Rita Panahi: Australians’ constant self-censoring is unhealthy for society

Australians need to find the steel in their spine and stop self-censoring out of fear of backlash from the irrational Left.

There is a free speech crisis in this country that’s in large part due to a backbone crisis. Australians are opting to self-censor rather than risk saying something that could offend the easily outraged and perpetually aggrieved.

One can understand why so many lack the courage of their convictions; it’s easier to remain silent than face a backlash from the miserable malcontents of the Left.

But this cowardice from the “silent majority” has seen absurdities not just normalised but become sacrosanct.

You can be attacked by activists, including those populating the media, for stating a mainstream opinion like supporting Australia Day or wanting women’s sport and spaces to be preserved for women.

You can be banned from Twitter, the modern day public square, for merely stating biological facts such as “men can’t have babies” or for the crime of “deadnaming”, which is using the original name of a trans or non-binary person who now identifies by a different name.

The movie Juno apparently starred a pregnant man called Elliot Page.

It’s not so much that biological reality, “misgendering” and “deadnaming” are frowned upon; they are considered “hateful conduct” that’s tantamount to an act of violence.

These days you can be attacked by activists for stating a mainstream opinion like supporting Australia Day. Picture: Jay Town

So one must now participate in someone else’s delusion or self-concept even when faced with a biological male with a full beard who identifies as she/her.

In the UK you can get even cop a visit from the local constabulary if you fail to comply. There are plenty of examples of such police overreach but one notable case saw officers turn up to Harry Miller’s workplace after the Twitter user posted a poem saying that men cannot become women.

Miller took his case all the way to the High Court which found the police’s actions had a “chilling effect” on free speech.

Closer to home, Victoria Police has become hopelessly politicised.

Selective policing has seen the soft glove treatment for the likes of BLM (even during a lockdown) and Extinction Rebellion while those protesting against Covid-19 restrictions copped non-lethal rounds, batons and pepper spray.

This week Victoria Police were forced to issue an apology to right wing Rebel News reporter Avi Yemeni who they wrongly arrested three times in a 12-month period.

The apology read: “On each occasion, Mr. Yemini was wrongly arrested and detained by members of Victoria Police while reporting for Rebel News. Victoria Police sincerely apologises for the hurt and embarrassment suffered by Mr Yemini on 26 January 2020, 5 September 2020 and 26 January 2021 as a consequence of the arrests and subsequent detention.”

But for members of the public it is not fear of the law that sees so many self-censor but fear of a backlash from family, friends and work colleagues.

And it’s young Australians, who have endured years of Leftist indoctrination from primary school to university, that are most likely to remain silent or hide their true beliefs for fear of being judged and ostracised.

Selective policing has seen the soft glove treatment for the likes of BLM movement. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Australians are afraid to share their honest opinions on a wide range of issues from abortion to plastic bags, according to a new report called Cancel Culture and Acceptance in Australia which examined the views of more than 1000 people.

Forty per cent of Gen Z and 35 per cent of Gen Y Australians were self-censoring rather than sharing their real views.

Though 63 per cent of Baby Boomers expressed concern about the “cancel culture” phenomenon only one in five hid their true opinions.

Now, that is too many but it shows that the older generation have a little bit more ticker when it comes to saying what they truly think.

In the past week we’ve seen two celebrities shamed into unnecessary apologies and backflips after a backlash from trans activists and their media enablers.

Songstress Macy Gray and actress Bette Midler suggested womanhood was limited to women which was swiftly labelled transphobic.

US Singer Macy Gray

US actress Bette Midler.

In a matter of days Gray went from saying “just because you go and change your parts, doesn’t make you a woman” to saying “being a woman is a vibe ... if you in your heart feel that that’s what you are, then that’s what you are”.

This followed a highly effective bullying campaign or as the activists prefer to call it “an education”.

The next high profile woman will think twice before uttering anything that could upset the media/activist class.

Ordinary folks are also conscious of a backlash on social media, even when sharing a view that is mainstream and not offensive to the overwhelming majority of the population.

One can understand why so many opt to remain silent rather than risk judgment, reputational damage or harassment but vacating the field is a losing strategy.

It allows the prevailing Leftist view, no matter how irrational, harmful or fringe, to go unchallenged.

Cancel culture remains predominantly a tool used by the far Left to silence their ideological opponents.

Australians must find the steel in their spine to say and write what they honestly feel.

Constant self-censoring is unhealthy for the individual and for society.

IN SHORT

The AFL should be applauded for belatedly joining other sporting codes from the ATP to the NRL and dropping their illiberal Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

The move could see the return of players Liam Jones, Cam Ellis-Yolmen and Georgia Patrikios.

The decision to be vaccinated or not against Covid-19 impacts no one other than the individual player given the vaccines do not stop infection or transmission.

Finally a measure of common sense from the AFL.