THE NEW CENSORS OF THE LEFT
OFFENSE IN THE AGE OF THE ONLINE PETITION In the 19 th and 20 th Century’s one of the great fights of the non-communist [1] left was the struggle for free speech. The struggle against censorship in literature, the arts, and political discourse. The enemies off free speech always came from the right whether in a clerical, military, or politically authoritarian guise. Now the enemies of free speech are more often to be found on the left. Concerned to maintain politically correct standards of discourse they are happy to close down exhibitions, slander writers and commentators, [2] or in the current jargon ‘deny platforms’ to those of whom they disapprove. This war on free speech and artistic expression is sometimes linked with demands from the Muslim community to censor any comment on Islam deemed to be ‘Islamaphobic.’ [3] The link is always the magical word ‘offense.’ Once uttered the heavens must full. The new crime of the 21 st Century is the crime of giving o...