Outrage: Freedom of Speech and other rabbit holes
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In our increasingly polarised world, Jo Pybus asks—are you tired of shit-stirrers?
Are you starting to tire of shit-stirrers? More and more the behaviour one might expect from a disgruntled relative, football hooligan, or a child exploring their personality in the schoolyard has spilled over into places in our lives where we expect better and the consequences are far greater.
I no longer sit with my mouth agape as conspiracy theorists driving a groundswell of fear and discontent are given airtime—and that concerns me deeply.
Have I become immune to the creeping scourge of shit-stirrers because this is now the norm? Could I ever succumb and buy into the unbelievable narrative espoused by someone I may have voted for or whose cookbook I bought?
With my final ounce of outrage—an allocation exhausted over the past year—I resolved to look up what Freedom of Speech meant here in Australia and fell down a rabbit hole of legislation only to crawl my way out with more questions than answers.
It turns out our Australian definition refers to the right of opinion and expression and draws from seven International Human Rights Treaties covering a whole raft of rights.
I will paraphrase for brevity—essentially you are allowed to express your opinion but if it threatens public order, public health, or national security, you might be in hot water. This is not an exclusive list of restrictions as to why you may want to keep your conspiracies to yourself, but it does cover those that have gotten under my skin recently.
Here is my dilemma. It’s no surprise to you I’m sure, that the conspiracy theories to which I’m referring relate to COVID-19. From how the virus started, to how we treat those infected, to how we vaccinate the planet, some commentary seems to come straight from the script of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. And the antidote that grounds us back in reality (see what I did there?) is peer-reviewed science.
Doctors and public officials are spending a lot of time having to answer bogus claims by citing the latest scientifically proven studies to calm the masses. Time they could be using doing other more useful stuff like, I don’t know—their actual jobs!
You have to wonder what drives someone with a platform to be constantly trying to debunk what has been scientifically proven, and waste everybody’s time. Do they get some sinister sociopathic pleasure in being a puppeteer for an entire news cycle by pulling our strings?
I’m too old and cynical to come up with any altruistic excuse for this behaviour and can only pin it to a desire to be re-elected or sell more books or something that gives them power or money. Agendas my friends, and not the hidden kind.
In response to a recent hoo-ha up at the big house about one MP citing a discredited study about children and face masks, others came forward and spoke about the responsibility that comes with freedom of speech. Once again, the flame was doused with a bucket of sensible scientific justification—taking up any number of hours at taxpayers’ expense.
There is a conundrum here, however, as we are using science and fact to combat false claims yet there are beliefs specifically protected under freedom of speech that have never been proven by science. Take religion for example—there has never been a scientific peer-reviewed study that has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that God exists. So how does preaching about God differ from suggesting that a Bleach Mojito will cure COVID-19?
That is a whole other rabbit hole but if I can put on my mum hat here, I would have to say it comes down to intent. For example, having my children believe in Santa when they were little was meant to bring them joy—and if I’m being honest grant me at least a month of good behaviour.
Conversely, sitting at playgroup having coffee with other mums and suggesting that children who don’t bathe in Lotion X are less likely to finish school, is me expressing my freedom of speech to sell products from my latest multi-tiered marketing venture. One a well meaning little white lie that appears to do no harm. The other complete porky-pies designed to line my pockets.
So, if your agenda is power, money, or sociopathic notoriety, I ask that you submit your agenda before the meeting so the powers that be can turn off your mic and give us all a break.
If you are just being a shit-stirrer, then your family, other footy goers, or the rest of the playground will sort you out and put you on the right path.
