Leading free speech writers association PEN America has cancelled a major literary festival and awards ceremony amidst a boycott by the pro-Palestine far Left in a further sign of the death of irony. Lionel Shriver writes about the miserable developments in UnHerd.
Another day, another opportunity for huffy, hypocritical “progressive” posturing. PEN America has now been forced to cancel its World Voices literary festival in New York and LA, on the heels of also cancelling its 2024 awards ceremony. Too many authors had withdrawn from both events to make going ahead with staging either practicable. The reason for so many writers flouncing from these programmes? PEN’s failure to publicly denounce Israel’s ‘genocide’ in Gaza. But you had probably guessed the point of indignation already, because as of October 2023, the Anglosphere’s far-Left has neatly pivoted from the infantilisation of black people to the Palestinian cause with the coordinated grace of a synchronised swimmer.
To clarify: the purpose of PEN is to defend freedom of speech and to protect writers from political oppression and persecution. It makes perfect sense, therefore, that a significant cadre of its membership would seek to stifle freedom of speech and engage in political oppression and persecution. Or: we’re all for free speech so long as you say what we tell you. These folks are athletes. It requires considerable intellectual acrobatics for Writers Against the War on Gaza to regard the shutting down of events to advance free expression as “a win for free expression”. Presumably, the fact that a number of withdrawals from both occasions were motivated by fear of being attacked by a mob of pro-Palestinian zealots is also “a win for free expression”. PEN itself stated its concern “about any circumstance in which writers tell us they feel shut down, or that speaking their minds bears too much risk”.
PEN is by its nature a big tent. It represents not only Muslim writers but Jewish ones too, some of whom might just support the existence of Israel, might just regard Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza as justified, and might just find alliance with genuinely genocidal terrorists whose unembarrassed aim is to wipe Israel and the Jewish people off the map as a teeny tiny bit obnoxious. While one PEN member decries the non-profit’s “both-sidesing”, the truth is that PEN has no business taking a position on this issue whatsoever.
Unfortunately, the Left has successfully installed the expectation that, regardless of their established purpose, all institutions — companies, museums, theatres, universities, charities, you name it — must proclaim their fealty to the “right” (which is to say Left) position on a host of inflammatory issues of the day. This hyper-politicisation of entities that ought sensibly to remain politically neutral has been systematically debauching everything from the National Trust to the NHS, from Anheuser-Busch to the Chicago Art Museum. First, all such outfits were required to fly Black Lives Matter flags, then garishly incoherent Pride flags, and now these banners have all to be swapped out for Palestinian flags, never mind what constituency or customer base might be alienated by this gratuitously partisan branding. Thus, an organisation established for the defence of free speech of every sort — including the overtly Zionist kind — is necessarily obliged to openly advocate for Hamas, a murderous, cheerfully antisemitic cult whose interest in free speech on its home turf would fit in a thimble.
Worth reading in full.
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“Cancel culture” may seem irrational if you take its purported intentions at face value but it’s obvious that it’s not about what people claim it’s about. It’s just a way to seize and maintain power, status and control, just another excuse for having the power to force other people to live their lives in a certain way.
OK..I’m not sure that this is what I’m personally really annoyed about Toby…
While I agree he shouldn’t be targeted for his opinions..it’s the fricken weasel words of apology that he used that is the crux of the matter for me….
Yes we all agree that ‘cancel culture’ is absolutely not all right..but it exists and the fact is it has to be fought…and he didn’t fight did he? …..he caved in, like everyone who cares more about their ‘visibility’ than real principles and honour?
”I have made a huge error in my judgement liking social media posts that are derogatory towards the LGBTQIA+ community and for that, I am deeply sorry and I know I have let everyone down.
“I am really disappointed in myself and I am sorry for any hurt that I have caused by my uneducated actions.
“I clearly have a lot to learn and it’s a priority for me that I do this.”
Another person who has no real principle….who can’t defend himself, women and children… and definitely not worth defending….so sorry, I couldn’t give a ‘flying… …K’ about the pathetic twat…
I see we are on the same page Mrs Gums although I believe your more robust response is decidedly more appropriate.
Yes those who bow down before the mob provide little incentive for us to defend them but when you say “sorry, I couldn’t give a ..”
Well
“First they came for the comedians and personalities and we did nothing because we were not comedians or personalities”
We can’t allow ourselves the luxury of not defending these people simply because we disapprove of the way the lobby steamrollers them and the way they then supplicate themselves. If they don’t have the strength to resist, we need to be that strength for them.
I felt some sympathy for him ….. until I read his cowardly statement conforming to the woke bullies.
He badly needs to grow a pair.
Yep I get that, but sometimes when your livelihood depends on it you decide to capitulate. You and I might not need to because we are private citizens and paying our bills doesn’t depend on capitulating. Maybe the best idea for these people is to shut the F up in the first place if your not prepared to stand by what you say and then you won’t end up being a “pathetic twat” by capitulating.
I see O’Neill is full on with the dialect du jour:
Like crimes
Unpersoning
Thoughtpolicing
Wrongthink
Give it a bloody rest and start using proper English.
Howard Donald also committed the cardinal sin of apologising and at that point my sympathy and moral support evaporates.
Yep..once, just once..wouldn’t it be nice if we found a person of principle who said..I stand by the truth and my opinions…? That person would be worth defending..
Presumably there aren’t any, which is why we are here…. is Donald a special person? I don’t think so….When we were all faced with the fascist scamdemic…did we all apologise and ask for re-orientation into right-think?
Well he has position and dosh..so he should be better equipped to stand by his principles..as he’s protected by fame and money…so why couldn’t he??
He can bugger off….pathetic worm….
“I couldn’t give a ‘flying… …K’ about the pathetic twat…”
There is no improving on this Mrs Gums.
Jordan Peterson is pretty good at not apologising. Ditto Peter Hitchens, Elon Musk, Laurence Fox, Toby Young. The world needs more disagreeable people.
“The world needs more disagreeable people.”
Happy to volunteer.
I knew we could rely on you
You’re not by any chance related to Awkward Git from the Lockdown Sceptics Reddit are you? He has sent more FOI requests that I’ve had hot dinners.
Thanks tof.
No I am not related to Awkward Git.
J K Rowling, Kathleen Stock
Their names shall appear in the roll of honour
Hopefully they’ll say something in support of Howard.
If you read the interview with Sharron Davies that was in the Telegraph a few days ago where she spoke about how many speaking engagements and hence money she’s lost, and possibly the chance to commentate at next years Olympics, for speaking up against trans women competing in women’s sport it’s sadly obvious why a lot of people have to cave in to save their careers.
Hear, hear
You’re right. Apologizing and backtracking on statement that wasn’t even a statement implies that Howard Donald is literally apologizing for his own thoughts. If he’s doing the time (being cancelled from the performance venue) anyway, he might as well do the “crime” and stand by his opinions – you never know, he might actually gain something of a following for them!
But the Orwellian language O’Neil is using quite neatly brings attention to the fact that incidents such as these within cancel culture do suggest a kind of creeping Orwellian barrier to free speech (and thought).
Thank you.
https://www.globalresearch.ca/covid-mrna-vaccine-and-pregnancy-leading-to-miscarriage-or-stillbirth/5822533
A little dump but disturbing nevertheless.
Expect no help from Parliament. There will have to be extra-Parliamentary methods in due course.
I think that our side needs to behave more like their side. Get criticised, double down.
‘Yes that’s what I said, no I wont retract. You have an opinion, so do I, but I can back mine up with science and common sense. You think a man can menstruate, bring him here and show me. I don’t mean a woman who thinks they are a man, I mean a born with male genitalia, full on XY chromosomes Human male. Bring it on or shut up with your lies…’
Easy when its not you doing it, of course…
I wonder if Howard the Coward would be happy for his kids to be taught this at school because this is absolutely disgusting and totally inappropriate. The DM sharing teaching materials that kids are getting taught. I am firmly with Ray Freeman ( psychotherapist ) who features in the lengthy article in that this is extremely alarming because it is pure indoctrination and sexualizing kids. It goes way beyond normal sex education this. Have a look, it’s shocking what they’re doing to innocent kids.
”MailOnline has found graphic teaching material — including a sex manual for pre-teens — being taught to children in classes around the UK.
It follows a concerned mother being denied the right to see the content of the lessons being taught to her 15-year-old daughter in her Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) classes, which became compulsory three years ago.
Despite a judge refusing Clare Page the right to see the material, MailOnline can reveal that a wealth of questionable teaching resources are already available online.
MailOnline can reveal that some children are:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12189041/Twelve-year-olds-taught-anal-sex-school-nine-year-olds-told-masturbate.html
This is truly sick, degenerate and depraved.
Absolutely. It’s all grooming and it’s aim is to normalize paedophilia. Especially if you look at it in conjunction to this whole Woke cult ( see below ), and I do wonder if the scroteless wonder would ”like” this tweet or even take his own kids along. It does make you wonder now what sort of a person he is and question his scruples, after all.
https://twitter.com/TPointUK/status/1668183981701865472?cxt=HHwWgICxlcafyqYuAAAA
Something else that’s sinister about it all that is mentioned in the article is that a parent was denied the right, by the school and even a judge, to see the content of the material the school is teaching her child. So in what realm would a parent not be allowed to know what their own kid is being taught in school?? The schools should be being transparent all throughout a child’s education and a parent should have the basic right to know the stuff being taught in lessons. So the fact this is deliberately being kept on the hush-hush rings massive alarm bells to me. I wonder if the teachers don’t just go all out, in full paedo-groomer mode, and tell the kids to keep it secret from the parents. Huge red flags and safeguarding issues all over the place with this revelation. Parents need to be made aware.
https://twitter.com/TPointUK/status/1662077235405135872?cxt=HHwWgICx2ZCc8ZAuAAAA
Mogs, there is so much of this appearing in our media outlets and I am struggling to get my head round it all.
What sort of parents are taking their children to ‘pride’ outings? Why are these overtly sexual parades allowed on our streets?
Who on earth is responsible for the sexualised school curriculums? Why is this not being dealt with in Westminster? National government should be putting a stop to this so why aren’t they?
I know the National governments are only nominal and obviously we are being run by Davos Deviant sideshows but for nobody at National level to stand up and scream “what about the children?” is off the scale evil. The chain of people involved in the deliberate perversion that is being thrust on to children must run in to hundreds if not thousands; have none of them felt revolted by what they are involved in? Are they all going to turn a blind eye?
I’m struggling, really struggling with this.
I don’t know what more to say.
“yesteryear’s treatment of dissent as ‘blasphemy” – heresy to be more accurate, for which you could get yourself burned alive.
Golden Rule never ever apologise to these disgusting bullies.
Totally agree.
Saing things that are true is now a crime. But if you said “everyone can have periods” what would that be?—— It would be a lie, and it would be absurd.
Howard- you Wally. , not for ticking the tw*ts, but apologising! Never, ever apologise for this sort of thing. If you ran over someone’s dog- fair enough, but honestly- don’t give these goons the satisfaction.
You’ve always been my fav, since the start and will remain so.
Agreed..except for the period when he had ‘dreads’ … bloody awful…LOL!!