Essential reading

[flexibeast]

Some essential reading - particularly for those who regard legislative change as the primary vehicle for social change:

• "Say what you think. The importance of giving offence", by Muslim writer Kenan Malik;


• "The 7 Never-to-be-Forgotten Principles of Government", by Harry Browne.

 

Comments

[cheshire-bitten.livejournal.com]

I like the first one, good article, I have wondered these things before, the points he makes are the reason I tend to avoid safe spaces of any kind, I will end up wanted to piss someone off because I think they are wrong and I know this is a community that isn't accommodating of that so I tend to avoid them, I don’t mind that they want safe space but I feel to disenchanted from every cultural subgroup that I associate with to be comfortable in there safe space.

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Interesting . . . . i think i know how you feel, at least to a certain extent.

My take on the "safe space" issue is that society in general shouldn't be expected to be a safe space in which no 'offensive' remarks can be made, because that will inevitably mean that 'offensive' political opinions will have to be stifled (e.g. let's not offend Christians by suggesting that God approves of same-sex marriage). On the other hand, i think that specific subsections of society have a right to create a safe space for themselves in which people don't have to worry about being hassled by people who don't share certain beliefs and values.

Having said that, i know that i have a number of opinions/beliefs that aren't particularly PC, and that i don't feel comfortable sharing in a semi-public space such as this, because i'm pretty darn sure that they would upset a number of people and probably result in non-constructive discussions.

[foibey.livejournal.com]

I love being an anarchist. :)

[cheshire-bitten.livejournal.com]

Yes, I have no problem with any of that, like you often do you have said what I was trying to say with more eloquence than I could have.

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Oh, okay, well, cool. :-)

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Heh . . . . that's Ye Olde Englishe for 'terrorist', isn't it? ;-)

[cheshire-bitten.livejournal.com]

I guess I was also trying to say that while I respect safe spaces I also avoid them out of respect, I understand why the space is there and I fell that if I was in that space I would have to bite my tongue when I didn’t want to or I would offend people, so I stay away and everyone is happy.

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

*nod* That's one of the main reasons i stayed away from 'Moist' at WoW: even though they said they were trans-friendly (though i'm not sure of whether that included my 'brand' of trans), i felt that my presence would probably cause more distress than it was worth.

[foibey.livejournal.com]

Only if you believe what the government have to say. Although police surveillance of the few anarchist groups I've been a member of was a bit harsh, we never actually smashed any windows or blew anything up. Maybe that was where we went wrong. Apparently the mere idea that we were against the state and hierarchical authority was dangerous enough that we had to be watched all the time. Either that or (more likely in my opinion) the surveillance pigs and FIT squads had to justify their budget for the times they weren't following around and harrassing firms of organised criminal football fans so they kept an eye on us in their spare time. They do it to non-scary animal rights and environmental groups too. It's all a bit daft.

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Heh, no, my last comment was definitely tongue-in-cheek - due to many years of intense social activism, i'm much more familiar with left politics, and the various strands thereof, than most people (e.g. i'm aware that yelling "Kronstadt!" in a room full of lefties will probably create some, er, interesting discussions :-) ). Last time i checked the Political Compass (http://www.politicalcompass.org/), i came out as a far-left libertarian (Economic Left/Right: -9.38, Libertarian/Authoritarian: -8.36).

So yes, i've been following the decidedly anti- democratic behaviour of the governments of Australia, the UK, and the US (amongst others) towards residents of their respective countries - it's not only daft, but outrageous as well. :-|