THE MORAL REALM

Moral Wally

Tim Blair

Our intellectual superiors have raised the alarm. Worried by how all of us terrible oiks are responding to murderous Islamic terrorism, they’ve declared there should be limits to what we say about murderous Islamic terrorism.

Following what co-host Waleed Aly described as “one of the heaviest weeks we’ve lived through in a long time”, the ABC’s Minefield radio program last Thursday “took a hard look at the negative effects of ‘free speech’.” Waleed’s co-presenter Scott Stephens, editor of the ABC’s Religion and Ethics website, kicked things off:

“There’s something quite disturbing about our response to the events we’ve witnessed in places like Orlando or Nice. I’m hearing things being said that not that long ago would’ve been unthinkable.”

Now, a normal person might choose to focus on the events themselves, which left a total of 133 people dead through the vile deeds of Islamic maniacs. Their thinking might go something this: “There’s something quite disturbing about the events we’ve witnessed in places like Orlando or Nice. I’m seeing things that not long ago would’ve been unthinkable.”

By contrast, not a solitary person has been killed by the response to those murders.

Stephens broadened his concern to include speeches made at last week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland from the parents of children killed by illegal immigrants. “The whole point of it was to demonise a particular group,” Stephens claimed.

“The whole point of it is to do a certain violence against the dignity of fellow citizens and fellow human beings.”

As opposed, I guess, to the actual deadly violence committed by terrorists and illegals, which appear for Stephens to rank below the horrifying use of words. “We’ve been hearing about calls for a ban on Muslim immigration,” he fretted, referring to television presenter Sonia Kruger’s recent remarks.

“In the national broadsheet this week there was a letter published calling for Muslim internment. There have been expressions of unvarnished racism and sexism. We’ve seen over the last year chest-beating advocacy of the restoration of torture.”

Sounds like the advocates are torturing themselves. It’s notoriously difficult to waterboard someone when you’re pounding away on your own ribcage. Stephens then offered this thundering conclusion:

“I’m wondering whether we as moral agents can still be trusted with the privilege of freedom of speech. I think we’re at the point where we have to re-examine what we mean by that and if there is a deeper moral obligation that puts constraints on what we ought to be able to say in public.”

It might have been fun to turn Stephens’s microphone off mid-rant. No more freedom of speech for you, mate, especially not on the taxpayer’s dime.

Waleed Aly went along with most of this, so long as Stephens confined his comments “to the moral realm”, wherever that is. Perhaps it should be Radio National’s new name.

(Continue reading The Moral Realm.)

Please Explain:

Fifield asks ABC to explain Q&A

Who picked these turds out of the sewers?

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield wants an explanation from the ABC on how a Muslim man who had denigrated two female politicians online was given a platform–The Australian

Vomit bucket, quick:

Authorities worried right-wing extremists might attack Australia

• Authorities fear a violent attack on the public by ultra-nationalist groups
• Victoria’s terrorism watch list includes a number of right-wing extremists
• Experts believe it is only a matter of time an attack will happen  

Counter-terrorism authorities are monitoring right-wing extremists over fears they will carry out attacks in Australia after finding hateful online comments encouraging violence.

Victoria’s terrorism watch list, which include more than 300 people, includes a number of right-wing extremists, the Herald Sun reports.

The far-right political groups have been compared to Islamic extremists as their comments on social media reference plans for attacks.

Daily Mail

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