Hi cousin,

Yeah, I think that, on the one hand, freedom of speech is an absolutely cornerstone of modern democratic societies, and without it, we are on a very slippery slope to dictatorship. Does it have limits ? Of course, and there are laws against actions which go beyond it, laws against slander, libel, incitement to violence, obscenity, victimisation, etc.

But as Brendan O'Neill has declared, like them or not, we need to know what objectionable views are out there. We also need to understand or at least detect the signs of views which sort of creep up on us, nicely spoken, polite, but which contain the germs of a diminution of the rights of particular groups, particularly women, on religious, ideological or cultural grounds.

It's interesting, come to think of it: I don't even have to specify which religions or 'cultures' I'm talking about, or any of the vile ideologies that they spawn. But everybody is free to infer what is meant: free speech or not, we are all free to THINK. So do we keep our thoughts to ourselves, as in dictatorships, or should we be free to express them, as in democracies ?

Cheers,

Joe