Is subjecting people to speech free speech?
One would think not -- quite the contrary -- but the Left have always used free speech as a justification of anything they say. In line with that, a plan to subject football fans to pro-homosexual propaganda is being defended as free speech.
The pro-homosexual song concerned has been very widely aired so has not in any way been restricted speech but should people who dislike the sentiments of the song be forced to listen to it? In their usual authoritarian way, the Left are answering "Yes" to that. They are having the song sung at half-time during a football match in spite of the fact that many fans there will find it objectionable.
Mere good manners would usually ensure that an objectionable song is not sung on such an occasion but Leftist propaganda is far more important than bad manners, of course. Interesting though that political correctness is often claimed to be just good manners and refraining from offending people. More evidence of Leftist hypocrisy
Former prime minister Tony Abbott has backed a call from same-sex marriage opponents to ban American rapper Macklemore from performing his pro-gay song Same Love at the NRL grand final.
Former player Tony Wall, who played first grade briefly in the mid 1990s, is petitioning NRL boss Todd Greenberg to halt the half-time performance and "take a neutral position on the question of same-sex marriage".
The Coalition for Marriage, the official "no" campaign vehicle, seized on the Change.org petition on Wednesday, demanding the NRL ban the song despite making "freedom of speech" one of its central campaign tenets.
Spokesman David Goodwin said the grand final was "not a PC lecture theatre" and it was "bizarre that the NRL would choose to use its half-time entertainment to push a message which it knows millions of Australians disagree with".
Mr Abbott backed that call, tweeting: "Footy fans shouldn't be subjected to a politicised grand final. Sport is sport!"
But the NRL stood firm on Wednesday, with Mr Greenberg telling 2GB radio the LGBTI anthem was just one of four songs Macklemore was scheduled to perform, and reiterating the code's support for same-sex marriage.
"He's playing four of his biggest hits, one of those will include that song and we're very comfortable with that," Mr Greenberg said.
He conceded the song could be seen as a political act but said "we're an inclusive game" and "it would be a little hypocritical for us to have inclusiveness as one of our values and not actually deliver on it".
The song Same Love, which reached No.1 in Australia in 2013, is critical of homophobia in rap music and includes the lyric: "No freedom 'til we're equal, damn right I support it."
Mr Wall said he and his family, and other NRL fans who did not support same-sex marriage, would feel uncomfortable watching the grand final if the song were to be performed. The petition had gathered 2100 online signatures as of Wednesday evening.
The NRL formally announced its support for same-sex marriage just over two weeks ago, saying the league had a duty to back up its policy of inclusion with action.
The AFL has also encountered blowback for its long-standing support for marriage equality, with commentators and some Coalition MPs upset over a decision to temporarily replace the logo outside its Melbourne headquarters with a "yes" sign.
Both codes have resisted attempts to shut down their advocacy, arguing they are entitled to a point of view but respect those who disagree.
The Coalition for Marriage and supporters have made "freedom of speech" a central tenet of its campaign, claiming free speech wold be under threat if same-sex marriage were to be legalised.
"Freedom of speech is a central issue in this campaign," the Coalition for Marriage said last week following the Abbott headbutt.
"It is absolutely crucial that people are able to speak up and participate in a national conversation about marriage in a respectful and peaceful manner."
In a 2GB interview on Wednesday, Mr Abbott continued his campaign for a "no" vote, saying it was "the best way of stopping political correctness in his tracks".
"We have seen political correctness run riot on a whole host of issues, but this is the first time that the Australian public have been asked to cast their verdict on all of these developments," he said.
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Priest SPAT at in the street in the latest violence linked to gay marriage supporters
A priest claims he was spat at and called a ‘f**king no voter’ while walking in the street just because he was wearing his collar. Father Morgan Batt said he was walking along Queen Street Mall in Brisbane on Wednesday when he was stopped.
He took to Facebook to express his disappointment at the treatment he received. ‘I was stopped – spat at – and called a ‘f***king no voter,’ he wrote.
‘Smile and move on was all I could do. Let’s pray for healing. Australia this really not us.’
The priest’s claims come as a mass weekend text telling millions of people to vote ‘yes’ reportedly turned people off, and increasingly confrontational appears to drive some non-aligned voters towards either a no vote or even apathy.
Polls still indicate a majority of Australians will vote 'yes' on the gay marriage postal survey.
While there have been disappointing incidents on both sides, some have called the behaviour of 'yes' activists violent, elitist, snobbish and off-putting.
'I had always intended to vote yes but the more liberals use these tactics the more inclined I am to vote no,' said one online commenter.
'I am not engaged in this debate, I have had other priorities in my life - we all have something we are fighting for - but after seeing the low tactics of the 'yes' campaigners I'm considering voting, and it will be no,' said another.
Their sentiments were echoed across social media, with people declaring they have had enough of the violence, the threats and the abuse, calling the behaviour 'feral'.
'Yes voters aren’t helping their cause are they? It's really sad that a few disgusting individuals might end up ruining this opportunity for the LGBT community' wrote a Facebook user.
The most recent Newspoll shows 57 per cent of Australians support redefining the Marriage Act, down from 63 per cent in August.
Following the headbutt assault on Mr Abbott by a 'Yes' badge-wearing anarchist DJ in Hobart, activists held up banners saying 'Headbutt homophobes'.
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One in five Australians believe global warming is a hoax
Essential Research has surveyed about 1000 Australians on various beliefs to reveal some eyebrow-raising results.
It found 21 per cent believed global warming was a hoax perpetrated by scientists - with 9 per cent strongly believing in the statement and 12 per cent somewhat believing. Another 11 per cent were not sure.
One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts has been among those to doubt climate change science, with a senior NASA official last year rejecting his claims the agency had falsified data to exaggerate warming in the Arctic.
And in June, after being asked by Senator Roberts whether it was important for scientists to keep an open mind, chief scientist Alan Finkel agreed: "But not so open that your brain leaks out."
Griffith University Climate Change Response Program director Brendan Mackey said climate change was an established scientific fact backed up by hard data.
"We have a really solid scientific basis for knowing and understanding the way the climate is changing rapidly," Professor Mackey said. [Like what?]
"I find it interesting as a scientist when people say they don't believe in science because science is not a matter of faith - religion is a matter of faith.
"It's really a matter of having a scientific understanding or explanation in relation to the cause and effect."
Professor Mackey said many people had never been taught about climate change science so found it difficult to understand.
And he said it was not something you could look out the window and see or experience, such as using an iPhone.
"The technology [for smartphones] comes from scientific understanding about quantum mechanics," he said.
"There's hardly anyone who understands about quantum mechanics but the iPhone works and they're happy their phone works and they're not worried about the reason why.
"People don't say 'I don't believe in gravity' because they can feel the effect of it.
"Climate change is a more abstract concept so part of it is people don't have that direct personal experience of climate change."
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Now you can't say 'MUM' at work: Politically correct activists warn employers referring to 'sexist' gender roles could offend staff
Politically-correct activists are charging workplaces $1,800 an hour to teach employees about apparently harmful and sexist words - like 'mum'.
Former army chief David Morrison appears in a Diversity Council of Australia video where he confronts a memo next to dirty dishes in a work kitchen with a younger, female colleague.
'Clean up after yourself. Your mum doesn't work here,' it says.
With a stern expression, the retired lieutenant-general and 2016 Australian of the Year pulls out a highlighter and adds the word 'dad' to the poster.
The Diversity Council of Australia, which Mr Morrison chairs, charges workplaces $3,600 for two-hour sessions on 'inclusive leadership'.
Former Labor leader Mark Latham slammed the whole idea of workplaces paying to be lectured on politically-correct language. 'That's so pathetic it's laughable,' he said on his weekly Mark Latham's Outsiders program on Wednesday.
'Imagine being a corporation with so much money you can afford thousands of dollars to send your staff to learn about dirty coffee cups and a sign, "It's all wrong, it's all terrible, it's the end of the world".
'Your biggest corporate challenge is, "Your mum doesn't work here" and you've got to change it to, "Mum and dad".'
The Diversity Council of Australia declined to address Mr Latham's attack on its Words At Work program, launched last year.
But it referred Daily Mail Australia to its June 2016 media release which said 'non-inclusive language contributes to and continues stereotyping'. 'Non-inclusive language harms people who witness it as well as the intended targets,' it said.
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Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.). For a daily critique of Leftist activities, see DISSECTING LEFTISM. To keep up with attacks on free speech see Tongue Tied. Also, don't forget your daily roundup of pro-environment but anti-Greenie news and commentary at GREENIE WATCH . Email me here
