Free Speech aka The Right to Be a Dick

As usual someone put this better than me, in this case it was Edward R Murrow who said: "The right to dissent - or, if you prefer, the right to be wrong - is surely fundamental to the existence of a democratic society."

Or if as I have already said, "the right to be a dick"

I'm writing this blog in the cloud of fallout on Twitter from Old Holborn's spiteful, unpleasant tweets about various aspects of Liverpool and touching upon seriously sensitive subjects such as the Bulger case and Hillsborough. In doing so he's just showing the world what a twat he is. It's offensive, it's unnecessary and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't say any of it if any of the people involved were standing in front of him.

Indeed mocking Liverpudlians seems to be something of a thing amongst certain tweeters and now is not the time or the place to ask precisely how they would have felt if 96 of their friends, family or fellow fans had set off for a football match, died & then been traduced by the media and police and their concerns swept under a carpet of cover up. Me, I'd be raging until I got justice. And I wouldn't let anyone forget, however much they would like too.

That's not the point of this blog. The point of this blog is about free speech.

Unless he's actively threatening someone Old Holborn has the perfect right to be an offensive twat. That's what free speech is for. It's not for the people whose views we are comfortable with or who we share a sense of humour with. It's for those people whose views we disagree with. who would hate us and everything we stand for or are just offensive.

There's no right not to be offended.

If someone is being a dick on Twitter you can ignore them or block them. RT their post & point out their utter twatworthiness or take them on in an argument. You shouldn't try to silence them because what's to stop someone doing that to you the next time their offended.

I can't pretend to understand the anger - though I can make a wild stab at it  - that some people currently feel towards Old Holborn but I believe free speech has to be more than just 'free speech for the people we agree with'.

I blocked Old Holborn ages ago because I found his shtick all a bit tiresome. The radical libertarian (right-winger) with his fearless desire to pursue left-wingers. I'd recommend everyone do the same if that's how they feel.

We've had a battle over the last few days over respect for the dead & freedom of speech. I think it is OK to make jokes about & burn Thatcher in effigy, even if it isn't very nice. I think Old Holborn's entitled to be offensive about whatever he wants to wank on about. I just don't need to see it.

Freedom of speech means nothing if it isn't the freedom to be a dick.