PC? not a fan in fact at a country wide question and answer poll held to investigate why Keiting lost his election ALP voters in big numbers said they, like me, are sick of it

Free speech? Really?

The right whingers in this country who bleat on about free speech really are complete and utter hypocrites. As soon as the words like “Lest we forget (Manus)” came off a tweet you all went completely bananas. I have never seen such high bloody dudgeon cause by 4 such innocuous words.

The only people you want it for is yourselves. There was no standing up for Yassmin's right to free speech. There was no standing up to her right to offend. You wanted her to be politically correct, especially as she is both a woman and a muslim.

Snowflakes the bloody lot of yer.

I support the right to free speech.
Yassmin can say whatever she wants but she must also accept that other people too can also say whatever they want.

- And I think she was disrespectful and out of line, offending the nation who have her citizenship by hijacking Anzac Day and 'Lest We Forget' for issues she was advocating, and she shouldn't have said it.

She can criticise anything about this country she wants but nobody gets free pass to lessen the Anzacs on Anzac Day.
She crossed a line.

If I get the dynamics of PC right. It seems to be a reaction towards outrage. Basically someone says something or does something that makes another outraged, so then the first person (or other people preasure the first person) to avoid those words or actions. Get enough of those reactions and the agreed upon restrictions in one culture, and you get the focus of being PC. Basically don't do this or that because it rubs people the wrong way.

One huge problem with PC is that it leaves the door wide open to restrict other people's lives and behavior because they had a temper tantrum. So more and more people complain and feel "outreated" instead of dealing with situtions they don't control. And those temper tantrums are respected almost without restraint. I remember a time when a person complained about the world, one of the response was either "deal with it, that's the world we live in," or "toughen up and grow a pair."

The irony is that PC (the collective grouping of agreed on restrictions) is in itself a topic that is gaining outrage towards it.

My opinion is to deal with each issue on it's own and leave the collectively grouped PC issues on their own. If it's treated any other way I don't see any help removing topics and language out of the PC pile of issues. Indivually any topic and any issue can be discussed whether it's extreem to restrict behavior and speach because of that topic or if that is the right thing to do. Talking about PC as a collective is too general and probably won't remove any issue from the circus we have now because of uncontrolled PC.

My thoughts exactly, SteeleRedux. Here’s just some of the outrage that feature on OLO at the time:

“Those who say that Yassmin was simply execising her right to free speech are scum. You do not have the right to hijack 'Lest We Forgot' for your own political activism purposes on ANZAC day.” (http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=7750#238525)

“Why are we not sending this snotty young man hating, Australian hating female to prison for treason?” (http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=7750#238449)

“We cannot just ignore the offence and let her walk off scot free, smirking behind our backs ... I would deport her to anywhere outside Our territory and her name never mentioned again ever…” (http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=7750#238453)

There are people on both sides of the political spectrum who would love to silence those with whom they disagree. It is, however, much easier to portray your side of politics as the champions of free speech when that’s where all the ignorant and offensive remarks are coming from.

--

Armchair Critic,

It sounds like you’ve softened your position from the first quoted comment above (which was yours).

<<Yassmin can say whatever she wants but she must also accept that other people too can also say whatever they want.>>

Yeah, well, that’s kind of the whole idea. Unless political correctness is legislated for, there is nothing to complain about. Yet, when some ignoramus is censured for their abhorrent beliefs, the right STILL kick up a fuss and claim that it’s an attack on free speech. Just look at the Folau incident, for example.

The balance between the right to express ones thoughts/beliefs through free speech, and the rights of an individual or group not to be unfairly malign in a way to cause hurt and/or insight hatred towards those persons is a fine line indeed. No one is so untainted that they could be the arbitrator of whats reasonable and what's not. The best we can hope for is where society strikes its own balance in law and morals as to what is acceptable as freedom of speech and what is not. For some the parameters are rather narrow, for others like myself the boundaries are much wider.

Steele and AJ give the perfect example of "outrageous offence" being taken by one section of OLO, the forums hard right conservative mob when one of their taboos (attacking ANZAC and old diggers) was seen to done by Yassmin Abdel-Magied. Equally an opinion column by Piers Akerman (Murdoch press) which described Yassmin Abdel-Magied as a “silly Muslim woman”, “a fool” and “halfwit” has been cleared by the Press Council, as being opinion and in the interests of public debate. I agree with Yassmin Abdel-Magied right to say what she did, and I also agree that Piers Akerman has a right to his opinion, which did not constitute hurt to Yassmin.