The free speech we need isn’t the free speech the right wants

For a moment there, it looked like the old online free speech wars might not survive the rise of fascism. For months, governments across the Anglosphere have been on a wild censorship binge. In the US, the Trump administration has seized and deported activists. It has attacked universities. It has purged theatres, museums and government departments of its critics. It’s remarkable how fast rightwing regimes that cry censorship at the first whiff of a diversity initiative will move to shut down actual dissent.

Meanwhile, in the UK, anti-terror laws are being deployed against artists and activists who dare to make things uncomfortable for the state. This culminated, last week, with the mortifying spectacle of more than 500 people, including hundreds of pensioners, being plasticuffed and herded on to police trucks. Their offence? Holding up polite signs saying that they support Palestine Action and oppose genocide. I am not allowed to express any positive opinion about Palestine Action, as the government has proscribed this nonviolent group, and anyone expressing support can be arrested under the Terrorism Act. 

You’d think that all this might take some of the urgency out of the debate over whether women are allowed to be rude to you on social media. But no. Somehow, even in the face of actual, material state censorship of political speech in the UK and overseas, the real enemies of free speech are still feminists, trans people and other “woke” degenerates like me. 

For many years, the idea of free speech has been misused, tortured and twisted into a weapon by people terrified of diversity and unwilling to accept cultural change. It’s far easier to defend the right to hold bigoted opinions than it is to defend bigotry itself – especially since the right to hold bigoted, ignorant opinions has never been under serious attack. The wonders of modern technology have made it easier to disseminate bad ideas than at any previous point in human history. But for some self-appointed defenders of the Enlightenment flame, the greater threat is not state censorship – it’s historically marginalised groups daring to use that same technology, to hold power to account. They have done so without waiting for permission or observing the proper forms of polite debate. 

Where, now, in the face of actual state repression, are all those free speech warriors? Where’s the outrage from everyone who spent the past decade defending free expression by demonising uppity minority groups? That’s not a rhetorical question. There are always a few unblemished apples in every barrel of bad faith. And among all the cowards who dressed up their dull prejudices as heroic defence of civil liberties, there must be some people with sincere, consistent principles.

So where were they this summer, when the state started intervening in artists’ right to offend? Kneecap frontman Mo Chara was also hauled up on charges of supporting a proscribed group, after allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag. When that failed to prevent the Belfast rappers from headlining Glastonbury, pressure was put on the BBC to pull their live coverage of the performance. This backfired dreadfully.  Nobody believes that Kneecap, who rap about shagging, drinking and dealing drugs, are actually affiliated with Hezbollah – unless Hezbollah have lately become a lot more relaxed. The actual issue is embarrassingly obvious. The cultural presence of Kneecap has prompted the same censorious mania that overtakes the most timid British government whenever Irish people appear to forget their place. Nudging the police and major broadcasters to tag your enemies as threats to public order might work when you’re dealing with ordinary political opponents or, as it may be, awkwardly left-wing party leaders. But rappers? Rappers are much harder to cancel. The fact that the state is still trying is as stupid as it is sinister.

The hypocrisy here is obvious. But political hypocrisy invariably conceals a horrifying logic. There’s a reason why British authorities seem relaxed about racist riots even as they crack down on peaceful anti-war protesters. It’s the same logic whereby anyone who dares to speak freely about racism or sexism is a woke, wicked canceller, but mass harassment of women in the public eye is just free speech in action. It’s the logic of privilege in its most literal sense: the logic of private law. One rule for you and another for me.

We still need free speech. We need it more than ever. It’s just that the free speech we need is about far more than your right to insult anyone you choose and call yourself a hero. The free speech that is worth defending is the right to speak back at power. The right to speak out of turn.