FreeSpeech and Censorship: Thread

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Traditional women's sports should reject biological born males.
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Free Speech In The UK?

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18208/free-speech-britain

    "It isn't hate to speak the truth." — J.K. Rowling, author of the
Harry Potter books, Twitter, June 6, 2020.

    "An entire generation are puzzled by the idea that anyone has the
right to say things they don't agree with...for most people, true free
speech has ceased to exist.... On some issues, such as the transgender
controversy, it is virtually impossible to say anything without
attracting the attention of the Thought Police." — Peter Hitchens,
author and journalist, Daily Mail, December 11, 2021.

    "Among millions, the idea that you can defend someone's right to
say something you disagree with is now puzzling. They have no idea why
anyone would do that. For them, the debate is over, they have won, and
those who oppose them are stupid and wrong." — Peter Hitchens, Daily
Mail, December 11, 2021.

    "They also view my doubts about the theory of man-made global
warming as 'denial' of a fact which they regard as proven. To them,
this is little short of sabotage of efforts to combat this peril." —
Peter Hitchens, Daily Mail, December 11, 2021.

    "All of them believed that they owned the truth, that they were
profoundly good and that those who got in their way were therefore
evil as well as wrong." — Peter Hitchens, Daily Mail, December 11,
2021.

J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, found herself
denounced as transphobic. She received not just a storm of social
media abuse, but death threats, for saying that biological sex is real
and that biological males should not be allowed into women's spaces
simply by declaring themselves to be women. Pictured: Rowling accepts
the "Ripple of Hope Award" from Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, on
December 12, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty
Images for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights)

Freedom of speech is doing extremely poorly in the UK, according to a
recent YouGov poll. When Britons were asked what should be the
priority, 43% said protecting people from offensive or hateful speech
should be the priority, while only 38% said the focus should be on
protecting free speech. Generally, men and conservative voters were
more concerned about protecting free speech, while women, younger
people and Labour voters were more concerned about blocking offensive
or hateful speech.

The poll also showed that self-censorship is thriving: 57% of those
polled said they have "found themselves stopping themselves from
expressing their political or social views for fear of judgement or
negative responses from others." According to the poll:

    "In most cases, those holding what might be considered the
'un-progressive' view more frequently omit their opinions on that
topic. For example, those who believe immigration has generally been a
bad thing for the UK... those who disagree with the statement 'a
transgender woman is a woman' feel they have to frequently keep
bottled up."

Recent years have offered many examples of the dire conditions of
suppressed free speech in the UK. Opinions that a person's biological
sex takes precedence over "gender identity" -- that identifying as a
woman is not the same as being born a woman, or that transgender men
competing against women in sports creates an unfair playing field --
provoke some of the fiercest backlash.

Professor Kathleen Stock, for instance, from Sussex University, ended
up resigning after being denounced as "transphobic" by students and
receiving death threats for her views on transgenderism. According to
one report:

    Stock criticized the idea that "One aspect in particular that
baffled her was the claim that a person's belief about their
psychological identity, whether they are male or female, is more
important than their material sex at birth — not least due to the
impact such categories have on medicine, sport, science, education and
more."

Stock decided to resign from her position after her own lecturer's
union sent a letter urging the university's management to "take a
clear and strong stance against transphobia at Sussex."

Jo Phoenix, a professor of criminology at the Open University,
resigned from her position in December after receiving abuse from
colleagues and the university. She had, among other problematic
matters, spoken out about "the silencing of academic debate on trans
issues" as well as pointing out the problems of housing transgender
women in women's prisons.

J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, also found
herself denounced as transphobic. She received not just a storm of
social media abuse, but death threats, for saying that biological sex
is real and that biological males should not be allowed into women's
spaces simply by declaring themselves to be women. In response to the
attacks on her, she tweeted:

    "If sex isn't real, there's no same-sex attraction. If sex isn't
real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love
trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of
many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn't hate to speak the
truth."

As a reported consequence, Rowling had her name removed from a primary
school, because Rowling's "views on this issue do not align with our
school policy and school beliefs - a place where people are free to
be," according to the BBC. But not, apparently, to speak.

Gillian Philip, a Scottish author of children's books, was dropped by
her publisher for posting the hashtag '#IStandWithJKRowling' on
Twitter. In a column for the Daily Mail, she wrote:

    "I'm not remotely transphobic, but the idea that a man can simply
declare himself to be a woman, fully intact, without surgery or
hormones, and be allowed into women's prisons or hospital wards is a
crazy situation that I sometimes want to shout about."

Rosie Kay, a leading choreographer, resigned from the dance company
she founded in 2004, after she was accused of being transphobic,
following remarks she made at a private dinner she hosted for the
dancers in her company. Kay had said that "women are losing rights to
males who identify as women, including rights to single sex spaces".
She left after complaints made by the dancers about her remarks, and
said they led to an "unfair, opaque and horrific investigation process
that's still ongoing". According to Kay:

    "This was a dinner in my own home, at which I was attacked by six
individuals. The hostility was directed at me, and has lasted for
nearly four months. I make no apology for standing up against this
treatment... This is not aimed at the dancers, but at the toxic nature
of a culture that will see women lose their livelihoods for believing
that sex is real."

Jess de Wahls, an embroidery artist, had her work withdrawn from the
gift shop of the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in June 2021, after
complaints about a blog she had written in 2019. She had noted that a
woman is "an adult human female" and "not an identity or feeling". The
Royal Academy published a statement declaring:

    "The RA is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and does
not knowingly support artists who act in conflict with these values.
We would like to reiterate that we stand with the LGBTQ+ community."

"Eight people had complained," de Wahls told the Telegraph, "It was
ridiculous. The RA told me they stood with the LGBTQ community and I
said, 'So do I.' I told them it was insane to call me a 'transphobe'
just because I understand biological science."

"Cancel culture, this cancelling, this punishment, it's everywhere,"
said Dame Maureen Lipman, an actress and comedian, about the world of
comedy. She expressed her concern that it is in danger of being "wiped
out" because "comedians are scared that audiences will take offence,
and... they self-censor their material as a precaution... It's in the
balance, whether we're ever going to be funny again."

Patrick West recently wrote in the Spectator:

    "Earlier this month, both Jack Whitehall and David Baddiel warned
about the perils of 'cancel culture'. One comedian has made his name
on the back of deprecating his own privileged background; the other
made his in the 1990s as a right-on, anti-racist favourite among us
teens and students – when students were funny.... comedy is under
threat by this new orthodoxy. This is no joke."

Journalist and author Peter Hitchens wrote in his column for the Daily
Mail, on December 11, 2021:

    "Free speech is already dead in Britain. It is just that the
chattering classes have not realised it yet. There is still a very
limited liberty to say a few nonconformist things in some newspapers
and magazines, and perhaps in some universities and schools...for most
people, true free speech has ceased to exist. Step outside the borders
of acceptable thought in a school or a workplace and you can very
quickly find yourself being denounced and in serious trouble. On some
issues, such as the transgender controversy, it is virtually
impossible to say anything without attracting the attention of the
Thought Police.

    "They also view my doubts about the theory of man-made global
warming as 'denial' of a fact which they regard as proven. To them,
this is little short of sabotage of efforts to combat this peril.

    "Among millions, the idea that you can defend someone's right to
say something you disagree with is now puzzling. They have no idea why
anyone would do that. For them, the debate is over, they have won, and
those who oppose them are stupid and wrong... All of them believed
that they owned the truth, that they were profoundly good and that
those who got in their way were therefore evil as well as wrong."