Free speech does not discriminate

Free speech does not discriminate
Tim Wilson from the IPA unloads on activists
Tim Wilson from the IPA

LGBTI Australians should reject special group rights that undermine their human right to free speech to defend themselves.

In the new year the Federal Government is intending to deliver on its pre-election promise to repeal section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.

The relatively obscure provision of this federal law makes it “unlawful” for Australians to make comments that would “offend, insult, humiliate of intimidate” others on the grounds of “race, colour or national or ethnic origin”. The provision became famous when it was successfully used to silence News Limited columnist Andrew Bolt from discussing the Aboriginal identity of fair-skinned Australians.

Irrespective of what any individual thinks about how 18C has been used in the past, it should be repealed.

First, it imposes an entirely subjective test on the merit of an individual’s speech. No one knows what may “offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate” another person. It becomes doubly problematic when we are discussing offence across cultures.

Second, the subjective interpretation of this provision ensure individuals only have the choice to walk on egg shells when discussing issues that may fall afoul.

Third, it gifts special group rights for people based on a collective identity. For years LGBTI Australians have fought for the same legal standing for themselves, and their relationships. More often than not, the very intention of campaigns to change laws has been to achieve the classical liberal spirit of universality before the law, not a special status.

Section 18C represents ‘special’ rights for a certain group of people, not ‘equal’ rights.

The simple reality is that some individuals from different cultural, ethnic or national backgrounds don’t accept people being same-sex attracted, and make it known. If section 18C is allowed to stand they can throw hostile verbal bombs at LGBTI Australians, but retreat to the protections of 18C should LGBTI Australians respond.

Fourth, it fundamentally undermines the human right to free speech. Sadly, human rights no longer appear to have the standing they once did.

A classical liberal approach to human rights saw them as a very narrow number of protections for individuals from the abuse of power of government. This includes speech, association, movement, religion and property – which include both physical property and the right to own your own life and self-determination. They were limited, sacrosanct and could be reasonably exercised without harming another’s human rights.

Arguably the most important is free speech, because it is necessary to protect all other human rights.

Understandably, we all go squeamish when we are called to defend the principle of free speech. We are never called to defend it when people say “please” and “thank you”, only when individuals say something that at least someone doesn’t like. It’s the spirit of the often-apportioned quote to Voltaire that “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it”.

But the solution is more speech, not less. We should preserve the right to speak out, mock them and ridicule them for the stupidity of their comments or the hate in their heart.

And that also applies for incorrect statements. Free speech isn’t limited to factual accuracy. If it were, we’d never have a contest of ideas where ideas are proposed, exposed and corrected.

The argument behind 18C is to afford some people higher legal standing than others for factors outside their control. It’s the antithesis of equality before the law.

As LGBTI Australians know: haters gonna hate. So we should defend our human right to speak out, defend ourselves and ridicule narrow-mindedness without fear.

Tim Wilson is a policy director at the Institute of Public Affairs – www.ipa.org.au He tweets @timwilsoncomau

Diversity Council Of Australia boss  Nareen Young does not agree with Tim. See her post here.

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30 responses to “Free speech does not discriminate”

  1. So will his partner Ryan discriminate and use his students as propaganda fodder like Tim has done in the past??

    Freedom to contact Pinewood School for further clarification please

  2. Now that Mr Wilson is a human rights commissioner how does he allow his partner to be discriminated at a religious school??

    It’s the silliest logic ever to protect a man that has contradicted himself in various forms at the I,p,a

    Ryan’s students should be asking him at Pinewood ,sir do you discriminate against us like your partner?

  3. Discrimination is based on fear. Dr Aung San Suu Kyi

    World Aids Day where Tim was a participant in didn’t resonate well with his philosophy sadly.

    Thanks I.P.A…..

  4. So some corrupt old shock jock can say that gay men are dangerous and like to have sex with your children
    They should report them to the police and its ok.
    That would be justified to some degree
    Thats the simplistic and shallow mindset of that audience
    Middle class families are at risk of gay creeps that ate in the media as well

    Slippery slope there now

    When Chris Kennys son from The Australian defends The Chaser team sketch in favour of Freedom to ridicule their extremist fathers viewpoints its hilarious hypocricy thats CORRUPT

    Give us a break Tim

    Freedom os speech to suit your agenda only is self serving and laughable

  5. When Cory Bernardi as a conservative extremist engages in Freedon in Speech against the community with repugnant comments attacking OUR identity the gay liberals are silent

    Gutless Tim

    You said nothing at all

    You want respect from the wider community to see you as normal then show it as a smart man

    Otherwise the animosity will be there from your own sweetie

    Show some depth and not propaganda lije this article

    hugs

  6. I find it offensive when Rabid right wing commentary is regarded as normal especially with the i.p.a

    They attract extreme elements including The Australian Protectionist Society and other crazy idiot groups that are racist in nature

    A considered and thoughtful right wing neo liberal group wouldnt attract that bogan audience

    Please take a careful look at respected columnists like George Megalogenis and other decent and respected professionals in their viewpoints on this organisation

    The people behind the i.p.a are a bunch of very nasty people that use these “nice” faces to look moderate and accepted in the media

    Tim and Co dont speak for the majority of people in Melbourne at all

    They insult our Liberal intelligence and denegrate Melbournes reputation on Collins Street

    Theyre not worthy of analysis

    Thanks.

  7. In lieu of Mr Mandelas death your generation should NEVER allow racism to get in power again

    NEVER….

    So get on a plane with your gay liberal friends and talk to Mr Putin et al

    His laws are fascist and extreme

    That’s a FREEDOM to fight for not this silly little piece of legislation
    Cheers

  8. The days when people could build empathy has been replaced by the minituates of self obsession
    Sadly elements of the gay lobby have been eroded by a sense of community

    Tim you’re correct with that point in your previous article in this publication.

    So ZEALOUS are advocates of change including the I.p.a that their sense of self righteous is absolutist.
    Non negotiable

    How vacuous are the terms left and right Tim that you use..

    The lib/lab machine is full of extremism and moderates are left out to pasture

    The m.p’s that many of your friends worked for are very conservative

    .

  9. Tim I assume lives in Melbourne. ..

    The city consists of many succesful greek australian chinese australian and jewish australian middle class professionals

    Does the the I.p.a have a problem with that group of people who have contributed to the city’s multicultural fabric??

    It’s quite ironic that the C.E.O of Sky News is of Greek background. . Angelos Frangopoulos

    Sweet irony right there for the far right eh??
    Lol!!

  10. Lastly…I see the troll patrol of Tim Wilson on this blog

    Please refrain from using the people at the I.p.a to do your dirty work for you

    Destructive little apparatchiks.. go away and get a real job. …please get a genuine intellectual from a reputable think tank.

    He is using the credible gay press to espouse his own p.r…… yet again

    The animosity shown towards gay liberals explains why their arguments are shallow and simplistic

    Get Anton Enus to write and I will listen to a credible voice

    He is a delight and very very down to earth

    Namely a g.p or possibly a surgeon that helps others

    Cheers
    X

  11. Furthermore a note of correction

    With Mr Wilson it’s the Australian or Anglo middle classes

    That excludes the Hellenic, Jewish ,Chinese etc

    They are proficient in a multitude of languages and have their own rich cultures to draw literature from in various forms ie art, music, food etc

    Cheers and bless xxxx

  12. What a ridiculous and convulated riposte there.

    The corrupt hypocrisy of the far right never ceases to amaze me.

    Espousing ideas that are pseudo intellectual and irrefutable is why the current government doesn’t live in the real world…the arrogance is extreme and repugnant

    Just like the I.p.a yawn

    Racist propaganda takes many forms including Tims convulated article

    Conservativism is discriminatory

    Simple Racist Racist Racist

    Tims and Co’s institution has been regarded as non credible by many including Malcolm Turnball

    See A.F.R article on google…

    As our m.s.m and political culture has shifter further to the right anything that is radical behaviour is deemed extreme….sad really

    There lies the problem
    Australians are renoun for having colorful language and an irreverent sense of humour

    Freedom fighters could go and live elsewhere if they
    get offended..namely the u.s.a

    See Roskam in The Age…

    The far right live in a world where they want to control the media in a nice little polished box

    In the real world…language is complex and organic
    That includes language that within a sociological context is often misrepresented
    People who have a racial tinge ,discriminate in a sophisticated and sometimes nasty guise

    If the far right want Freedom…go and live in the u.s.a

    Stop using every conservative American tactic in our public discourse to corruot the masses

    I despise the Murdoch mafia and they offend me greatly as a decent citizen in this great country

    I will not disseminate Mr Wilsons argument as he is a bore yawn…. waste of time
    The far right live in a repulsive little racially tinged bubble that offends most citizens that like Multiculturalism

    For them it’s just ethnic food and a nice little play

    Shallow and stupid just like their convulated propaganda

    The white superior race complex is boring…whichever way you spin it….
    To control that is fascist…in whatever context
    Decency prevails over any far right propaganda

    I find Mr Bolt and his entourage a dangerous group on our society that exhibit narcissistic tendencies

    Looking at the repugnant responses on Menzies House and other right blogs in the mainstream media , language is much more simplistic and anti
    Intellectual and nasty to the extreme

    I look foward to the day when an I.p.a staffer gets sued for the same crap that Mr Bolt did

    Decency prevails over racism

  13. So he should also support female genital mutilation to show he supports most Islamic preachers ??? That’s according to you logic.

  14. You do have to laugh really considering the following is also on the IPA’s hit list

    82 Abolish the Australian Human Rights Commission

  15. BTW, As a privilege white man Stephen Fry would say that, he’s got education and money and support networks.

    Now go an argue that line of defence with an impoverish Ingenious teenager after he’s been called a “black c**t welfare bludger” by a radio broadcaster.

    Tell him he’s not to feel offend.

    We don’t all live in the middle class educated world of Stephen Fry.

    • Strange – I was called a “white c**t” when I refused to give a cigarette to an Aboriginal girl as I was walking down the main street of Wellington in the central west. I replied immediately with “black c**t”. She stated she’d report me for discrimination. How blind could a person be when she was the instigator. But that’s how people are brought up today – one rule for them, but a different rule for others.

      • When she has broadcast it over the airwaves to those of listeners as a statement of fact (resulting in race rights like Cronulla) then you have a right to complain – that is what this is about, not anecdotal personal incidents

  16. It’s a bit sad that pretty much all the people who have commented on this article have responded with personal insults and derogatory comments about the writer. No-one has anything intelligent to say about the content of the article. The writer’s arguments must be pretty good if the only way to counter them is with personal attacks on him. And how ironic that the people who made these nasty comments are presumably against “vilification”. Yeah right….

    • Thank you Drew. Not all LGBTi’s are rabid lefties. People wake up to the real world around you. Get out and interact with the real Australia. You will find it vastly different to your inner city gulags

  17. A little dismayed at the above comments but moreso no supportive comments. I will try and take comfort from the 17 “likes” versus the 6 negative comments though. If nobody else is going to side with freedom I will. I could write volumes on this but will try to condense.

    First of all there are and were already laws against assault (verbal or otherwise). Better to enforce laws we already have than to create more and more laws to reduce freedom for all. Rather than focussing on revenue raising.

    Secondly “subjective interpretation” should be a major concern for all. For instance I am athetist and it is conceivable that if I were to say something like “I think that the bible is medieval fairy tale” that somebody may take offence, or worse PRETEND to be offended so to silence me and even have me charged with a crime. On that note even to just accuse me of being offensive and force me to prove that I wasn’t (this part of the RDA also reverses the onus of proof). Difficult to defend against accusations particularly if they didn’t occur.

    You may not care or disagree with my opinion but I ask that you consider how many of YOUR opinions, mannerisms, behaviour et al could potentially be considered/interpreted “offensive” or even just perceived as offensive. What else could be “interpreted” as “offensive” picking your nose, chweing gum, swearing, wearing the wrong coloured t-shirt? Some say the line has to be drawn somewhere I say it already has – when it turns into assault, threats or intimidation under laws previous to this. No good censoring people only to get yourself charged with a crime for saying an Irish joke or if, say you are a fellow atheist (merely being an atheist can be interpreted as “offensive” to some).

    Lastly did nobody read the “Arguably the most important is free speech, because it is necessary to protect all other human rights” line? Ironically going down the path of dismantling freedom of expression (free speech) is the best way to erode and remove rights – including gay marriage. Once freedom of association and freedom of/from religion are eroded you may find yourself being forced to follow a religion you don’t want to or be stopped from practicing your own. What do totalitarian and dictatorship countries lack – free speech. It may take a while but we should all know by now that the loss of our liberties and freedoms happen incrementally. End by saying Stephen Fry’s opinion is that offence can only be taken and not given.

    • Crap, this is not about an individuals ability to make a statement, it’s about powerful white men being able to use the media anyway they want.

      When you say you support free speech, you are actually saying something very imprecise. What you really mean is that the costs of speech should not be imposed by the State, and where possible, social pressure should decide.

      Any laws that force bigots like Bolt and Jones to think twice before inciting hatred, due to the possible costs/ penalty, is a good law.

      • Brendan, you just might inciting hatred right now. And that’s one point to the whole article. You’ll get away with it, won’t you. Nothing Bolt has said has incited hatred. I certainly don’t read his articles, and then get the urge to go out and hurt someone. Wake up you idiot!!!

  18. Could we repeal Tim Wilson’s narcissistic tendencies for a less self entitled brat???

    Goodness me…if the next gen are like you Tim…

    God help us all!!

    I have never met such a shallow person in the g.l.bt.i.q community…please mature with age as you’re a smart man.!!

    Who hurt you at school to have such a horrible ego

  19. Tim

    If Mr Bolt is your friend ,could you suggest that as a man who has a gay sister as well as our p.m, he promote g.l.b.t.i.q rights via his blog

    Those boganistas need a wake up call

    Furthermore when do we see you and Ryan prostitution yourselves in a big fat gay wedding and help the cause???
    As a free marketeer, it would send a nice message for the conservative middle classes that:

    Your semi normal as a gay liberal

    (Sadly the extremists in your camp like Mr Bernardi think you are akin to a circus act in sexual terms)

    Lobby for the poor community in Russia and go against the disgusting behaviour Mr Putin promotes in hard core fascism

    You want to be a role model……

    Or a well educated idiot/professional contrarian

    Hugs sweetie. .xxx

  20. Tim is only threatened by his house repayments in the gay ghetto

    I hope you reduce your debt by being compensated financially with the many articles you write

    I would suggest that your rent seeking escapade is limited to the m.s.m honey

    It also threatened Mr Bolt’s private school fee payments as well and this repeal is a payback by the government to ease that pain which hurt his ego
    Tsk tsk

  21. The IPA and Wilson are only spreading this as Andrew Bolt is one of their main mouthpieces and he was charged under the legislation.

  22. You are an educated white male. The fact that you feel threatened by these laws, which protect those that don’t the privileges that you rely on in life, is laughable. The provision has had very narrow and limited application and serves a strong purpose. You don’t understand the law if you think otherwise, and therefore aren’t really equipped to comment. Editors, the contrasting view is not available via the link, please fix this.

  23. Mock and rule for the stupidity…..
    Touche Tim

    I can shortly call you a f…en f….ot??
    Really and become a gay right wing bogan??

    No thanks darling. …im a classy thinking gay

    Anton Enus could teach you a lot on how to be classy liberal

    Hugs Sweetie..xxx