Freedom of Speech or Free Speech?

Freedom of Speech - the political right to communicate one's opinions and ideas to anyone who is willing to receive them.

The limitations on speech relate to: libel, slander, obscenity, pornography, sedition, hate speech, incitement, fighting words, classified information, copyright violation, trade secrets, non-disclosure agreements, right to privacy, right to be forgotten, public security, public order, public nuisance, and campaign finance reform. These limitations are to prohibit forms of expression where they are considered offensive to society, special interest groups or individuals.

Article 19 of the  Universal Declaration of Human Rights, states that "everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference and have the right to freedom of expression."

"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it" - Voltaire.

 So it isn't a clear cut, "one size fits all", right.

I am constrained, in what I say to or about anyone, by honesty, a desire not to hurt, embarrass or offend them and a general politeness learned in my upbringing and experience of life. In a reasonably civilised society, which values each individual despite their difference to oneself, we should exhibit tolerance and respect.

I think we have now reached the point where we confuse freedom of speech with free speech. The latter meaning that anyone has the right to say anything about anything whenever & wherever they want, regardless of it's veracity or likely impact. That isn't a society I want to live in.

Words can do harm & even kill as shown graphically this week. People are hurt by what others say about them. Occasionally people even commit suicide when they have been verbally abused & bullied. Do we have the right to mock & belittle? Do we have the right to score points against someone or something to amuse others & gain some sort of status?

I don't condone the terrible acts of murder this week. Nothing justifies any of it. I am horrified and sad for everyone affected.

But, I think we should all consider a little more & say a little less. In other words adhere to that old adage "think before you speak".

Charlie Hebdo - Death Cults & a Death Wish

A death cult indoctrinates members in devotion to, or worship, in some form or other, of death. (Interestingly this doesn't appear in Collins English Dictionary.) A death wish is the desire for self annihilation.


In the UK suicide is the biggest cause of death in men under 35. It’s one of the few things that men are better at than women. Because of the way in which they try to kill themselves, men are more likely to succeed. Every year, more than 5,000 people take their own lives – and 22 per cent of them are men aged between 16 and 24. In the 20 to 24 age group, men are four times more likely to kill themselves than women. Suicide is the commonest cause of death among men under 35. 

 

There is one suicide every two hours - and at least 10 times that number attempt it. 6.2% of 16-24 year olds have attempted suicide in their lifetime. In 2011, 194 15-19 year olds and 427 20-24 year olds committed suicide.

 

What makes people prepared to die for a cause? Are we seeing people being indoctrinated / conditioned to think that killing is the right thing to do? Numerous scientific experiments have shown that people can be "trained" to behave in ways which are contrary to "normal" behaviour. Look up the Milgram experiment in America.

 

When you add to that the marginalisation of groups of people like the Kouachi brothers, who often live in poverty traps like the banlieues or city suberbs, which have been increasingly used to describe suburban low-income housing projects, where the majority are unemployed, then you have a recipe for disaster. Add to the mix charismatic leaders with fundamentalist views & you have a time bomb waiting to go off.

 

Muslims believe the Quran or Koran was verbally revealed to the prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. That is no more or less believable than that Jesus was the son of God born of the Virgin Mary. Both religions have very similar core beliefs & tenets of behaviour. It is wrong to kill your fellow human beings and you will not go to heaven as a martyr or anything else if you do. 

 

If you don't value your life or anyone else's no one else will either. We have moved into a new age of "expendable people". Politicians & the armed forces started it with the euphemism " Collateral damage." 

 

I hope they are now ruing the day because they have unleashed a holocaust.

Gymnastic Granny

Currently I'm doing 4 swims, (38 lengths / half a mile / 35 minutes) and 3 Gyms, ( 10 mins treadmill, 5 machines circuit training, up to 10 mins cross trainer),  a week. No problem! I'm also supposed to be doing exercises at home regularly - haven't managed them once yet! How pathetic is that? So this afternoon I'm going to try Pilates as an alternative.

The thing is it all takes up so much time. Walking there & back, changing and showering. (I am very clean though & saving on my water bills). It's about one & a half hours a day, so it breaks up every day of the week. A morning or an afternoon more or less gone.

On top of that there's an osteopath session once a week.

All this to try to build up wasted muscles, improve movement, get rid of stiffness & reduce pain. If it works it will undoubtedly be worthwhile. If it doesn't I suppose I will be fitter. So I do my best.

It's fascinating watching the people in the gym at the same time as me. We are so variable. There are the super cool, super fit young adults plugged into their Ipods. The men in particular give the impression of little or no effort. (Unsurprising considering their muscled torso's). At the other end of the scale there are the oldies like me puffing & sweating & grimacing with the pain & effort. In the middle are the teenagers there for the fun of it and a gossip.

As the song says "I will survive". Dying of a heart attack in public simply isn't an option!

New Year - Forget resolutions - Do something.

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,

The flying cloud, the frosty light

The year is dying in the night;

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,

For those that here we see no more,

Ring out the feud of rich and poor,

Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,

And ancient forms of party strife;

Ring in the nobler modes of life,

With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,

The faithless coldness of the times;

Ring out, ring out thy mournful rhymes,

But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,

The civic slander and the spite;

Ring in the love of truth and right,

Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,

Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;

Ring out the thousand wars of old,

Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,

The larger heart the kindlier hand;

Ring out the darkness of the land,

Ring in the Christ that is to be.

 

Couldn't have put it better myself. Thank you to Tennyson.

A peaceful New Year to all my friends & readers.

Christmas in Malta - Poinsettia Heaven.

I think I have overdosed on Poinsettias! They must grow them in Malta & they were arranged in serried ranks in our very nice hotel & every church & most shops too. I had no idea that they have traditional relgious associations. Red - Blood - Obvious really, except that Christmas is the birth not the death. It all started in 16th C Mexico apparently. I don't think I'll be able to have one in my house ever again now!

The Maltese are big on Crib scenes too & have ginormous ones in churches, shops & seemingly almost every household's window. Actually it was quite nice to be in a country which takes the real meaning of Christmas seriously. Children dressed as angels and shepherds processed a crib with a baby Jesus through the streets round our hotel on Christmas Eve. It was lovely, but I can't see it happening in the UK really.

The sun shone every day but one. There is an impressive back story of history & pre-history going back to 3,500 - 5,000 BC. The buildings are beautiful. Many are in dire need of restoration - I was tempted, but installing a new kitchen in the UK has put me off somewhat!

The bus & ferry service is amazing and extremely cheap. You can get anywhere including the outer islands. What's not to like about that? We have a lot to learn about an integrated transport policy - Oh yes, but we haven't got one have we?

Our hotel was great. Seafront room with balcony & glorious views over the harbour to Valletta. The similarity to Venice was striking. They drive on the right & speak English, which is just as well because I just couldn't get the hang of Malti.

Possibly one of the best non Christmases I've ever had.

Fashion & City Life.

Because Oxford has such a diverse & shifting population - Town & Gown + Tourists & Students, it's possibly more than usually interesting from the sartorial perspective. It's also very stratified in terms of income, reflected in where exactly you live. There are some extremely wealthy people, particularly in North Oxford. On the other hand some areas are really quite deprived. It's also very cosmopolitan with a very ethnically mixed population.

One tries not to gawp, but you can see everything from bag ladies to very expensively turned out mothers of children who attend one or other of the independent schools. It's a reflection of the UK now - the "haves" have so much they can buy anything, the "have not's" struggle to make ends meet. In the middle are people like me.

There is a "bag lady" I see in Summertown, who apparently phones for a taxi when she has had her coffee & a fag in one of the pavement cafes. I have never seen her in any different clothes at any time of year. There are students who climb up to the top deck of the bus in skirts so short they leave nothing to the imagination. (Fortunately now it's winter they wear tights). It is weird when exams are on to see the university students flocking round town in their white bow ties & black gowns just like crows.

The tourists tend to wear gore tex & walking gear, except perhaps the ones staying in the Randolph or the Old Jail. They tend to be very smartly turned out & the women are beautifully made up. "Old money" and older academics really don't give a damn what they wear.

In the summer ball season the university students really go to town - literally. There is a hire shop on the Plain for those who can't afford to buy. Also in Summertown we have very posh charity shops which always have very special evening clothes for a fraction of the cost.

The myriad cyclists are a tribe of their own. They wear everything from cool & trendy lycra to "normal" clothes with high viz jackets. Everyone wears a helmet, but not everyone has lights on their bike, which strikes me as rather irrational. Being quite flat Oxford is best navigated on foot or by bike, so there are thousands of them.

It's often the shoes that identify which tribe you belong to. Trainers & basketball boots for the students. High heels for the fashionistas, (shiny polished brogues for the men), Walking boots & sensible shoes for the tourists.

 
I really think you could walk round the centre of Oxford wearing anything at all & not excite any attention. I am tempted, but haven't yet done it.

"We wish you a Merry" & "The Lost Sheep"

Readers will know I am not religious in the sense of believing in Christianity or any of the other Abrahamic religions. It will also be fairly obvious that I don't enjoy Christmas & would happily ignore it altogether. If it were a time of real reflection & thinking of others, rather than a commercialised bun fight, I might be persuaded to participate.

This year I will escape, I hope - to Malta for the whole Christmas week. No tinsel, no over indulgence, no unwanted presents. no sitting to the point of crying out for some real exercise & fresh air. So often Christmas is so steeped in family tradition no one thinks about what it's all for. We just don't want to upset someone else by selfishly breaking out & doing our own thing.

Well just for one year I am going to. I think I've earned the right to be selfish.

I wish everyone who enjoys it a very Happy Chrismas. I just think that many of us in the developed world are  "Lost Sheep".  We need to be brought back into the sustainable fold of community, sharing, equality, human dignity - where "each is given according to his needs". While we are gorging on an overdose of food, drink & "stuff" people are homeless, or ill, or alone & lonely.

Millions of people, including me, assuage their conscience by giving to charity. It is debatable how effective at tackling the underlying problems aid is. Tomes have been written on the subject. But if we have any spirit of human kindness we can't "walk by on the other side" in the face of a disaster. Help is needed quickly in order to save lives & provide food and shelter.

The spirit of giving & generosity is not dead. Sometimes it's just buried under self interest. We need the political will of the populus & the politicians to really identify the problems & come together to provide the solutions.

I hope it happens in my lifetime, but time is running out & I'm not optimistic.