of free speech and the freedom to publish. And in that conte8t, it is not only necessa y, it is an absolute mo al obli'ation, to defend the rights of speech and speakers one holds and justly holds in contempt.~ +f your commitment to free speech and freedom of publication is limited to defending instances of e8pression "hich you do not find contemptible, you a e not in fact in fa1ou of f ee speech and f eedom of publication4 +f your commitment to free speech and freedom of publication is limited to defending instances of e8pression "hich do not happen to offend you, you a e not in fact in fa1ou of f ee speech and f eedom of publication4 +f your commitment to free speech and freedom of
~ =egrettably, $ir $alman =ushdie has made one of those "ho declines to defend even -r 0akoula?s rights, on the ground that he kne" "hat he "as getting into: the very criticism advanced against =ushdie then and again the other day in the *ua dian by those "ho declined to defend him4 :efending free speech truly does re!uire that one defend some ghastly people $ir $alman.

publication is limited to defending instances of e8pression "hich do not happen to offend others, you a e not in fact in fa1ou of f ee speech and f eedom of publication4 -r Pyle is not the only one of us "ho becomes entangled in free speech debates on the 0et. ;or some days no", -r .emyss, "ith -r :avid 1arsanyi and -r $am $chulman, has been engaged in a conversation on "itter "ith the

gelded appeasers at the ($ #mbassy in *airo and "ith "hat appears to be a "ell9meaning young person, apparently -uslim and apparently American, in "hich collo!uy -r .emyss, "ith un"onted patience, has attempted to e8plain these points gently. he "ell9meaning young person appears to be struggling "ith the concept, because he (presumably @he?) has fallen prey to the siren lure of @hate speech? as a construct. his is a construct that must be rejected in toto.& +t is the means "hereby the camel gets its nose under the tent ' the thin end of the "edge. .ho defines @hate speech? < particularly "hen it is joined "ith the alleged =ight 0ot to Be 4ffended By Anything #ver and 0ever to 1ave 4ne?s +ckle ;eelings 1urted, A""E Because "hosoever has the right to define some e8pressions
& +?ve got you no", my pretty, and your little dog, too. ' +t might very "ell be argued to be a criminal offence no"adays to use that metaphor in #ngland and .ales. .hich rather proves our point.

as being @hate speech? and thus to emo1e f om such statements the p otection of the la+, in denial of the i'ht of f ee speech and the f eedom to publish, has ac!uired tyrannical po"ers over the rest of us. yrannical po"erE 4h, assuredly. /ook at ho" it is used. +t is an absolute scandal that journalists sat on their hands < "hich "eren?t, therefore, tapping keys or holding pens < over the prosecution of Andre" Bolt. +t is an absolute scandal that journalists sat on their hands "hen #5ra /evant and -ark $teyn "ere being dragged through various kangaroo courts < the 4r"ellianly9named @1uman =ights? commissions and tribunals that infest *anada. $ome journalists, and rather more + ite s, took a stand for freedom. But all too many others have done far "orse than sit on their hands. 0o one likes defending -r 0akoula, but if his rights are subject to revocation, so are yours and ours and everyone else?s. Get "hat did the ($ administration of -r 4bama doE +t condemned -r 0akoula rather more fiercely than it did the mobs, mullahs, and murderers.% +n fact, in a scene that "as until no" utterly unimaginable in America, -r 0akoula "as dragged from his home in the middle of the night and taken
% *urious, really, "hen one considers that the mobs, mullahs, and murderers are pa e;cellence those "ho @get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people "ho aren?t like them?....

a"ay in a classic American @perp "alk?, a tactic designed to poison the public mind against him. 0or "as it out of consideration for his safety or that of his neighbours that this "as done at night: for it "as done in the full glare of a three9 ring media circus almost designed < perhaps indeed designed < to tell fat+a9cra5ed +slamists, @4ver here his is his house Bombs a"ay?. 0or is it anything but the most feeble of prete8ts to pretend, as the administration pretends, that -r 0akoula "as @voluntarily ans"ering !uestions? and "as asked to do so only because he has, as -r )imberlin has, a past conviction.~ 1e is clearly @assisting the police "ith their en!uiries? in the British sense of that term. his "as a

nakedly obvious capitulation to the enemies of free speech, and as nakedly intended for political consumption abroad < "here, it must again be shouted loudly and in tones of horrified outrage, the $S 'o1e nment, unde M 0bama, is unnin' c a1enly apolo'etic telly ad1e ts in Pa#istan .D +t "as
#$
.e of all people are not disbelievers in redemption. Anyone may be led astray "hen young or "hen desperate or "hen boule1e sB. #ven dear -r ;ry erred in his youth. 0evertheless, it is legitimate to remark the fact < something -r )imberlin refuses to countenance or to understand. .e make !uite certain that some Bright $park in the >ustice :epartment, having once seen The P oduce s, is hoping that -r 0akoula employed the Bialystock 3 Bloom method of fund9raising and accounting. +f so, that is one thing. But it is ridiculous, "hatever the ground of his conviction, and at least ou'ht to be unconstitutional, that he is barred from e8pressions of speech and opinion not related to his conviction or the acts that resulted in it. D his seems imprudent as "ell as utterly contemptible. +n the first place, the po"er?s not on all that often in Pakistan. +n the second, if these interrupt a cricket match on the telly, mobs shall take to the street and sack the ($

craven, it "as contemptible, and it should by rights lead either to -r 4bama?s impeachment or to his defeat in 0ovember. Get it is applauded by far too many "ho ought, surely, to kno" better6 and some of them, particularly in -r 4bama?s imperial guard of a lapdog press, have e8erted themselves to assist in it, as by identifying -r 0akoula?s residence for the convenience of the gentry in the bomb vests. (*00 has made a meal of posting the identifying personal information of a man "ho has not been charged "ith a crime and "ho is already the subject of death threats6 yet if -r 0akoula is to be reprehended for allegedly inciting those "ho then murdered Ambassador $tevens, "hich is the line *00 takes, then are not they accessories to any harm that befalls himE) his

should surprise no one: -r 1older?s :4> press office colludes regularly in planting stories in the press and dictating the spin to be given ne"s, as in the collaborations of -s racy $chmaler "ith the court eunuchs of -edia -atters for America. -r 0akoula is not precisely $ir $alman =ushdie6 but he shall be fortunate if he survives as long, and he is staring at the same fate fo the same thou'ht5c ime4 +t?s not as if the enemies of free speech are done "ith $ir $alman, after all: the
embassy.

bounty on his head has been increased, and his enemies are unrepentant even no". And of course :anish cartoonists and publishers, :utch film9makers, and :utch parliamentarians, have all seen "hat happens "hen one is accused of this thought crime: one may, sometimes, live, but one shall live thereafter in a cage < +ith the app o1al and collusion of ?eftist Cou nalists, autho s, and academics fo the ca'in' and the 'aole s4 And there is no statute of limitations, it appears, applicable to this thought9crime or any associated fat+a. Get there are those "ho ought to kno" better "ho have lined up under the banner of opposing free speech. /et us look, for e8ample, at one Anthea Butler, an academic at the (niversity of Pennsylvania. 4ne should like very much to say that surely there can be no other person in any American university "ho should act so stupidly, but that?s all too unlikely. .e recognise that the professor shall !uite likely object to having her actions and comments characterised as thick, unintelligent, and bleeding idiotic, but "e make sure she should prefer to be regarded as having acted rather out of folly than from malice, and malignity is the only other possible e8planation. Professor Butler is a "oman (of colour, as if that mattered a damn) "ho teaches =eligion at a coeducational institution6
As "e shall shortly see, +dentity Politics are a significant part of the problem,

and her discipline is not apparently restricted to teaching a $alafist curriculum in +slam. Politicised +slam < +slamism rather than the religion itself < should, "e make !uite certain, consider this sufficient grounds to mark Professor Butler for the chop "ere they ever to be in a position to do so. Blithely unperturbed, Professor Butler?s immediate reaction to the mobs? murderous rampages "as to t"eet, se iatim, ,ood -orning. 1o" soon is $am Bacile going to be in jail folksE + need him to go no".A B.hen Americans die because you are stupid... And yes, + kno" "e have ;irst Amendment rights,A B but if you dont understand the =eligion you hate, $ ;( about it. Ges, + am ticked off. And people do AgoB to jail for speech. ;irst Amendment doesnt cover #7#=G 1+0, a P#=$40 says. + am all for free speech, but you better damn "ell understand that actions have conse!uences, and "hat you mock is another persons belief. A Bhe murder of the Ambassador and the employees is "rong, "rong. But Bacile "ill have to face his actions "hich he had freedom after "hich, unrepentant, she ("ait for it) penned an editorial for $S& Today in "hich she stated as follo"s (our remarks in bold): +f there is anyone "ho values free speech, it is a
here. An assertion "e beg leave to doubt. 1er kno"ledge seems superficial at best in this area. 0o, "e?ve no idea "hat she?s trying to say, either, any more than do you.

tenured professor Evidently not. $o "hy did + t"eet that Bacile should be in jailE he 2free speechC in Bacile?s film is not about e8pressing a personal opinion about +slam. How not? t seems to !s that that is e"actly what it was. +t denigrates the religion by depicting the faith?s founder in several ludicrous and historically inaccurate scenes to incite and inflame vie"ers. #n$ort!nately %$or Pro$essor &!tler', that is neither the le(al nor the philosophical standard $or the protection o$ the ri(ht o$ $ree e"pression and the p!)lication o$ one*s views. Bacile?s movie is not the first to denigrate a religious figure, nor "ill it be the last. The ?ast Temptation of Ch ist "as protested vigorously. he difference is that Bacile indirectly and inadvertently inflamed people half a "orld a"ay, resulting in the deaths of (.$. #mbassy personnel. Precisely. +!rio!s how the protests in +hristendom res!lted in no deaths. +ertainly that is a di$$erence. &!t look at Pro$essor &!tler*s ne"t assertion, that -&acile indirectly and inadvertently in$lamed people hal$ a world away*. .ne co!ld stop there. Even were the $ilm to constit!te incitement within the meanin( o$ the law, and in s!ch a way as to /!sti$y a restraint !pon speech, its havin( -incited* distant viewers -indirectly and inadvertently* ends the en0!iry and resolves the 0!estion in Mr 1ako!la*s $avo!r. F!ll soddin( stop.

Bacile?s movie does not e8cuse the rioting in /ibya and #gypt, or the murder of Americans. hat is deplorable. 2his is the only worthwhile statement the pro$essor has made to date, and it o!(ht to have )een the entirety o$ her editorial. (nfortunately, people like Bacile and erry >ones, the ;lorida pastor "ho provoked international controversy by burning copies of the uran, have a tremendous impact on religious tolerance and (.$. foreign policy. 3nd? What o$ it? +iti4ens seekin( )y $ree e"pression to in$l!ence the policy o$ their own (overnment are en(a(ed in the most /ealo!sly protected speech known to the solicit!de o$ the law, political speech. $ there is any cate(ory o$ speech that is and o!(ht to )e more sed!lo!sly protected than political speech, in $act, it is 2erry 1ot5the5 Python 6ones* speech, which is religious speech. *ase in point: ,en. -artin :empsey, chairman of the >oint *hiefs of $taff, called >ones on .ednesday to ask him to stop promoting Bacile?s film. *learly, the military considers the film a serious threat to national security. +f the military takes it seriously, there should be conse!uences for putting American lives at risk. 2his is (o)smackin(ly st!pid. Governmental restraint !pon protected speech is )ad eno!(h to deserve o!tra(e. 7eployin( the military against protected domestic speech o!(ht to )rin( a (overnment down overni(ht. +hrist, the 8e$t haven*t sh!t !p a)o!t 9ietnam since it started: i$ this is

now their principle, everything has )een reversed, the World 2!rn*d #pside57own, as per$ormed at ;orktown. ;o! know, we were wron( /!st now, this is not merely st!pid: this is an o!tra(e. 3ccept this principle, and the .)ama administration, merely $or its political convenience, had )een a!thorised to tell %well, try to tell, and )est o$ &ritish l!ck with that' the late Marie +olvin not to (o to Syria and to keep sht!m on the whole )oilin(. General 7empsey, $or his part, o!(ht to do the only hono!ra)le thin( and resi(n his commission immediately: i$ he does not, he sho!ld $ace a co!rt o$ en0!iry at the very least, and 0!ite possi)ly a co!rt5martial. .hile the ;irst Amendment right to free e8pression is important, it is also important to remember that other countries and cultures do not have to understand or respect our right. &alls. So $ar, we have restrained o!rselves to !sin( the word, -r!))ish*, when what we mean is -)alls* %or, in 3merican, -horseshit*', )!t o!r patience is e"ha!sted. 2hey mayn*t want to !nderstand it, )!t they damned well want to respect it, or be compelled to do so. his is not, at least, craven, nor malign: there is that to be said for it. +t is merely unutterably stupid ("e shan?t descend to the level of Professor Butler?s t"eet that, if she doesn?t understand the la" and the rights at issue, she should shut the fuck up about them). ;or malignity in the universities, "e must, alas, turn to $t Antony?s 48on.
+t is -r .emyss? vie" that $t Antony?s has no" succeeded /$# as the institution making the running in trading scholarship < and academic

48ford, that notable home to lost causes, is home to one ;aisal :evji, (niversity =eader in -odern $outh Asian 1istory and ;ello" of $t Antony?s *ollege, 48ford, and one -s $harmine 0ar"ani, a $enior Associate -ember < in effect, a junior research fello", more or less < at $t Antony?s. A fe" days ago < ' $eptember %&'% < :r :evji "as amongst those contributing to a retrospective in the * auniad upon the controversy that surrounded the publication of The Satanic =e ses4 1e regards it as the beginning of global -uslim mobilisation against @insults against -uhammad? and of their e8pressing @their feelings of outrage at A=ushdie?sB depiction of -uhammad, Ae8pressedB by using the secular language of libel, defamation and hate speech?6 and he so regards it +ith app obation4 1e goes on to make the breathtakingly objectionable controversies, statement, over @But even or after other such all

cartoons

papal

comments,

concerned "ith insults against -uhammad, debate about them is dominated by old5fashioned ideas about f ee e;p ession . *onfined as they legally are to individual countries, s uch
freedom < in e8change for students from abroad at so many petrodollars a head. +t is also -r .emyss? vie" that this is a shame: one didn?t actually #no+, "hen one "as up, any antony Pigs, as one kne" chaps at (niv or 4riel or .orcester or rinity, or had conne8ions at #8eter, or, if in "ant of rough trade, might just consider tricking "ith Balliol or .adham sorts if they +ashed first, but it?s still rather a disgrace to have an 48ford college behaving in this fashion. -r .emyss is at least unfeignedly thankful that no one at the 1ouse seems to be of this kidney.

ideas ha1e no standin' in the 'lobal a ena +he e these cont o1e sies occu ? Aemphasis damned "ell addedB. And then there is -s 0ar"ani, "ho has publicly e8pressed herself upon the mob?s murder of Ambassador $tevens in Bengha5i. $he relieved herself of the follo"ing thoughts on "itter: '&&s of ',&&&s of Arabs 3 -uslims slaughtered by American troops. ell me again "hy + should care about "hatshisname9plus9threeE 4h do stop yr "hining just bc +m not crying over a "hite guy "ho died in the line of duty. ell it to all the dead bro"n mamas. 1ussein, "hat "ould a 1ouse Arab like yourself "ho backs senseless ($ "ars against Arabs kno" about being humanED& here is really only one thing to say about these vie"s, -s 0ar"ani?s, :r :evji?s, and Professor Butler?s: they are perfectly entitled to hold and e8press these vie"s. And +e are "holly entitled < and !uite right < to note that they are profoundly unscholarly vie"s to hold, to hold them in contempt, and to hold them out for public mockery. hat is the problem: the problem "ith the /eft, "ith these academics, "ith hacks such as -r =ose, "ith journalists "ho
D& +t is just as "ell -s 0ar"ani is at $t Antony?s, not at .olfson. .olfson?s motto is taken from erence?s splendid line, Homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto: a proposition "ith "hich -s 0ar"ani evidently does not concur. (;or the benefit of *ambridge graduates and others bereft of /atin, "e construe as follo"s: @+ am a man6 + consider that nothing human is foreign to me.?)

are "illing slaves to politicians, and "ith the demagogic politicians themselves < and of course, and above all, "ith the murderous and fanatical mobs, of any description, "ho insist upon a heckler?s veto and transform it into a terrorist?s veto. All those "ho "ould carve out from the realm of free speech e8ceptions for "hat they declare to be @hate speech?, and all "ho, like -s 0ar"ani, have found in +dentity Politics an e8cuse for suppressing free e8pression and applauding or at best dismissing murders committed < by their o"n lights and their o"n assertions < in that suppression, are the enemies not only of the freedom to speak and the freedom to publish, but, ultimately, of the freedom to think. t ahison des cle cs4 here is no greater

The common thread

n late >uly, shortly before he ended up in hospital, -r Pyle "as confronting enemies of free speech: secular, political enemies of free speech and the freedom to

publish. -r .emyss has been attempting to convey these principles in a collo!uy on "itter. -obs have rioted across the -uslim "orld, and diplomats have been slain, allegedly because -uhammad "as @insulted? in a film clip on Gou ube. .estern governments and public figures have sho"n themselves shaky reeds indeed in responding, or failing to respond, to these events abroad "ith a full9throated defence of free speech, even, indeed especially, "here one disagrees "ith or despises the speech or the speaker: for, after all, it costs nothing to defend polite, non9controversial speech. he bounty for the assassination of $ir $alman =ushdie has been increased6 -r 0akoula has been enthusiastically made a target for the ne8t murderer "ith the avid complicity of the

4bama administration and much of the ($ press. -r )imberlin has "aged la"fare against his critics. -r =ose and many others "ish to punish and to silence any opinions that do not comport "ith theirs, including by striking at academic freedom. *ensorship has found a defender in an +vy /eague professor of religion, "ho "ishes to subcontract the restraint of protected speech in &me ica to the ($ military. A ;ello" at $t Antony?s 48on believes that free speech is an old9fashioned idea confined to certain countries, and having no standing in the global arena6 another academic at the same college is so "rapt in +dentity Politics as to believe that she need not condemn a mob or a murder so long as the mob and the murderers "ere her o"n people, even if the effect < perhaps specially if the effect < is to chill free speech in free nations. he /eft in America have, as Professor Althouse and Professor =eynolds have noted, joined the 4bama

administration in asserting that corporations are not @persons? in la"6D' "ith, as Professor Althouse "isely points out, the corollary that they must not be allo"ed freedom of speech, and above all that they not be allo"ed freedom to engage in
D' .e shall believe that bodies corporate < includin' ne+spape s and t ades unions < do not enjoy legal personhood only "hen they cease to be able to enter into contracts, sue, be sued, and be p osecuted fo 1iolations of la+4 +f that is the brave ne" "orld the /eft seeks, then on their o"n < often unionised < heads, and the heads of the /eftists in the press thus deprived of the the right to endorse candidates and unionists "ho can no longer keep /abour afloat, be it.

political speech.D% here have been stra"s in the "ind "ell before no". 4n a Bank 1oliday -onday in %&&D, an 48ford undergraduate named $am Bro"n (a Balliol man. Bless. Poor thing) jocularly (after, no doubt, some jars of jolly9juice) asked a policeman < not a proctor < @:o you kno" your horse is gayE + hope youre comfortable riding a gay horse?6 for "hich he "as dragged do"n the nick and got a touch of & for his @offence?. .orse yet, the police spokesthug stated that these allegedly @homophobic?D~ remarks offended o had the potential to offend @the policeman and his ho se? as "ell as @any members of the general public in the area.?D +t?s amusing, in a morbid "ay6 but it is absolutely to be unde stood that if you li1e in a count y +ith <hate speech8 la+s, you a e not f ee4 +f a pissed9as9a9ne"t Balliol undergraduate can be banged up in gaol and fined & for calling a ho se @gay?, the $@ is no lon'e a f ee count y4 0ever mind -ilton, "e "ant an
D% he /eft in America is "illing to cra"l through any se"er and abandon any principle to see the back of CitiDens $nited4 D~ -r .emyss states that, although he cannot speak for, say, -r :ale, -r atchell, -r Boles, -r :uncan, -r /a"s, -r ;ry, or /ord -andelson, and shouldn?t care to do on a bet, it is his vie" that he and other gay subjects of the *ro"n really aren?t such delicate flo"ers as to be in "ant of protection from undergraduate humour. D here is no evidence that there +e e any offended members of the general public, or indeed any members of the ,reat British Public present at all. 4nly an utter horse?s arse could utter the po9faced idiocy that the ho se "as potentially offended. he /eft, "hich cherishes the idea if not the reality of themselves At the Barricades, really "ants to think about ho" < and a'ainst +hom < the illiberal measures it is shrieking for should in fact be enforced.

AP 1erbert no", "ith his Misleadin' Cases: this is straight out of , 1 Haddoc#: @+t cannot be too clearly understood that this is not a free country, and it "ill be an evil day for the legal profession "hen it is. he citi5ens of /ondon must reali5e

there is almost nothing they are allo"ed to do. People must not do things for fun. here is no reference to fun in any Act of Parliament.? he only distinction of course being that "hat "as hilarious as fiction is an outrage in fact. $tra"s in a black and bitter "ind. And those stra"s, in that "ind, yet blo" about: *hris -atthe"s thinks it someho" @arrogant? of -itt =omney to stand for election against -r 4bama: presumably, -r 4bama should be re9elected "ithout opposition. A councillor in the *alifornia to"n of $an Bernardino, a -r *has )elly, sought to have a citi5en prosecuted for telling him that he?d face a recall election if he voted against a certain measure. he #gyptian government seeks the e8tradition of erry >ones and -r 0akoula and company to face capital charges. he $P/* continues to dra" up lists of @hate groups? "ithout any scholarly or professional e8pertise or

!ualification that might suggest they have a competence to do so, and manage to have them taken seriously ("hen #ugene ,enovese is placed in the same category as #rnst undel and

;red Phelps, and "hen ,ary . ,allagher < fifteen yea s a'o < "as forced to defend himself pre9emptively against charges of being a @0eo9*onfederate?, something has an ancient and fish9like smell). *hannel ;our has knuckled under to threats and taken om 1olland?s documentary on +slam and its origins off the air, although it can be vie"ed on the 0et. Gale, you "ill recall, in %&&, put out a book about the :anish cartoons from "hich it e8cised, by "ay of a sort of pre9emptive self9censorship, all depictions of -uhammad < including the cartoons that "ere its subject. 4r consider this unnerving stra" in a "ind from an une8pected !uarter. 4ne of the fe" things that can and does move bien5pensant .estern @(seful +diots? to criticise the despots of the P=*, is *hina?s oppression of ibet. he same cro"d of muesli9munching $eekers, humming hree :og

0ight?s @$hambala? all the "hile, have a romantic vie" of 0epal as "ell. (-r .emyss simply has a sound appreciation of the virtues and martial !ualities of the Brigade of ,urkhas, and a deep sadness at "hat is happening to 0epal no"adays. Bloody *ommunists.) Get the .esterners flicking their lighters to Bob $eger?s @)athmandu? have perhaps never heard of -anish 1arijan, the artist, and the $iddhartha Art ,allery, "here freedom of e8pression is even no" being

stomped upon "ith jackboots by the )athmandu :istrict Administration 4ffice (:A4) in 0epal. -r 1arijan has received death threats for daring to paint and to display paintings in "hich the 1indu gods are re9imagined, their ne" avatars in his art borro"ing from the iconography of such .estern comic9book figures as ,host =ider and $uperman. he $iddhartha Art ,allery, for mounting an

e8hibition of these "orks, has been sealed by the :A4. .hat is the common thread hereE 4ne strand is fear. 0ot the understandable fear of attack from abroad (it is in the fevered dreams of the ?eft that -uslims are regarded as an undifferentiated and bestial mass of savages coming to con!uer and to kill: savages and children incapable of being reasoned "ith, of obeying the dictates of right reason, and of comporting themselves in conformity to a universal moral standard: it "as amongst $aid?s allies, if any"here, that the @orientalism? "hich $aid believed himself to have discovered, resided)6 DD nor the ignoble but comprehensible fear of social or political or economic ostracism: rather, it is the fear of debate itself. +t is the fear of debate. +t is the fear of being forced to thin#4
DD .ere this true, of course, honourable, devout -uslims in /ibya should not have < as they have done < apologised to the ($ for the acts of their compatriots and attac#ed the Aslamist militia and its leade s +ho a e esponsible fo the mu de s at the -en'haDi consulate4

=ecall -r =ose: @;(*) G4( ;(*) G4( ;(*) G4( ;4= .=+ +0, 1A G4( 1A7#0C $##0 A0G

#7+:#0*#.... 4(= =+,1 $ A=# 04 /+)# G4( 4 :#BA #.?

;4= A0 A$$14/#

=ecall Professor Butler: @And yes, + kno" "e have ;irst Amendment rights,but if you dont understand the =eligion you hate, $ ;( A$hut he ;uck (pB about it.? Gou, being sane, "ill naturally ask, .ho can be afraid of debateE .hat?s the "orst that can happenE Gou lose a debateE Ah. .e?ll get to that in a moment. =ecall, please, Ayatollah 1assan $anei and his clo"n posse: the latest prete8t for riot and murder @"on?t be the last insulting act as long as +mam )homeini?s historic order on e8ecuting the blasphemous $alman =ushdie is not carried out. +f the imam?s order Ahad beenB carried out, the further insults in the form of Athe :anishB caricatures, articles, and films "ould not have taken place. he impertinence of the

grudge9filled enemies of +slam, "hich is occurring under the flag of the ,reat $atan, America, and the racist ionists, can only be blocked by the absolute administration of this +slamic order.? .hy are the successors in courage of 4riana ;allaci and heo van ,ogh: the Ayaan 1irsi Alis, the Ahmed Aboutalebs, the +bn .arra!s and -agdi Allams, the ;iamma 0irensteins

and *aroline ;ourests, the =obert =edekers, and far too many more beside: no" familiar "ith life under police protectionE .hy does )urt .estergaard have a panic roomE .hy "as B1/ < Bernard91enri /vy < targeted for assassinationE .hy "as 4rhan Pamuk triedE .hat motivates idiots "ho embarrass the name of @*hristian? to burn books, or indeed to seek to ban themE .hy "as ;arag ;oda murderedE .hy "as 0aguib -ahfou5 "ounded in an assassination attemptE And "hy is -r 1arijan under threat in )athmandu, "here Buddhism and 1induism are the majority religions and the ne" national 0epali government is deeply in thrall to -aoists, "ho at least are meant to be atheistsE hese are not all instances of +slamist violence and intolerance: that is the point. /eftist secular intolerance, fundamentalist Prot intolerance, intolerance in 4riental religions, ultra9nationalism, and "hat can only be called intolerance in the service of a politicised vie" of gay rights, D are all implicated. hink back to -s 0ar"ani: @ ell me again "hy + should care...E 4h do stop AyourB "hining just AbecauseB +?m not crying over a "hite guy "ho died in the line of duty. ell it to
D -r .emyss "ishes it to be clearly understood that at least gay political e8tremism is, as against the others, fabulously dressed, is devastatingly fashionable, has much better music, and knocks off early for drinks.

all the dead bro"n mamas. 1ussein, "hat "ould a 1ouse Arab like yourselfA,B "ho backs senseless ($ "ars against ArabsA,B kno" about being humanE? +t is the end and aim and purpose, not merely the effect, of +dentity Politics, and of the assertion of a purported countervailing @right? not to be offended, to render the rights of free thought, and of speech and e8pression and publication of one?s thoughts, no longer universal6 to render them restricted to favoured groups, and besto"ed, not as rights but as privileges, by the $tate: either en bloc to members of favoured groups, or piece9meal to applicants from non9 or disfavoured groups. +n short, the intended purpose of these constructs is to make rights no longer rights, but privileges, bereft of universality. he motivating fear that drives this embrace of tyranny is the fear of debate. he fear is the fear that comes of kno"ing that, if it comes to debate, one is forced to e8amine, to confront, and to thin#4 1o" do "e kno" that an idea is false, or that a play is no bloody good, or that a poem is appallingly badE 1o" are "e to kno" that a proposition is or is not sound, or a custom or a la" bad or corrupted or other"ise in "ant of repeal or reformE A man "ho is "rong about one thing, even a very important thing, may not be "rong in all things6 but again, he

may: his false principles and conse!uent false dealings may be such that he cannot be trusted "ith a fiver, a bottle of singlemalt, a housemaid, or to give an honest ans"er to the !uestion, .hat day of the "eek is it. 1o" shall "e kno" "hat he is "rong about, and ho" far "rong, and "hy, and if he is indeed "rong, and ho" far he can be trusted if it allE 4bviously, the idea, the proposition, the painting or the prose, the criticism, the censure, the falsehood and the truth, must first be uttered, freely and "ithout reservation or censorship < including self9censorship. +t must then be debated: freely and "ithout reservation or censorship < including self9censorship.D And that is "hat threatens unto panic the )imberlins and the =oses, the ayatollahs $anei and the professors of all descriptions, the s"ivel9eyed +slamists and the s"ivel9eyed $outhern Baptists, the urkish

nationalists, the police art critics of )athmandu, and the secular rue Believers in one or another ism. 4ne might think that the blatant hypocrisy of demanding, particularly on the /eft, ;ree $peech for -e But 0ot ;or hee, could not be borne even by those making the demands6 that the internal contradictions of the position, the sheer "eight of
D his, by the "ay, is one very good reason "hy "e do not and should never say to Professor Butler that, "hen she comments upon la", policy, and political philosophy she doesn?t understand, she should shut up (note absence of e8pletives). $he should speak6 and she should then be p epa ed to defend he 1ie+s in open and honest debate4 And lose gracefully "hen she does.

hypocrisy, should become insupportable even to those putting the hypocritical demands for"ard. And it is !uite likely that the spin :r :evji and Professor Butler employ, that a universal right is @merely a .estern construct?, like the +dentity Politics to "hich -s 0ar"ani and -r =ose resort, is a psychological necessity to allo" them to persist in their inherently self9refuting beliefs and demands. his may be so.D Get "hat "e must ackno"ledge no" is that all "ars are "ars of religion. he "ars of the last century "ere "ars of religion: the ,reat .ar, a "ar of the debased religion of nationalism6 the 1itler .ar, a "ar of bastardised religion in the form of ideologies that had become ideolatries6 the *old .ar and its hot passages at arms, the same. he

current struggles, in "hatever form, from shouting matches in the opinion columns of broadsheets to actual combat in deserts and "aste places, are the same again, the mi8ture as before: and the religions that are locked in struggle are not +slam and *hristianity (and secularism), but rather ideologies given lat ia, "orship, cult, of "hich +slamism, politicised +slam, happens currently to make one. .ars, far more than politics, make strange bedfello"s, dubious alliances. he rationally9ine8plicable embrace by the
D 4r as -r .emyss prefers to put it, @Gou might very "ell think that6 + couldn?t possibly comment.?

/eft of +slamism, or at least of its objectives and its perceived utility to the /eftist cause, is e8plicable "hen this fact is ackno"ledged: like $talin, the /eft of today is perfectly content to ally "ith fascism to carve up one territory, and then to run after "hat aid it can find from the enemies of fascism "hen that ravening ma" is turned upon the /eft?s o"n tender flesh. And although this is typical of the /eft, it is not unkno"n on the =ight: hard as it may be to conceive no", there "as a time "hen ipper ,ore and her senatorial then9 husband tried mightily to ride a "ave of moral panic ... to the fabled shore of censoring rap music and its lyrics. ( hese are, un!uestionably, often offensive, misogynistic, violent, and hateful6 they are not infre!uently vile, base, and

contemptible6D but they are protected speech, and either you believe in free speech or you don?t.) +t?s all a matter of "hose o8 is being gored:& in "arfare, it is a common delusion, only temporarily and sporadically true, that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. All "ars are "ars of religion: the current culture "ars, as they are some"hat dubiously called, included. +t is as true no" as it "as "hen ,)* and >ack /e"is and ) *lark "ere
D As opposed to viol, bass, and continuo. 4n the other hand, @7ile, Base 3 *ontemptible? really does make a great name for a band. & 4r in the case of ipper?s e89husband, that greenery9yallery e89pol turned celeb filmmaker, "hose ,ore is being asked.

pointing it out by "ay of reminder to a .higgishly9educated public that had been encouraged to forget it, that the dulia, not lat ia, that "as given to the B7- in the 1igh and /ate -iddle Ages, "as of a particular !uality that meant that, "hen the reformers accused =oman *atholic *hristians of -ariolatry, and in reaction denigrated the 7irgin, men felt as if their mothers or sisters or daughters had been attacked. And reacted accordingly. +t is no less true that +slamism makes cynical political use of the -uslim veneration for -uhammad, as it has been notably doing in the past fortnight, and that the regard in "hich -uslims "ho are not at all themselves +slamists do hold -uhammad, is, in feeling, similar to the dulia that =oman *hristianity grants the Blessed 7irgin. 0o" e8tend your hori5ons. *oncede, as "e think one must, that "hat "racks and roils the "orld today is a conflict of ideologies that have taken on many or all of the attributes of religion. *onsider that the secular /eft, the academy, the practitioners of +dentity Politics < be those politics +slamism, pan9Arabism, gay politics and the burning desire to get same9 se8 marriage through by any means, irredentist urkish

nationalism, anti9?orientalism?, racial or religious solidarity, or "hat have you < and all the rest of those "e?ve surveyed, are invested in their causes even as devout believers are invested

in their faiths. -r =ose, for e8ample, has clearly lost his very sense of self in his cause6 -s 0ar"ani has desensitised herself to human sympathy in hers6 Professor Butler has suffered a serious case of dBfo mation p ofessionnelle. >ournalists and "riters have abandoned the very principles of their professions for political reasons. And "hyE Because they fear debate. 4pposition must be silenced, delegitimised, marginalised6 academic freedom must be sued out of e8istence if necessary6 dissent must not be allo"ed: for if these things are not done, there shall be debate. And that must not be allo"ed. .hy must it not be allo"edE .hat is the "orst that can happenE .hy do they proclaim a right not to be offended that, they claim, trumps the universal human right to think and speak and publish freelyE Because their entire sense of self, their concept of themselves, their souls and identities, are "holly subsumed in their chosen causes, faiths, and identities. And if such a person should chance to be challenged, to be made to reflect, to be forced to self9e8amination < if such a one "ere defeated in debate, as he should be "ere he to permit debate < it is not his or her cause or opinions, his or her )eltanschauun' or the )eltansicht of his or her affinitive or elective community, that is shattered: it is himself or herself. +ts is indeed his or her self4

A psychologically intolerable shattering occurs, far beyond mere cognitive dissonance that can be rationalised6 the insupportable prospect of their o"n mortality and impotence threatens, self9esteem is s"ept a"ay, and all the cunning devices of terror management fail at once and

catastrophically. =ather than this, for such persons, anything: the betrayal of principle6 the abandonment of intellectual honesty: nothin' is too base to be sei5ed upon as a means of holding back that disintegrating realisation. ;ear is one thing: it can be rationalised or overcome6 this, ho"ever, is the unmanning prospect of e8istential angst as )ierkegaard kne" and described it. o fend that off, people resort "ithout

shame to any means, ho"ever lo", and sacrifice anyone and anything they must. And because they are rue Believers <

persons "hose entire sense of self, and self9"orth and self9 esteem, is bound ine8tricably to and subsumed in their *ause < they can rationalise even this: for the *ause is >ust, and the end is self9evidently 0oble, and all means are "orthy in such a *ause. he +slamists and $alafists of today, e8ploiting the

devotion of -uslims of "hom they themselves are the leading killers, have sei5ed upon this, this binding of the self to the faith and the community, the ummah, this loss of selfhood in a greater cause6 the persons "ho have ranged themselves in the ranks fighting against free speech and free

e8pression are no different, at once the e8ploiters and the sufferers of this stifling fear that one inconvenient fact, one scholarly article, one book, one play, one painting, one lost debate, should forever destroy the "orldvie" that has become their "orld and their very self. +t doesn?t matter if the *ause in "hich their individuality has been allo"ed to dissolve be same9se8 marriage, anthropogenic global

"arming, or the heckler9cum9terrorist?s veto: "hat matters is that they cannot allo" free and open debate upon it, for if it perchance fail that test, they are in their o"n eyes as good as dead, their souls destroyed "ith the cause in "hich they have placed them. 4ne can pity such people, and hope for their healing. But they stand as an a"ful "arning against the perils of allo"ing oneself to be corrupted thus even in the best of causes and "ith the best of intentions6 and they certainly mustn?t be allo"ed further, corrupting po"er as arbiters of "hat free men and "omen may and may not think and say and publish. hey of all people must not sit in judgement upon hey "ould have you believe, for their o"n

free speech.

comfort, that some speech that is properly and rightly protected must not be allo+ed4 hat they are mistaken is one thing. hat their motives are "hat they are is another. And both these things are

immaterial. .hat matters is "hat they believe and are straining to do: and it is that 6 their aim, not their motive or their pathology: +hat they mean to do, not +hat they belie1e 6 is "hat cannot and must not be allo"ed. Anyone "ho palliates violence6 "ho seeks to carve out e8ceptions, beyond those recognised at the beginning of this paper, to your freedoms6 "ho seeks to persuade you that they have a @right? not to be offended6 "ho in any "ay asserts the right to fetter your freedom to think and say and publish as you like: is an enemy of freedom. 1e is your enemy6 she "ould be your tyrant. $uch persons are on the same moral level as al9aeda or a terror9supporting imam, if not lo"er: and they are infinitely more dangerous. By all la"ful means, and at all costs ho"ever high, you must resist them, debate them, force them to debate you, and sho" them up for "hat they are. Gou must defend even those speakers and vie"s you yourself disdain and despise, for the sake of the principle. 4r you shall deserve the servitude and slavery that shall be your portion under those "ho pretend to be your censors and seek to be your masters < if they allo" you to live at all. ;or the past fortnight has sho"n once more the fatal conse!uences of :anegeld and appeasement, even as the greatest of "riters and painters turned statesman once thundered:

 the terrible "ords have for the time being been pronounced against the .estern democracies: @ hou art "eighed in the balance and found "anting.? And do not suppose that this is the end. his is only the beginning of the reckoning. his is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup "hich "ill be proffered to us year by year unless by a sup eme eco1e y of mo al health and ma tial 1i'ou , +e a ise a'ain and ta#e ou stand fo f eedom as in the olden time4 Arise, then, and stand "ith us for freedom, "hilst yet "e may.

FINIS

his Position Paper specifically does represent the vie"s upon free speech and publication of Bapton Books, as a firm and as an imprint. Because the issue is so serious a one, it is being made available free even of a nominal charge. hose "ishing to sho" a lively sense of obligation to the firm in gratitude for this Paper and this stance may do so by purchasing Bapton Books titles:
)hen That * eat Ship )ent "o+n: The ?e'al and Political ,epe cussions of the ?oss of ,MS itanic E!ools, " un#s, and the $nited States%: &u'ust 1(, 1941 Sensible Places: essays on place, time, and count yside The Confidence of the House: May 1940 Sensible Places: essays on place, time, and count yside The &nnotated .ind in the .illo"s, fo &dults and Sensible Child en 2o , possibly, Child en and Sensible &dults3 The Complete Mo+'li Sto ies, "uly &nnotated The T ansatlantic "isputations: /ssays and Meditations The -apton -oo#s Sample : a lite a y ch estomathy