James Kirkup's article concludes:
"What to make of this? I’ve written a lot about this subject, because I think it raises many disturbing questions about the way we conduct ourselves as a society and a democracy, about the way the political process registers and responds to different groups’ valid concerns and questions. I keep writing about it because I think that more people in positions of authority should take a closer (and more public) interest in numerous failures of policy and politics.
And when I write about it, I take pains to do so in a calm, measured and careful way, because this debate desperately needs deliberation and calm reflection, instead of anger and outrage.
But it is very, very hard indeed to remain calm about the story of Harry Miller. In Britain today, a police force may have sought out a man who has broken no law and spent more than half an hour warning him about his ‘thinking’ and his expression of his opinions – for no other reason than someone said they believed that man’s lawful actions were motivated by ‘hatred’.
PS. You might be wondering about that limerick, the one that appears to have concerned the police officer and saw a law-abiding businessman interviewed and warned about his behaviour and his ‘thinking’. Here it is:
You’re a man.
Your breasts are made of silicone
Your vagina goes nowhere
And we can tell the difference
Even when you are not there
Your hormones are synthetic
And lets just cross this bridge
What you have you stupid man
Is male privilege."