First they came for Britain First, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not Far Right.
Then they came for Info Wars, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a conspiracy theorist.
Then they came for the Steven Crowder, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a homophobe.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
In early 2017, I was heavily criticised for expressing my outrage when a nationalist group in Australia, called the United Patriots Front, were de-platformed.
People were demanding that I stop defending Nazis.
This video isn’t about whether they were Nazis or not. It’s about why I made the case back then and how right I really was.
I argued at the time that:
- I’m a free speech absolutist. Meaning I don’t have to like what you say but I will always defend your right to say it.
- The line must ONLY be drawn at incitement to violence and we have laws for that, which are very easy to police because it’s not subjective "hurt feelings" like so called-hate speech.
Finally, I argued - If they ban the UPF today because they don’t like what they say, then what will stop them from banning me tomorrow?
The first two points were brushed off, even by so-called conservatives, because they had made up their minds about that particular group.
Again, I was certainly no fan of some of the content the UPF was spouting and today some of their leaders are proud Nazis. But it doesn’t change anything, my three points still stand.
I would have preferred to challenge their bad ideas in the public arena.
Once they were banned, all that happened is they were sent underground. The notoriety gained them respect from many ordinary folks, especially as censorship became a more mainstream issue… as I had predicted would happen.
Let’s be clear, the UPF never incited violence. The leaders were once charged with offending Muslims for conducting a mock beheading outside the site of a proposed Mosque in Bendigo. Which was another clear violation of the basic human right to Free Speech. Ironically, if that Mosque had ever been built (it still hasn’t), incitement to violence would have happened in that building daily - as they read the “religious” texts. And I guarantee you no one would ever have been investigated, let alone charged and prosecuted for it.
The fact is our “race hate” laws seem to only target specific groups which are attributed to one side of politics and the boundary of what constitutes “race hate” is growing by the day.
YouTube is just following the trend.
It used to only be UPF type “extremists”, now they’re targeting the Steven Crowders'. That’s exactly what I was afraid of back then and now I’ve finally made the list too.
If you’re one of those conservatives who think you’re safe, I’m here to tell you to stop being delusional. Crowder is the perfect example. He’s a mainstream COMEDIAN who had a massive platform, if he’s not safe, you won’t be either.
Think about it: It was a far bigger leap from the United Patriots Front to Crowder than it is from Crowder to you.
Posted from TR.News with SteemPress : https://www.tr.news/watch-remember-when-i-warned-you-about-censorship/