Go Broke, Go Woke

A man arrested for burning a copy of the Koran in Bradford will not face charges, following intervention by the Free Speech Union. The man arrived in Britain as an asylum-seeker and, ironically, he was fleeing religious persecution in a Muslim majority country. After he uploaded a video of himself burning a Koran in a symbolic stand for freedom of speech and against Islamic extremism, West Yorkshire Police reacted swiftly – not to protect his right to protest, but to arrest him on suspicion of committing a criminal offence. The FSU intervened immediately, instructing a solicitor and covering our member’s legal fees. After several months, the police have now told him they’ll be taking no further action. Freddie Attenborough, our Digital Communications Director, has written about the case at length for The Conservative Woman. We are encouraging our supporters to write to their MP to encourage them to support an amendment tabled by The Opposition to scrap Clause 18 of the Employment Rights Bill. Clause 18 is a dangerous escalation in speech policing, disguised as a way to ‘protect’ vulnerable workers. It will force British businesses to monitor customer conversations or risk being sued for ‘third-party harassment’. Next, two recent stories from Cardiff University could serve as a parable for all that’s going wrong in British higher education. Either that, or a “Go Broke, Go Woke” parody. In story one, the university has announced plans to cut 400 academic jobs. In story two, there’s now a mandatory EDI module for all first-year Cardiff students. In other words, at the same time as the university is trying to get rid of academics who could teach students to think critically about received wisdoms, it’s somehow found the money to help EDI zealots impose them as dogma. The module provides a comprehensive guide to EDI-speak. Out, for example, go such “microaggressions” as complimenting somebody on their English. Also out are any idioms with an offensive ‘origin story’. We end the episode with a round-up of forthcoming FSU events. ‘That's Debatable!’  is edited by Jason Clift.