The remedy for pearl-clutching is not equal-and-opposite pearl-clutching. You can’t demand free speech to defend offending one group of people, then take umbrage when you’re offended.
That doesn’t, of course, mean that you can’t roundly criticise someone for being stupidly offensive. Criticising is not the same as silencing.
Or even better: just ignore them. Like all brats, deprived of attention, they’ll soon get bored.
A student newspaper at Australia’s oldest university has come under fire for a front page depicting King Charles identifying the Queen’s body in a morgue and a series of tweets that have provoked criticism from students for being “offensive and disgraceful”.
The University of Sydney’s student publication Honi Soit emblazoned the front page of this week’s edition with a parody photoshopped image of the Queen stretched out on a mortuary table with King Charles standing over her and the headline “Queen dead, Charles next”.
Of course it’s silly and offensive: that’s what student papers do. They pull pranks and put tacks on the chairs of the high and mighty. Of course, once upon a time they did it with genuine wit. University of Sydney students pranking the 1956 Olympic torch relay with a “torch” made from an old chair leg, a pudding tin, and a pair of flaming undies, was funny. Honi Soit’s front page is just dumb and crass.
Note, though, that no one is calling for the paper to be “cancelled”, banned, or is violently storming its offices.
“We haven’t yet received any backlash on campus” […Honi Soit editors said…]
The University of Sydney Conservative Club president Cooper Gannon said the front page was in “extreme distaste” and regardless of anyone’s political views, the Queen’s devotion to a life of service ought to be shown more respect. “I think it’s nothing short of absolutely disgraceful,” he said.
“It’s a poor reflection of a paper that is meant to represent students, when it’s showing imagery of a son who has just lost his mother and painting in this light that supports their individual political agendas. It’s sad where it’s gotten to a point where it’s become acceptable conduct among student journalists.”
Sydney University student Georgia Lowden said the article was “embarrassing” and it “wasn’t right” to make light of the death of any person.
“I think I’m disappointed but not surprised that they would write a story that is not very respectful,” she said.
“I think what should be of concern is that Honi Soit is paid for by our student service fees, which are mandatory, and this content would never be able to stand on its own two feet without coming out of students’ pockets.”
The Australian
See? Thesis-antithesis. Free speech, and more free speech.
Would the leftist students behind Honi Soit stop at such criticism if, say, a conservative student paper depicted Barack Obama as a minstrel? These are the people who rioted when Bettina Arndt spoke on campus.
It’s worth considering this irritating show of leftist boorishness in the light of a recent outbreak of pearl-clutching over a bunch of private schoolboys trading juvenile, offensive jokes privately online.
Some students at Knox Grammar, whose parents pay $35,000 a year for them to attend, used an encrypted app to share ‘racist, misogynistic and homophobic’ content they were assured would never be discovered by their teachers.
Users in the chat room, hosted by the messaging service Discord, sent the vile messages using aliases like ‘n*****removalservice’ and ‘Faothater3000’.
‘I hate fems I hate gays, jews, people who don’t play fortnite, furries, n**s, I love titties, feet abortion, rape, drugs,’ one of the disturbing messages read.
Daily Mail
“Disturbing”? Jeez, it’s lucky these snowflakes were never around the downfall courts at my high school in the early 80s. It’s what high school kids do: try to outdo each other in outrageous offensiveness. It’s why we thought parroting Derek and Clive was the height of comedy. In modern culture, it’s the whole point of rap battles and “dissing”.
Unlike the left-wing uni students who published their offensive drivel for the world to see, though, the private school boys, who were snitched on by a self-righteous teacher who spied on their private chats, were expelled.
“Some people’s idea of [Free Speech] is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage”
Winston Churchill.