Free Speech

One of the things I have been in turmoil about recently is what I think of free speech. I haven't come to an answer, but here are my rambling thoughts.


As an undergraduate a certain debating union invited Jean Marie La Pen to speak. There was outcry about this, opinions, anger and long words I didn't understand were thrown around. The repeated argument for, was that free speech was important. I couldn't help feeling that inviting someone to speak was slightly different to allowing people to say what they wanted. The other argument sited was that he would get torn apart by the audience, with overtones of 'Where else will he get so well scrutinised?'. Which I had a suspicion at the time and am now certain is just a touch arrogant.  


I couldn't quiet make up my mind what I felt, which is not something I felt I could admit (proving that speech isn't free!) as your meant to know everything when your 19 and headed off not sure whether I would go in or stand outside with the protesters. In the end I got there late so the decision was made for me, doors were closed and I was stuck with protesters, engaged in heated debate with other late students. I was repeatedly given a socialist workers party paper, asked to pay 50p, explained I had no money on me and gave paper back. This honestly happened about 3 times in a row. Was told by a woman wearing an anarchist bag that people who didn't believe in democracy shouldn't be allowed to engage in political debate and overall came away no more clear. 


It sounded from reports like it had been a bit of a farce inside with the translator clearly miss-translating and getting very angry when students replied in French. 


My thoughts about what extent we should allow free speech went on the back burner till last year and the whole ridiculous Terry Jones Koran burning thing. Watching the Americans with their hands tied unable to act because of an absolute commitment to free speech made me quiet glad to be European and have curbs on 'free speech'. 

But whether or not people are officially free to say what they like, speech is very very rarely free. The guardians 'comment is free' thing is not really true, it's a nice prophetic statement a hope of what could be but really we are very rarely free to say what we want, there are so many ways discourses are silenced. Inviting Strauss-Khan to the above mentioned institution may "provide a neutral platform for free speech" but what does it do for free speech on other platforms, what does it do for free true real narrative, how does it help people take back control of their own stories? How does it help us hear those stories that are true? 

The thing is you can talk but your speech is only free if its given permission to fly, to transform the world with all the power you gave it, much that is spoken is not free it is silenced, squashed, entrapped, belittled, mocked. And typically the powerful tend to be the ones with the power to determine which speech is freed and re-freed and repeated ad-nauseam so that no one can remember when it wasn't 'true' and it is the disempowered who's shouts become whispers by the ever squashing of the controllers of truth.  

If the Cambridge Union want to really 'provide a neutral platform for free speech' then they need to put a lot more effort into making their platform neutral and free.

I was incredibly moved by these honest and real words (link bellow, blog entry carries trigger warnings), that in no way were free they cost many people much to give but they gave them to the world, they gave them for free. Lets keep this speech free, don't let them silence and imprison this:   http://feministactioncambridge.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/i-am-still-shaking/comment-page-1/

Democracy and Capitalism

I awoke this morning to the Today Program interviewing a woman about a new branch of China's most successful business school opening in London. I was too sleepy to hear who the interviewer was or the name of the interviewee but what he was 'trying to get at' was what was an understanding of what was distinctly Chinese about the school. Because, he said, in the West there is an understanding that democracy and capitalism are linked.

Really? Try telling that to the people who just got evicted from their tented home. The Occupy Movement from all I can tell practise a far greater degree of participative democracy within their community than most of us experience through the parliamentary process.

The Chinese must also be thoroughly fed up with our obsession with how they are different from us. It's no way to build a friendship, recognising our common humanity would be a better place to start. Before people get jumpy, I am in no way defending human rights abuses, but I think in relation to China the West definitely needs to take the log out of its own eye.

To me capitalism is the major thing standing in the way of real democracy. Our version of capitalism puts the generation of wealth as the bottom line, not the generation of wellbeing. That's why we measure GDP. But this means nothing if you don't know how it’s distributed. Butan measures gross national happiness. True democracy puts people before profits.

Our version of capitalism is based on the free market which necessitates competition. It pits people, companies, cultures and nations against each other, fundamentally contradictory to true participative democracy. I'm fed up of hearing that ‘competition brings excellence'. I believe it can motivate it but excellence comes through work and creativity - some of our image bearing qualities. The other thing that motivates excellence and transformative action is collaboration - often better in my experience. Surely that is more in line with the kind of democracy we want.

Our competitive capitalism also means that power accumulates not with who we vote for but who we buy from and as we don't all have the same purchasing power we don't all have the same vote.

I'm not sure I like the idea of communist capitalism any more than the version we have but I'm pretty sure there is a groundswell of disillusionment with our current paradigms of both democracy and capitalism. Indeed there is an audible outcry, so long as you’re listening. The problem is most people of power and vast sections of the media aren't.

Enough talk about 'bad' or greedy capitalism it’s time for a complete reworking of our economic and democratic systems a thorough critique of all these discourses and an offering of a real and viable alternative.

About a year ago I was on the bus and a man had a badge saying ‘March for the alternative’. I asked what the alternative was he said it’s a march! It was a good march and some great voices raised some great points and those voices are still rising.

So this is just my little contribution to de-constructing the construct that democracy = capitalism.

But thanks to the Today programme for irritating me out of bed!

Celebrating international women's day

Sisters you are warmly invited to:

BRUNCH!

to celebrate international women's day.

at 10 a.m. on Saturday the 3rd March
at Contact me for location


We will spend some time celebrating the wonderful things women have achieved as well as reflecting on the great loses we experience as women. We will also have an opportunity to explore some ways Christians can respond to domestic violence.  Then we will go marching, along with many others with a vision for a just and free world. (www.millionwomenrise.com)


You are welcome to join us for some or all of this. Children also welcome. We have been offered the venue free and I shall provide food, but contributions are welcome and it would be good to be able to make a contribution to the venue.


Please RSVP by leaving a comment with your email address and I'll send you info (I won't publish your email address) so I know approx. numbers and also if you have any dietary requirements.


Please also feel free to pass invite on to people who may be interested but please stress need to RSVP and that this is a Christian women's event.


Keep on rising!


Jenny