tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17934023.post1508490556532375082..comments2024-03-20T12:28:00.031+00:00Comments on Liberal Bureaucracy: I'm not really Charlie, it's perhaps a little more complicated than that...Mark Valladareshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15773193846795037711noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17934023.post-20504921711719504332015-01-11T18:54:58.486+00:002015-01-11T18:54:58.486+00:00Simon,
We welcome all (well most) comments here, ...Simon,<br /><br />We welcome all (well most) comments here, so don't worry yourself on that point.<br /><br />I spend most of my time studying the shades of grey between black and white - my job, if you like, requires me to delineate the areas of doubt and uncertainty and then place a fiscal value upon them. Accordingly, I tend to be suspicious of anything purported to be simple.<br /><br />And this is one of them. Yes, you can be in favour of freedom of speech, but you can worry about its impact, especially on those less able to protect themselves. And we make judgements on that matter regularly, funnily enough often by those who are currently so keen on the concept.<br /><br />So, letting George know that he isn't entirely alone seems right, even if I disagree with his tone and language and, indeed, some of his position.Mark Valladareshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15773193846795037711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17934023.post-11944728503071088942015-01-11T11:19:46.372+00:002015-01-11T11:19:46.372+00:00Sorry to hijack your comments section.
I didn...Sorry to hijack your comments section. <br /><br />I didn't cheer when Sadam Hussain, Osama bin Laden and Colonel Gaddafi were killed. I was, at some level, glad they were brought to justice, but troubled that they had to die in order for that to happen. <br /><br />I also don't see clear blue water between racism and other forms of intolerance or nastiness. Sure we are all intolerant, sure but it's a spectrum of shades and tones not black and white.<br /><br />Perhaps that's the difference between me and those riled by the likes of George. Some of them think bad people deserve to to be met with violence, so arguing that the Charlie Hebdo teams were not heroes is tantamount to saying they brought it on themselves? <br /><br />The KKK hyperbole seems to have touched a nerve, perhaps those people like to draw a line between racism and other forms of intolerance.Rankersbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00084424777062659372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17934023.post-71008805964127069202015-01-10T16:48:39.712+00:002015-01-10T16:48:39.712+00:00Simon,
I think that I share that sense of being t...Simon,<br /><br />I think that I share that sense of being troubled.<br /><br />We live in a complex, interrelated world, where our actions potentially have ramifications far beyond our own narrow circle. If we want a society where mutual respect enables us to be more free, we have to stop and think sometimes. We also have to respect the right to dissent from the majority view.<br /><br />George is taking a thorough kicking from the sort of people whose view of freedom is rather more conditional, and whilst I don't entirely concur with his stance, I can't see that he deserves such treatment.Mark Valladareshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15773193846795037711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17934023.post-39435121683529033622015-01-10T14:42:18.114+00:002015-01-10T14:42:18.114+00:00Evelyn Beatrice Hall summed up my feelings in her ...Evelyn Beatrice Hall summed up my feelings in her summary of Voltaire "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".<br /><br />I am troubled by the fall out from Wednesday's events. People are inflamed by the horror of the killings that they are giving anyone who stops and says, "er hang on" a massive kicking. People who are thoughtfully disapproving of Charlie Hebdo, while at the same time also condemning the terrorists are being perceived as justifying terrorist action.<br /><br />I mean really being angry is natural, but taking it out on those who are more thoughtful isn't right.Rankersbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00084424777062659372noreply@blogger.com