The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

Link: ‘Plans to outlaw inciting gay hate’.

This Government’s affection for the crime of incitement is one of the best indicators of its contempt for the individual. If I "incite" you to hate Joe, Jack or Jane, do you have no choice in the matter? I may tell you why I hate them, but surely it’s up to you – as a free man or woman – to decide for yourself?

Except, to this government, you are no free agent. You are a pawn to be moved by it, or by its enemies. While most of us would rather be verbally abused than robbed or assaulted, to a Government intent on manipulating society, speech is more important than property or safety. Diverting police resources to the control of speech is therefore perfectly logical.

Shown "Britain’s largest collection of feminist art," I smiled and asked "how does feminist art differ from art?"
Perhaps it is time people asked how "social justice" differs from
"justice," because it clearly does.

My favourite line here is the observation of Ben Summerskill’s of Stonewall that;

"These protections aren’t about preventing people expressing their religious views in a temperate way."

All religious views are essentially "intemperate," Ben. That’s one reason why I don’t hold any. If there is a God shaping and directing the Universe and if disobeying Him leads to eternal damnation, there is little scope for wishy-washiness. You had better jump to it and obey Him. Since homosexuality is a sin for all the major monotheistic religions, a religious leader who condemns the conduct of homosexuals has no real scope to be "temperate." As he sees it, he needs to alert them to their danger of damnation and to save others from that horror. Neither you nor I would need to worry about that, Ben, if we simply respected his freedom of speech and laughed at his ideas.

I am a libertarian. I really don’t care who inserts what into whom or when – as long as it’s not into me or mine without our consent. Equally, I don’t give a damn if someone wants to stand up at Speakers’ Corner and demand that Hitler’s or Stalin’s work be resumed. But then I believe an individual’s chances of happiness are proportionate to his freedoms. This Government believes quite the opposite.