Students fed up with woke culture at universities launch free-speech group

[SunsetBeetch]

Students fed up with woke culture at universities launch free-speech group to embrace wide-ranging opinions amid fears debate is being stifled

(Mentions Selina Todd.)

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9206069/amp/Students-fed-woke-culture-universities-launch-free-speech-group.html

@RobinMoiraWhite

The Daily Mail cast as a champion of free speech. I’ll just leave this here while I laugh myself silly.

I don’t think this is the stinging put-down you thought it was, Moira.

I don’t think this is the stinging put-down you thought it was, Moira.

It's not. The Daily Mail has many faults. It is hopelessly anti-EU and biased on Brexit. It has had some horrible headlines in the past on immigration (although ime the articles tend to be more balanced than the headlines). It has been viciously anti-PC.

However, it also covers topics that other papers won't. The Mail on Sunday featured Suzanne Moore as an alternative point of view for years.

I grew up in a DM reading household, although when I got older I discovered other people viewed the paper as the work of Satan, so stopped reading it. In my uni days I went for the Independent instead. However, in recent years I've come to view all papers as having their strengths and weaknesses.

The Mail has always, as long as I can remember, championed free speech in a way that the Guardian has not.

On the guardian article - it's not surprising that ppl in their late teens & 20s are a bit naive. But, it sounds like they were asked to join something that already had an outline or mission, run by a woman who's a key player in fsu, and who goes on the media etc, but they also thought it was 'grass roots'. It's possible they were misled but it's also possible their ideas about what a free speech project looked like was unrealistic, because they hadn't imagined running into people with very different opinions.

The problem with free speech as a binding principle between people is that it requires everyone to put their own political views in the background. If they are too vocal or forceful with their opinions (especially if it's tories are evil, lefties are deluded etc) others will feel got at when their own political allegiances are impugned. You have to shut up about your pet political stance if you want to work with others on free speech issues.

FSU was a good idea, but it is a shame that it's dominated by right libertarians. Allison Pearson is one of their expert advisors, but her recent ridiculous and bullying behaviour in twitter (trying to 'cancel' someone) was very out of proportion and suggests that freedom of expression is not that much of a core principle for her after all.

I do find I'm with strange bedfellows on the free speech issue. The woke brigade will use anything to slur so the easy target is the Daily Mail, the Sun etc (funny, that they're working class reads). There are lots of people whose opinions I do not like and I do not support them, but I have to stand somewhere on this issue and what I want is for someone in Government to start to define Transphobia, so that we can all take a good long look at what it really means because it will impact on how discussions for women move forward.

I am surprised all lecturers aren't beginning to re-think their hard line views. I wouldn't expect any such change from the SU because their stand will always be anti-everything including debate and thought

I read the daily mail. And 🤷‍♀️

littlebrown don't know if you've noticed but the left have at times described the Mail as ultra right etc. The mail doesn't tow the Labour wc line and is in the main not a fan of the TU. All of this adds up to target practice for the left. Never been my paper and never will be but have always found it difficult to accept the slurs hurled in its direction. I am a working class lass, made good. I have views of both camps and at the moment I am a bit hacked off with the mc ones.

Will continue to read the articles via links on this board because there are some good ones. Strange bed fellows, what's wrong with me stating that?

@BrownFootStool

Attempts were made
To ban
The free speech society

Omg. It's beyond parody, isn't it?

Brian Cox seems like a good egg. His wife is very intelligent and supportive of women's rights too.

@littlbrowndog

I read the daily mail. And 🤷‍♀️

I'm more ashamed of reading The Guardian these days, considering how much they seem to hate women.

Oh it wasn’t at you highname

Was at moira. Laughing at people reading daily mail

And I hate the side bar of shame. It’s shite

I read the guardian for recipes and it’s free but that’s it on the guardian

They dont support women and girls it seems

Calling girls non trans gender girls

For me it’s good to read from different sources but I would never laugh at people reading whatever

It would be like the fememnist library saying no to any woman not bowing down to their. Erm values.

littlebrown I subscribe to the Spectator. I sacrifice myself on the alter so that I can link for you lot to read 😂

Your sacrifice is appreciated, highame - and that of all who bring the sweet, sweet share tokens.

The Spectator is a pretty decent magazine, and their subscriptions have increased significantly recently. They have much better writers than Toby Young, his column is quite boring. Fondly remember an excellent review of the film "TFW no GF" by Nina Power (about the furthest you can get from right-wing).

I actually like being exposed to a range of views, the UK is lucky to have so much diversity in its print culture, and it's important to read across the political spectrum. What I find utterly sinister are attempts to shame advertisers into pulling advertising money from newspapers (looking at you, "Stop Funding Hate") - this is nothing but economic coercion of political opponents and it's not worthy of a democracy.

it's also possible their ideas about what a free speech project looked like was unrealistic, because they hadn't imagined running into people with very different opinions.

I suspect you are correct, but it's weird - one of the advantages of going to university has always been meeting people who have well thought out, but very different, views than you have yourself.

It's kind of sad that students now see that as something to run away from.

Can anyone suggest shed any light on what it going through this blokes head, the one mentioned in the guardian article as being aghast at getting a call to clarify stuff after he said he would punch a nazi?

He's the head of some debating society or something. 'you're wrong and that makes you a Nazi and so I'd like to kick your head in' isn't what I thought university debate was about? I mean it's not my area but still