Telegraph columnist/blogger Janet Daley was complaining today about the police’s seeming unwillingness to arrest or to hamper in any way the activities of those idiots with loudhailers who spent the five days following the election trying to disrupt live political coverage by our main broadcasters - and often succeeding.
She received some angry responses, accusing her of excessive self-importance as a member of the journalistic profession, and of being authoritarian.
I am ambiguous on the issue of civil liberties. I love the idea of freedom of expression – I loathe laws that limit my freedom to express my opinions on race, sexuality and religion. But when it comes to legitimate political protest, there’s a time and a place.
Because, you see, I have rights too.
For instance, what about my rights – as a voter and a license-payer – to hear events being reported and discussed on TV and radio without imbecilic, self-important, anti-social, single-issue obsessives doing their level best to make sure I can’t hear what’s being said?
One argument is that the broadcasters could forsake OBs and move everything into studios. But why should a handful of ill-mannered monomaniacs be allowed to decide how the rest of us receive political news and comment? OBs are great for this sort of event – producers can grab passing notables, guests can easily be shared between broadcasters, and the atmosphere is much livelier. Cosmetic? Partly, but so what?
The police should round up every last one of these nauseating, selfish, disruptive Nazis – whether they’re banging on about voting reform, nuclear weapons, animal rights, bringing back the troops, the imposition of alien religious laws (for or against), the immediate closure of all private schools, or the execution of all bankers above a certain pay grade – and remind them that they live in a democracy where they get to vote on a regular basis for any party deranged or enlightened enough to support their views.
If these “campaigners” (intolerant, anti-democratic solipsists who believe the over-riding importance of their cause gives them the right to behave like the fascists they accuse everyone else of being) can’t identify a party which supports their obsession, they are perfectly at liberty to form one and to canvas support for it in a civilized fashion. (Some education as to what constitutes civilsed behaviour might prove necessary.)
That’s the beauty of democracy: as long as you’re not advocating violence, or being overly mean to gays or Muslims, you can put yourself forward for election. If your cause is so boring or unpopular you can’t find enough people to form a party, give up.
God knows, democracy is imperfect. The party which currently comes closest to representing my views is probably UKIP, which I realize will never get into power. There are no doubt many right-wing Tory MPs with whom I would broadly agree – but, again, they will not be allowed any measure of power in the foreseeable future. Tough on me, but that’s democracy. The majority of people in this country don’t agree with me. I vent my spleen in private and in the blogosphere, but I see absolutely no reason for forcing my opinions on non-believers using a loudhailer.
Why the hell should I?
Mind you, in order for this to work, someone will probably have to detoxify the police after a decade and a half during which they’ve had their brains rewired to see their role as being to protect the rights of sexual, religious and racial minorities - and criminals - against the rest of society. Besides, when the police remember what they’re there for and, say, try to quell violent protest, someone always gets hurt – never the swine who organized the riot in the first place, hoping that some innocent would die to get the media on board – and then there’s an anti-cop witch-hunt.
Let’s hope this new government rapidly signals its support for the democratic majority by telling the police to start seizing loudhailers and shoving them where the sun don’t shine. As for quelling riots organized by anarchists and Trotskyites - hell, guys, fill yer boots!
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