The right to offend is essential to British existence – The Free Speech Union

Labour assured us that the culture wars were over, but a rise in institutional censorship shows that this is anything but the case, writes former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Trevor Phillips in a great piece for The TimesHere’s a snippet:

“Much legislation that began as a noble attempt to protect minorities is being turned into a Stalinist charter for conformity. The modern jargon is ‘progressive overreach.’

“On Thursday, for example, Cambridgeshire Council was ordered to pay £55,000 for disciplining a lesbian employee. Her crime was being sceptical about a colleague’s claim that his dog was genderfluid; the offended colleague complained to bosses about her ‘nasty opinions’.

“In Britain, there is no legal right not to be offended. But it is increasingly common to irritate others at the risk of your own livelihood; and if someone can rally a crowd to complain, either in person or on social media, then you are toast. Those Faragiste votes in Labour-held constituencies – a far greater total than the Lib Dems garnered – did not come from nowhere.

“Laws are effectively made in the boardrooms of campaigning charities, management consultants and HR departments. Before we know it, rules that are neither debated in parliament nor enshrined in law become the kind of custom and practice that even the courts will submit to.

“I recently had to complete a compliance form for a large transnational company. Such online questions are now standard for both contractors and employees. Successful completion opens the door to competition for the company’s business; fail and you might as well not apply for the job.

“To my delight, there was a module on diversity and inclusion. My enthusiasm waned when I was presented with a scenario in which I had to agree to the fact that certain thoughts are forbidden. The test involved a conversation between three office workers who had learned that a biologically male colleague had decided to present as a woman at work. The three discuss it. ‘I really don’t get all this fuss about who you are’; ‘You can’t just decide what you want to be. I wonder if he’s going to wear a dress to work?’; ‘Maybe it’s just a phase’.

“The test was whether these comments should be reported to management. The right answer is probably ‘no’; at most ‘maybe.’ However, the right answer seems to be that they are offensive, regardless of intent or tone, amount to harassment, and are therefore disciplinary.

“There are two problems here. First, this is legally wrong. After feminist campaigner Maya Forstater won a case against dismissal for her gender-critical views, such comments have the status of protected speech. More importantly, the required response is morally wrong. The requirement to adhere to corporate social codes is reminiscent of the practices of failed Soviet socialism of the last century, rather than capitalism today. Indeed, most social progress in history has come about because courageous individuals chose to prioritize justice over rest.

“Today, governments and large corporations tout their diversity credentials by tying employees and suppliers to the Procrustes Bed of Greek mythology: the bandit son of Poseidon tortured victims by stretching or amputating their limbs to fit his bed, regardless of their size. They usually died.

“The government’s first steps do not inspire confidence in its commitment to defending freedom of thought. One of its first actions was to scrap legislation requiring universities to support academics persecuted by their colleagues for unfashionable views.

“Ministers are refusing to respond to the call from my old organisation, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, to legislate that ‘sex’ should mean biological sex. And so far the mood music about anti-Muslim prejudice has been to support vague, restrictive definitions that would hamper investigations into the activities of grooming gangs in English cities.

“The Greek myth contains a warning to those in government who push aside the fear of progressive overreach. The torture ended only when Theseus showed up, surveyed the chaos, and tied Procrustes to his own bed. Revolutions from above have a tendency to consume their own children, and far too many people get angry when asked to consume a diet of Puritan virtue signaling.”

It is worth reading the entire article.