There are threats to free speech from both sides. I think the biggest threat is people not wanting to have their opinion tested or to face the fact that some of them might be wrong.

That said, I would say the left-leaning news and websites don't like dissenting comments. I think the ABC marriage to the "the conversation" site is problematic.
The Conversation site is more heavily moderated for dissenting views then the ABC drum was.

That said, I think the author is more concerned that his camp aren't making the rules anymore, rather than that there are rules.

Well it's not like the lefty have a monopoly on Big Jessies with thin skins; you should hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth from some of the Tories when people press their buttons.

Different people take offence to different things. I'm not offended by the foul-mouthed, black humour of Frankie Boyle anywhere near as much as I am offended by politely expressed homophobia. But I imagine that a lot of the people who are routinely and politely homophobic would be shocked and appalled by the filth that pours from his mouth.

nicknamenick,

".So footpaths had grinding to smooth out bumps...."

and then the council put natty little stainless steel truncated cones (slightly higher than the bump in the concrete that they'd ground away) in rows at the top of the nearest steps for the unwary to trip on.

Daffy Duck....You've been called a snow flake! :-)

There was a major incident at the local Snowflake University when a girl was told her piano playing was "boring". The Uni admin investigated and tried to sack the tyrant / lecturer . I think her piano would still be boring.

The purpose of snowflakes outrage is to silence anyone that disagrees with them and to take over the political narrative. It appears that it has silenced people in most arenas except the ballot box.

Just as those on the far left cleaved off and joined the greens, so too are those on the far right cleaving off to join One Nation. That the party that John Howard effectively dismembered has come back so strongly is a reaction to the ill considered "virtuous" policies of the left and the consequences which have left the middle class worse off, and the failure of the centre right parties to tackle these issues head on. This is not just happening in Aus and the US, but in France, Germany, Holland, and everywhere the left whinge parties have dominated for decades.

The response of the left is not a rational contemplation of fact that the world does not comply to their vision, but an attack on their enemies using the same weapons that failed so miserably previously. Meryl Streep might have got millions of "likes" from her twitterati followers, but has not reached one person that voted against Hillary.

The game has changed, and the tears of Snowflakes have lost their currency.