Shami Chakrabarti on Carol Thatcher

I just watched last week's Question Time, which of course had a long section on the Carol Thatcher affair. Shami Chakrabarti, the head of the our premier civil rights organisation, Liberty, gave the most pathetic performance it's possible to imagine. She managed to mention freedom of speech not at all. Thatcher had used a bad word and she wasn't sure about the BBC's handling of it, but not a single solitary mention of freedom of speech.

With civil liberties campaigners like this to defend us, it's no wonder we've turned into a banana republic.

Comments

[Kit]

From the Liberty's Issues Page:

* Torture
* Terrorism
* Privacy
* Asylum
* Equality
* Free Speech & Protest
* ASBOs
* Extradition
* Human Rights Act
* Young People's Rights

Free Speech comes in at a lowly number 6. When it is a toss-up between free speech and another "right" I bet free speech loses.

[Bishop Hill]

Hmm. Not sure if I like the idea of ranking civil liberties. However, I don't disagree with the idea of "rights" trumping liberties. In Shami's world, anyway.

[Janet]

You need Victimhood Poker to figure out how things are weighted in this brave new PC world. It's a few years old, but I think the only thing that's changed is that Muslim has gone up from Queen to Ace.

http://dicklist.blogspot.com/2006/07/tdl-gaming-world-series-of-victimhood.html

[Kit]

@Bish "Not sure if I like the idea of ranking civil liberties"

No one likes ranking civil liberties but it is inevitable. The freedom to say "Golliwog" against the "right" not to be cause offense.

A few years ago an owner of a B&B had strong religious views about homosexuality. The law was changed so he would be forced to take gay guests on threat of imprisonment. It is like playing Top Trumps - which trump card wins? Gay guests or bonkers B&B owner?

I would choose the bonkers B&B owner but I think Liberty would side with the gay guests.