Ruth Wishart: Scottish universities must be champions of free speech and debate

Danmark Nyheder Nyheder

Ruth Wishart: Scottish universities must be champions of free speech and debate
Danmark Seneste Nyt,Danmark Overskrifter
  • 📰 SunScotNational
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 78 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 35%
  • Publisher: 63%

'Free speech in the nations and regions of the UK has suffered a catastrophic accident in the past few years' // ruth_wishart

JUST so you know, Adult Human Female, the documentary protesters and Edinburgh University itself have now twice stopped being screened, is readily available on YouTube. I do hope those who tried to stop it being shown have actually watched it.

The student body, rather than shouting from behind barricades, should be in lecture theatres arguing the toss with everyone and anyone, not least in the Scottish capital where the Scottish Enlightenment was born and thrived. Much later in life, I took the second chance offered by the Open University and spent years gaining a humanities degree alongside working full time. I loved that. Especially since the course in question was perfect for the butterfly mentality and insatiable curiosity of a journalist.

This is all wrong. Let’s suppose for the sake of argument that a known racist or homophobe had been invited to give a major lecture to a major institution. You could of course insist that he or she were disinvited. That is now commonplace. No, it’s not. It’s a matter for everyone who cares about freedom of speech and the current vogue in closing it down before a word can be uttered.

And wouldn’t it be just wonderful to observe Sir Keir in a Red Wall seat explaining to a female voter of a certain age why some apparently do? In a sense, Stonewall was a victim of its own success having managed to persuade so many policymakers to accept same-sex marriage and civil partnerships. You suspect they became a de facto consultancy looking for a new client base. The Scottish Government, incidentally, became a client. As did, for a while, theNOW, ironically, many gays and lesbians feel threatened, and not just by the attempt to portray the fight for trans rights as analogous to that fought for gay and lesbian rights.

Vi har opsummeret denne nyhed, så du kan læse den hurtigt. Hvis du er interesseret i nyheden, kan du læse hele teksten her. Læs mere:

SunScotNational /  🏆 49. in UK

Danmark Seneste Nyt, Danmark Overskrifter

Similar News:Du kan også læse nyheder, der ligner denne, som vi har indsamlet fra andre nyhedskilder.

New visitor centre opens at 'ugly hollow' Corrieshalloch Gorge in the Scottish HighlandsNew visitor centre opens at 'ugly hollow' Corrieshalloch Gorge in the Scottish HighlandsDespite Corrieshalloch meaning 'ugly hollow' in Gaelic, the mile-long canyon is a much-loved beauty spot which can also be translated into 'the curving of waters'.
Læs mere »

Rishi Sunak rules out more powers for Scottish Parliament at chaotic conferenceRishi Sunak rules out more powers for Scottish Parliament at chaotic conferenceThe Prime Minister's media team tried to shut out several newspapers, including the Record, from a Conservative conference event.
Læs mere »

Four breathtaking Scottish coastal walks named best in UK by outdoor expertsFour breathtaking Scottish coastal walks named best in UK by outdoor expertsOutdoor experts at GO Outdoors have shared a list of the top 15 coastal walks to head out on this spring and summer, and four scenic Scottish routes are included.
Læs mere »

The ancient Scottish fire festival this weekend celebrating the start of summerThe ancient Scottish fire festival this weekend celebrating the start of summerThe Beltane Fire Festival, which has origins in the Iron Age, will be held this weekend in Edinburgh to mark the start of summer that's well worth checking out.
Læs mere »

SNP plays longer game in bid for Scottish independenceSNP plays longer game in bid for Scottish independenceThe party leadership believes support for independence needs to be higher to force another referendum.
Læs mere »

Suspicion lingers that Tories would gladly shut down the Scottish ParliamentSuspicion lingers that Tories would gladly shut down the Scottish ParliamentRecord View says the Prime Minister would be wise to remember few Scots want a return to direct rule from London.
Læs mere »



Render Time: 2025-04-10 21:14:50