Few people understand the scope of the powers UK governments have granted themselves, to criminalise us as terrorists for expressing an opinion. Fewer still understand how illiberal the Court of Appeal judgement is. But @davidallengreen.bsky.social does.🧵 prospectmagazine.co.uk
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
This is a moment of extreme hazard, for the right to free speech, freedom of assembly and freedom to protest. But because the great majority of the media is either in favour or scarcely interested, we have failed to grasp the enormity of the situation. We could lose it all before we've woken up. These are not trivial matters. This is the entire fabric of what we call democracy being torn up. Without free speech, freedom of assembly, and robust rights to protest, democracy is a dead letter. But while this astounding change is taking place, the great majority of people are completely unaware. Some of us in the media, especially in The Guardian and alternative outlets, have been frantically trying to draw attention to this vast shift, but it's not enough. It's all too easy for people to miss it, or dismiss it as "it's just Palestine Action, or Extinction Rebellion, nothing to do with me". Sorry about the cliche, but this really is "First they came for ...". You might be comfortable with a loss of rights for people with whom you disagree. But you might not have grasped that this is everyone's loss. Which group will next be classed as terrorist, because it opposes government policy? History tells us that once it begins, there's no end to it, without massive opposition. It also tells us that countries can slip into situations very few people would have chosen, in which the great majority can be dominated and terrorised by a tiny minority, with the full backing of the law. Don't imagine for one moment that the UK is immune to such forces. That was the fantasy of every former "democracy" that succumbed to illiberal forces. Surely our own lords and masters would never do such a thing? They're all good chaps, play a straight bat, respect checks and balances ... aargh! It's horrible, watching this unfold, and witnessing the lack of awareness and concern. It feels like standing on the wrong side of the plate glass, frantically banging and shouting warnings, while no one inside can hear you. Can't you see what's coming? Have we learnt nothing from the past? The thread on one page: skywriter.blue
skywriter.blue