I was branded a Nazi and told I would burn alive for defending free speech

[IwantToRetire]

... last year, before the festival began, the reaction to one talk became ugly. I had programmed an hour of discussion between two authors well known for their gender-critical views: the activist Julie Bindel and the journalist Helen Joyce. At the same time, I had also invited, to speak at a separate event, the trans writer Sophie Grace Chappell, professor of philosophy at the Open University. The festival has always given space to the LGBTQ+ community. We want to represent both sides of any argument.

... later this month, we will be hosting the philosopher Kathleen Stock who resigned from the University of Sussex after protesters denounced her views on gender identity. After a three-and-a-half-year government investigation, the university was fined more than half a million pounds for failing to uphold freedom of speech. Stock, however, still receives constant threats from activists, and our event has faced the inevitable calls for its cancellation. We have had to provide Stock and her interlocutor, Rabbi Jonathan Romain, with security. If things do not settle down, I fear that the latter will become the norm at literary festivals, rather than an exception. It saddens me.

Extracts from a longer article at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/news/sally-dunsmore-oxford-literary-festival-activists-speech/

and also at https://archive.is/F7FGZ

(Do any left or liberal news papers ever report on this bullying and threats? If not why not?)

Thank you for posting this - it’s great to see some literary festival organisers are able to stand firm.

I hope more continue to do so. And not just at literary festivals.

The article mentions Rabbi Jonathan Romain (my former rabbi!) and it brings to mind the deplatforming of Jewish people not just at literary events but also at comedy nights, etc.

The excuse is often that their safety (or staff’s) can’t be guaranteed but that’s bullshit. It’s just it’s too tricksy, too triggering, too likely to cause cognitive dissonance to allow them to talk.

I’ll leave the over-used ‘Nazi analogy’ to one side and just ask: who is the real threat to our values, freedom of speech and learning? The answer is decidedly not GC women or Jews.

Well said @BrinkWomanship the policing of free speech in the name of progressive and inclusive ideologies is one of the great insanities of our times.

Many thanks to Sally Dunsmore, in case she ever reads this. We desperately need people like her, who champion freedom of speech and intellectual debate.

I will never get used to the cognitive dissonance of people screaming “Nazi!” when they hear something they disagree with. Hitler, of course, was a textbook example of a fascist leader who dealt with dissenting opinions in the most brutal way, so it is bitterly ironic to try and shut down debate using the name of his party.

Thanks for the link and thanks to Sally Dunsmore for not bowing to the absolutely unhinged tantrums of the alphabetty mafia.

“The only thing new in the transgender debate is the rage-inspired, social media-driven demand of a mentally unbalanced cohort, as well as their cowardly enablers.”

This tactic of shouting down anyone they don't like, of shutting down venues with threats, of campaigning to have people hung drawn and quartered (figuratively speaking) because they object to their opinions is a gross violation of civilisation. It's mind boggling that they are so impervious to their own faults, perspective and reflection are basic to the human condition, how are they so devoid of something so basic.

Because they’re thick or insecure or both. In short. Devoid of critical thinking skills.

The saddest part for me, is that there has been enough publicity about these type of campaigns and intimidation for some years now.

But somehow society as a whole seems to just accept that this is how it is now.

A bit like in centuries ago a political meeting who end up with cabbages being thrown or worse.

Is this just a general acceptance, partly through social media, that being abusive and threatening is now the norm.

Intimidation happens because people get away with it.

I remember watching a video of an MP (male) walking from the HoC to his office, and all the way along the pavement he was being goaded by a bloke was basically a professional agitator, who knew the MP by name and was doing this for the umpteenth day running. He was jumping about in front of the MP, taunting him, calling him names - exactly the kind of thing that would make you want to deck a person. And of course the MP knew that if he put a foot out of line, so much as said to the bloke, 'Oh, do fuck off!', it would be all over the papers: 'The MP and the F-Word! Yesterday Joe Bloggs, MP for Nowheresville, swore at Dave Spart, 38...'

It was obviously harassment, but for some reason it didn't seem to meet any criminal threshold. You'd think that the police would be keen to follow up on threats to people like Kathleen Stock... but no.