We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.
Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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The guardian of our liberties Our next Prime Minister speaks.
In the wake of the BNP pair’s acquittals, Chancellor Mr Brown said: “Any preaching of religious or racial hatred will offend mainstream opinion in this country.
“We have got to do whatever we can to root it out from whatever quarter it comes.
“And if that means we have got to look at the laws again, we will have to do so.”
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Who Are We? The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling.
We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe.
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They’ll need to watch out that they don’t outlaw the Koran.
Brian, exactly. You beat me to it!
This government is terminally thick. I really despair.
Nice idea. If they pass a law, who is up for a class action, suring all bookstores that distribute the Quran for inciting hatred against Christians, Jews and polytheists?
Quite. Don’t you just love that instrumental logic from the Lord Chancellor, too: “Lord Falconer later told BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions? that the government had to show young Muslims that Britain was not anti-Islamic.”
So anything a private individual says (or thinks?) can be controlled on the grounds that it might be deemed by a third party to be the opinion of a collectively conceived ‘Britain’ AND the permitted collective expression should be a matter of government policy.
I imagine my frequently expressed opinion that Islam is an evil, but that individual Muslims seldom are bad people any more than anyone else, would also be banned under this wishful new law, since it is clearly anti-Islamic. (Not to mention too subtle a distinction for an average kid fresh from one of our more dismal comprehensives or red-tape universities.)
And what of the Church of England:
That’s pretty anti-Islamic and it is the official doctrine of the state church. What’s the LC going to do about it?
And what’s he going to do when I say the Athanasian creed is an anti-human fairy tale too?
If you are going to ban offensive words, whose offence takes precedence? It looks to me like precedence is being granted on the basis that some people might be expected to express their offence violently. Which is the way to an auction of aggression and the end of tolerance.
Hmm, very tongue-in-cheek of the BBC to publish that article and at the same time provide a link to MPACUK, one story of which banners, “PREMEDITATED MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE BY ZIONAZI’S”. If indeed Lord Falconer is prepared to threaten us with scattergun statements like, He said there should be “consequences” from saying Islam is “wicked and evil”, then perhaps he might like to consider the flip-side and tell us what action he will take against radical Muslims who insist that Christianity is “wicked and evil”?
BBC News 0 BNP 2
…which is a bit like saying…
Boston United 0 Scunthorpe United 2
But at least the lesser evil won.
Brain, dang! Beat me too, on this board (but I had posted the same sentiment elsewhere).
Actually it might be a good idea that they accidentally outlaw the Koran. It might then expose the hypocracy and fallacy of both sides.
So, I imagine a future defence might go something like this.
I was not criticising muslim people. I was not criticising the muslim religion. I was merely criticising the muslim political party.
And what, pray, is that?
Why, sir, it’s the same muslim political party that established the rival Muslim Parliament in England. Am I to understand that it’s now illegal to criticise a political party?
Am I to understand that it’s now illegal to criticise a political party?
Don’t give the buggers ideas.
*deep sigh*
And the democrats have the house and senate. Im too damn young to feel this damn old. I feel like I am in purgatory. The Pilgrims had Plymouth Rock. I s there anywhere for Libertarians to go? I dont think there is. My hope is for the hastey demise of civilisation so we can start over again. I could cry right now. All I want is to be free but those with the power know whats best for me. Maybe the solution is a gun… and one bullet.
Which person, when shot with that one bullet, would bring down civilzation as we know it ianbo? I wouldn’t use it on yourself, that would be admitting defeat.
And here, in a shameless bit of self-puffery, is a link to a post on my blog on this charming and edifying topic: link
Oh goody, he’s going to crack down on those Islamist fanatics.
The comments above are good (as was the posting), I particularly liked Guy Herbert’s comment.
However, they may have thought of the “complain about the Koran” tactic. Anyone who suggests a prosecution will be ignored (if they are lucky) and if they try and bring a private prosecution they will be dealt with.
I would advise anybody who is responsible for others (such as children) or has some resources to get out of Britain.
This country is not good, and it is going to get a lot worse.
Britain may reform if freedom comes back into favour again in other parts of the world (and I still think we may see a roll back of the state in the certain countries in a few years), but Britain will certainly not lead any such restoration of greater freedom.
On the contrary Britain is going to be in the vanguard of the decline of freedom in the West – whether it terms of rises in government spending and taxes, or in terms of regulations (whether “economic” or “noneconomic” regulations).
Hey Paul, what about those of us who don’t have the resources? What do we do?
Well you suggested suicide (something I have often thought of myself).
However, the “cowards way out” in fact takes a lot of guts (I doubt I have the courage). Also a bullet is not a sensible way to kill oneself – the danger of surviving (for example as a brain damaged person – a burden on everyone) is too great.
I would say that if anyone has a decent job they should NOT kill themselves (for such people where there is life there is hope, no matter how bad the country gets – although, of course, the message of “you may get a decent position in future” is clearly nonsense for many of us). Ditto those people who have a family to look after (and the practice of “taking them along” is disgusting – children may see better days many years from now).
As for people who do not, well we should think about methods of suicide in order to make sure we achieve the objective (and do not leave a mess for other people to deal with).
There remains the courage problem (finding the guts to do what one knows needs to be done).