I see that David Irving has been sent down for three years by an Austrian court.
Now you would think that the natural reaction in a free country such as ours would be that this is an awful thing to happen, despite the crass views the man voiced 17 years ago. Well, no, actually. I had the misfortune to hear Jeremey Vine’s show this afternoon wherein the great and the good expressed their satisfaction at hearing this verdict. The general consensus seems to be to concentrate on the issue of the holocaust and not the real matter at hand; that of freedom of expression. Irving’s views are so repugnant and offend holocaust survivors and those who discovered the concentration camps, that such speech should not be allowed. Indeed, there is a qualifying statement; “Well, I believe in free speech… But”
Sorry, M’dear, there is no “but”. If there’s a “but”, you don’t believe in free speech – that’s all there is about it. Free speech means that sometimes people say things you disagree with, find offensive or deeply repugnant. Upon hearing them, you are equally free to rebut them – or ignore them, whichever suits. Free speech means allowing everyone to have their say, not just those with whom you agree.
Ah, we are told by those who know (well, those who phoned into Jeremy Vine), Irving is an apologist for the most vile of regimes and young people today, those too young to remember, may be influenced by his words. And locking him up won’t? Making a martyr of him won’t? The natural reaction for people who may be predisposed to Irving’s views will now start to wonder just what it is the Austrian authorities have to hide. That’s how censorship works. That is why it is so dangerous.
It is not the young and impressionable who are guilty of feeble-mindedness here, but those who believe in free speech with a “but”.