As both John and I wrote about, J.K. Rowling challenged the Scottish government to prosecute her for “misgendering” transgender criminals in a long thread on Twitter yesterday.
Under the new Hate Speech law, which criminalizes certain speech aimed at a wide range of protected classes, “misgendering” is an offense that can get you in trouble. Rowling, of course, doesn’t believe there is such a thing to begin with. Men are men, and women are women, and the alphabet mafia’s invention of the concept has enabled horrific examples of men invading women’s spaces.
I hope every woman in Scotland who wishes to speak up for the reality and importance of biological sex will be reassured by this announcement, and I trust that all women – irrespective of profile or financial means – will be treated equally under the law.https://t.co/CsgehF2a5d
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 2, 2024
Ironically, Rowling has to endure endless amounts of genuine hate speech, including death threats, hourly. The amount of hate directed at her is astounding. Even the actors whose careers she made lash out at her all the time, for the simple fact that she refuses to bow down to the alphabet gods.
JK Rowling’s comments about new hate crime laws “are not assessed to be criminal”, police have said, as they confirmed no further action would be taken.
The Harry Potter author dared police to arrest her on social media over the legislation that came into force in Scotland this week.
The new measures aim to tackle the harm caused by hatred and prejudice, extending protections from abusive behaviour to people on grounds including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity.
“Hate” is an infinitely flexible term, as is “genocide” these days. Words have been turned into contentless containers that retain the emotional punch but are actually just transparent containers for whatever the speaker wants to pour in. Think “our democracy,” for instance, which has come to mean “the Left’s agenda.” Or “insurrection,” which is a term that now means a riot committed by Trump supporters.
I’m in awe of @jk_rowling‘s stand for free speech. It is in the spirit of non violent resistance to an unjust Scottish law that restricts her freedom of speech. The west has entered a new dark age. https://t.co/D55BQxxZ4r
— Jay Bhattacharya (@DrJBhattacharya) April 2, 2024
I often cringe at the lengths to which people go–people on the extreme ends of the political spectrum or people with genuine hatred in their hearts–to lash out at others. On the other hand, unless we let people speak, we destroy freedom and the ability to understand each other. And, of course, suppressing the expression of hate doesn’t eliminate it.
Calling a man a “man” is, in any case, hardly a hateful act. Caling for JK Rowling’s rape and murder is, and people get away with doing so because they are deemed “compassionate” and “inclusive.”
Leftism and denying the truth are intertwined. During the Cultural Revolution, a physics professor was persecuted for teaching Einstein’s Theory of Relativity because it was seen as a threat to Maoism. The Big Bang theory was seen as implying there is a God, and was banned. In the USSR, Lysenkoism thrived, starving millions of people.
We must be able to speak the truth as we see it. The mere fact that others are offended is irrelevant.
I predicted that Rowling wouldn’t be arrested because, well, she is Rowling. But unless countless others stand up in an “I am Spartacus” movement, the right to speak the truth will die a death of a thousand cuts.
Rowling has vowed to repeat any gender-critical statement that gets other women in trouble to ensure that she is committing the same speech crimes that others are being accused of. “If you arrest her, you must arrest me.”
Good.
Michael Shellenberger is on a crusade to restore free speech and is doing great work. I subscribe to his Substack and he has a great video explaining what he is doing and why. I highly recommend watching it.
“The irony of this hateful, spiteful law coming into play on April’s Fools Day… criminalizing free speech in this country is absolutely disgraceful”
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) April 1, 2024
The movement to censor us is still gaining momentum, but the movement to stop the government and the establishment from succeeding is also gaining momentum. We need to succeed in stopping them now because dismantling the censorship complex will only get harder as the years go on.
It is late in the game, but not too late. As with the fight against DEI, raising awareness came first, and rolling things back is the next step.
It will be a tough slog, but it is the fight of our generation. This is what “saving democracy” really looks like.