cont'd ...

leoj,

I forgot to add.

We can argue this case for ages. It won't change a
thing. Prof. Gillian Triggs will receive her award
in July whether any of us like it or not.

Dearest Foxy,

Yes, and she can attend every annual Festival of Very Slightly Dangerous Ideas held by the Uni of Sydney every year. That would be appropriate.

Love,

Joe

Dear Joe,

I'm not sure about Prof. Triggs attending every year
but attending at least once would do a lot of good.

Prof. Triggs is an
eloquent speaker and she certainly would have a great
deal that she could say on "dangerous ideas"
from her own experiences.

After all -

"It is dangerous to be right in matters on which
the established authorities are wrong".
(Voltaire).

Dearest Foxy,

That's an interesting quote. One could say also that

"It is dangerous to be wrong in matters on which the established authorities are wrong in different ways".

OR

"It is dangerous, for one's reputation, to persist in being wrong in matters on which the established authorities may just be right".

And, of course, as you would readily agree, none of those vapid declarations may be conclusive.

What did Triggs do ? She used her position to castigate QUT students when she could have brought that matter to a very swift conclusion by simply observing that it didn't stand a chance. She and her side-kick tried to drag down and destroy a wonderful and brave cartoonist with a burning concern for Indigenous disadvantage.

On the other hand, by her dreadful misuse of powers, she has provided a wonderful caution for all of us about the vital value of free speech, one of those value that we take so much for granted.

Joe

Dear Joe,

I shall repeat what I cited earlier -

Lets resort unfashionably to the facts and the law
before deciding which colour of outrage suits the
occasion.

See you on another discussion.

BTW: For your information - the HRC doesn't have the
power to stop claims likely to fail in court.

Hi Foxy,

I fully concur:

"Let's resort unfashionably to the facts and the law before deciding which colour of outrage suits the occasion."

What ?! You've switched sides ?! Isn't that just a bit - forgive me - politically incorrect ? Relying on "the facts" ? I've lost quite a few friends that way :(

I presume that the HRC can exercise its discretion as to whether it wants to be involved in any particular case, or not. Whether somebody wants to bring a case to court is up to them.

Joe