Britain is dead on the spot for free speech. Only the chattering classes are not aware of it. We have once again seen a clearly visible case where a mob is demanding limits on the amount of information that can be said.
Durham’s Professor Tim Luckhurst has had to apologise, because he called his own students ‘pathetic’ for their conformism. Some of them had walked out after a speech at Durham’s South College by the provocative writer Rod Liddle.
You might have thought ‘pathetic’ was a mild rebuke to such behaviour, in a university supposedly dedicated to the open-minded search for knowledge. It’s not true.
This one word was enough to trigger a parade of noisy outrage and – more importantly – to send the university authorities running for cover. You thought they’d stand for him.
You can still say some nonconformist stuff in magazines and newspapers, as well as in schools and universities. You can also do it on a few smaller, low-audience radio stations or bits of the Internet.
Professor Tim Luckhurst (pictured), principal of Durham’s South College, branding a walkout by woke students ‘pathetic’
Rod Liddle was invited into the College by Professor Tim Luckhurst. Tim Luckhurst is an old friend who used to be a newspaper editor and is currently the College’s Principal.
As Professor Luckhurst educated the students on freedom of speech in universities, he tried to placate their astonished faces.
Footage was captured of Dorothy, the wife of Dorothy, talking to students who woke up after the Friday speech
I am – for the moment – one of the luckier ones. However, I doubt it will last forever. It is clear that true freedom of speech does not exist for the majority.
You could quickly be expelled from school or workplace if you go beyond the boundaries of what is acceptable.
It is almost impossible for some topics, like transgender controversy to be said without being noticed by the Thought Police.
Surprisingly, most of the women who speak up on this issue are Left-wing radical feminists. True conservatives wouldn’t do that and will instead hide behind Julie Bindel, J. K. Rowling.
In workplaces, from fire stations to schools, everything must conform with ‘Equality and Diversity’. It is actually the law. If trade unions are still in existence, they will defend you and support the new speech code. Most people don’t risk this, so they are wise to avoid it.
Most students did not know his identity. They used their mobile phones to Google for Rod Liddle via Google. Pictured: Durham students protest after Rod Liddle’s speech
Children protesting carried banners and flags that contained messages such as “sod Rod”, “proud to pathetic” and “no hate”.
Sean Hannigan (22) is the leader in the backlash against Rod Liddle’s Durham University speech.
After seven society accused Luckhurst of “gross misconduct”, the mob called themselves “woke” and intensified their campaign to get rid of Professor Luckhurst. Hannigan was a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and voted Labour Party for local elections in this year’s election.
A large number of opinions have now been classified broadly as ‘Fascist’. This word does not mean ‘supporter of Fascism’. George Orwell pointed out more than 70 years ago that ‘The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies “something not desirable” ’.
However, it is now more. It’s amusingly not used to Fascists.
It is very telling that the word ‘Fascist’ was not aimed at Max Mosley, the prominent critic of British newspapers, by the British Left. Even though Mr Mosley was once brawling for his father Sir Oswald (a self-described Fascist), this is not surprising. He also painted Fascist symbols onto walls as a teenager.
Worst, he was revealed to be the publisher of racist leaflets at an age when it was obvious that he should and could have known better.
This did not deprive him of his Left-wing supporters. They enjoyed too many of his attacks upon Fleet Street newspapers. They see national newspapers as the last stronghold of democratic conservatism and want to get them out of power.
While the Left won’t call Max Mosley Fascists, it is laughable that many Leftists would use this of me. However, it can be freely used by people opposed to Fascism.
Seun Twins, the left-wing student leader behind a campaign to oust a Durham University lecturer, has previously described Jeremy Corbyn as ‘the white king’ and suggested Tories should be ‘dealt with’
The Free Speech Union lambasted the officers, (pictured two), who wrote a lengthy statement to try and oust South College principal Tim Luckhurst.
The Durham Students’ Union, pictured with two of its officers (pictured), was criticized for requesting a top academic to resign following an invitation by Rod Liddle as a speaker at a dinner party
Seun Twins Jack Ballingham, Jonah Graham, Declan Merrington, Charlie Procter (pictured), all claimed they were hosting one of Britain’s most well-known writers.
Among millions, the idea that you can defend someone’s right to say something you disagree with is now puzzling. They are unable to understand the reasoning behind this. The debate has ended for them. Those who opposed them are ignorant and wrong.
As far as I am aware, the whole idea of tolerance is almost dead in this generation.
It is amazing to observe that people with dominant opinions joke about killing others. These jokes are a bit too sexist for me. I’ve known people who made fun of their worst thoughts and desires.
The death penalty is something that these new totalitarians are opposed to, no doubt. In Oxford, my hometown, I’ve seen many people wearing T-shirts with the words “A Platform for Fascists” and the image of a guillotine. This is the weapon by which radical French Revolutionaries killed thousands of conservative opposition after the kangaroo trials. You can buy these witty garments for a bargain £12.84 on the internet.
I am impressed by Toby Young’s efforts to combat this dark age through his Free Speech Union. However, my heart is broken.
A few years ago, I received a warning about the future. I went to speak to a meeting at Balliol College in Oxford, about a favourite subject – the foolish destruction of state grammar schools. When I got near the college, I was stopped by the organizers to tell me I was being protested.
The demonstrators awaited me, carrying hand-made placards declaring ‘History will forget you’, ‘Stop Platforming Hate’, and ‘Welcome to our Heresy Hunt’.
At first, they were hesitant to speak up. They walked in complete silence in front of me, holding placards and making hostile gestures.
After seeing one of them walk backwards in a bush, my Fascist warnings failed to stop her.
While trying not to smile, I received a leaflet from another, where I was accused of many violations against political correctness that I had committed over the years. It was entitled The Words Of Peter Hitchens – A Brief Guide To The Bigotry And Vanity Of Peter Hitchens. It was very close to being true. It used partial quotation and slanted reporting speech to make me seem worse than I am. It also gave the impression that my motivations are not based on dislike of policies and ideas but hatred of people.
This is what everyone will face. That was the accusation I would face in my trial. It will happen if I’m alive long enough. The type of people involved in the demonstration over the next few years will include lawyers, police officers and civil servants, as well as journalists from BBC.
It’s absurd, you will argue. While freedom of speech is not as strong in the United States, it’s still free. However, dissenters won’t be tried or punished for their opinions. My opponents believe I spread hatred and have done real damage to vulnerable people. They do not view my words as expressions of opinion but as incitement to discrimination against certain people, and as ‘hate speech’ intended to harm.
They also view my doubts about the theory of man-made global warming as ‘denial’ of a fact which they regard as proven. This is nothing short of the sabotage and denial of all efforts to fight this peril.
Seun Twins Jack Ballingham and Jonah Graham as well as Declan Merrington (left) claimed they were a victim to an ‘abuse or power’ by hosting the UK’s top writers. Right: Prof Luckhurst
These positions represent modern versions of totalitarian states that arose between two World Wars in the 20th Century.
Each believed in the truth. They also believed they had the power to change and were able to control those who tried to get in their way.
It was possible in Germany, Italy and Russia by threatening street violence with crude seizing of power. It was followed by a civil war barbaric in Spain.
In the greatest human revolution, this has happened through peaceful, boring, and slow seizing power of the mind. What are your kids being taught in school about climate change, sex, marriage and history? Of course you don’t, though some of my readers report that their children received dirty looks from teachers when they revealed that The Mail on Sunday was delivered to their home.
It is assumed that they think school is the same as what you have experienced. But it isn’t. It is not the same with university. There, one set of ideas can be reinforced over and again by books, teachers and even by powerful clubs and societies.
What a chuckle we had over the past thirty years as the BBC politicized entertainment. Even Doctor Who, Call The Midwife and Agatha Christie mysteries were used to promote a political message.
How we chuckled at ‘Loony Left’ Labour councils of the 1980s, with their busts of Lenin and Red Flags in the town hall, their courting of Sinn Fein and their agenda of sexual liberation.
We laughed and it got more intense. While Ken Livingstone might be marginal now, what is it that matters when his policies today are embraced and defended by the Conservative Party?
Tim Luckhurst is a case that shows, despite claims to the contrary, that political conformity among campuses is being dealt with.
It is not clear if he will be allowed to continue his job. Will he perhaps be forced to wear a dunce’s cap and paraded round the university with his head bowed and a placard round his neck denouncing his crimes? This would make it easier for people to grasp the truth.
This course is reminiscent of the Chinese Cultural Revolution in the 1960s when legions of indoctrinated Red Guards ripped down all they didn’t understand, opening the door to a narrower, more intolerant world.
It’s worse than you imagine and you can’t believe how large it is. This is why many people don’t see it until too late.