‘Hate speech’ does not exist. The term is a euphemism for anything the state wants to prevent you from saying. Laws like this are totalitarianism’s on-ramp
I agree with you, Rebekah. "Hate speech" is whatever some loony-lefty, loony-righty or some other activist loony gets upset about in the moment. It is an amorphous, plastic concept, at best, and that's why it's dangerous. We already have laws that proscribe incitement to violence, and that is as it should be. In a democracy, individuals must understand that the freedom of expression means there will always be ideas and opinions that may offend them. Then it's up to them to debate it, not to try to shut it down.
Typing online isnt speech and the physical action of vocalizing your thoughts (especially in public) is frankly unstoppable. Unless you sucking a pacifier, wearing a muzzle or are mute / unable to use your vocal chords!
We also need to review school curricula and university courses to see how many of the great thinkers and great ideas of civilisation are not being taught.
"The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way, the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed." Pat Miller.
This is why living by principles is so important. We miss out on so much when we don't.
I hope and pray all those doing this protest sing along are unjabbed and at the least protested in some way during the covid mandates era or realise it now, if not their hypocrisy stinks.
As Saul Alinksy says - you must may your enemy live by their principles. We on the right are too quick to hold ourselves accountable to principles that the left either ignore or recognise only in their favour.
If a principle is to apply, it must apply to all for equality before the law.
A principle applied only to one side is a weapon, not a virtue.
In high resonance with you over this, Bek.Clearly, a large number of people believe that censorship is okay as long as it targets the OTHER team. The same applies to violence, evidently.
Just because someone is jewish by birth doesn't mean they can't be antisemetic. The most famous case being George Soros.
secondly the john farnham lyrics are "like the river to the sea", not "from the river to the sea". The criminal offence also has an element of intent which everyone seems to be overlooking. The words alone are not sufficient. Every case prosecuted satisfies the intent because the "protestors" intended to be arrested.
Thirdly, the left doesn't care about Freedom of Speech, they care about freedom of their speech. Saul Alinsky says you must make your enemy live by their own rules. I will only support revocation of the legislation if there is an bipartisan support for an enshrined right of freedom of speech. Otherwise we just go back to the position the left can say whatever genocidal garbage they like meanwhile the right gets ostracised for saying there are two genders.
The left doesn't give a shit about free speech. During covid they cheered as I lost not only my right to freedom of speech deplatforming people across all social media platforms while subjecting us to daily indoctrination, they also revoked my freedom of association, me freedom of movement and my freedom of employment.
Our law and even in the US has exceptions to free speech. Calling for the genocide or ethnic cleanings of a nation state should, to a reasonable person, be one such exemption. So many people have a fundamental ignorance of what freedom of speech actually covers in the law.
Finally, we have no freedom of speech in Australia. At best the High Court found there is an implied freedom to political speech in the Constitution.
There is the story of the boy who's sister kept pulling his hair. He complained to his parents and they excused it - "She doesn't know what it feels like".
So the little boy turned around and sharply pulled her hair.
I didn't mention in the article that police have cautioned several people who held a sign or produced artwork with variations on the phrase ("from the sea to the river" and "river to the sea") resulting in those people taking down said sign and artwork.
I don't think that "we have no freedom of speech" or 'one side doesn't care about free speech' are reasons not to advocate for freedom of speech.
I also think it's unreasonable to characterise certain slogans only by their most extreme possible meaning when the great majority do NOT mean 'death to all Jews' when they say these things, as clarified by the interview in this article. It's similar to what was done to anti-mandate and anti-lockdown protesters. They were called 'anti-vaxxers' (many, probably most, were not) and characterised as flat earth cookers on the basis of a few kooks who turned up with outrageous signs.
Weaponised by whichever side or entity would benefit from it. It's not unique to the left, although I'll grant that there seems to be more enthusiasm for silencing critics on the left in general.
Why do you think that incitement to violence is ok as an exclusion to free speech, but calling for genocide and ethnic cleaning should not be an exclusion ?
If I was Farnsey, I’d be suing those dumbasses for using my song for an offensive purpose.
Otherwise, you’re right. Even though they’re dumbasses, they should be allowed to say what they want. It only shows the world just how stupid they are.
The real issue arrives when protesters start disrupting people’s lives or use violence. No one has a right to stop someone from walking down the street or driving to work just because you have something to protest. That’s restricting a persons freedom to move and not be harassed.
“When people say ‘Palestine will be free from the river to the sea’ they mean free from apartheid, free from illegal occupation, free from violations of international law.”…
…why should a person in leadership position feel compelled to openly lie about an expression
The loons we have in govt have simply lost the plot n whatever moral compass they had left following the demonic covid mandates.
Who signed that egregious n insane Qld law? If only humans will wake up from their slumbers, hate speech is total nonsense and lunacy let alone the idea of a law backing it. You can't have hate speech in the presence of free speech. I thot Qld was sensible again after the Old premier from Covid days left. Looks like they all must always fornicate with the harlot riding the beast.
It is FOR FREEDOM that Christ has set us Free, Gal 5: 1. Sincerely I really couldn't care less abt some 1st amendment or other legal free speech protections. I take my God given freedoms as a human created freely seriously hence the reason we defied their satanic mandates in 2021. So shld everyone who knows and values their humanity. If you don't, then senseless laws like this one are your lot.
‘Hate speech’ does not exist. The term is a euphemism for anything the state wants to prevent you from saying. Laws like this are totalitarianism’s on-ramp
I agree with you, Rebekah. "Hate speech" is whatever some loony-lefty, loony-righty or some other activist loony gets upset about in the moment. It is an amorphous, plastic concept, at best, and that's why it's dangerous. We already have laws that proscribe incitement to violence, and that is as it should be. In a democracy, individuals must understand that the freedom of expression means there will always be ideas and opinions that may offend them. Then it's up to them to debate it, not to try to shut it down.
You nailed it!
There is free speech and there is censorship, there is no in between.
Scary thing is, I had to enter a code from substack to even add a comment.
I guess my social credit score just took a hit.
Typing online isnt speech and the physical action of vocalizing your thoughts (especially in public) is frankly unstoppable. Unless you sucking a pacifier, wearing a muzzle or are mute / unable to use your vocal chords!
Tell that to the people in the UK that are in prison for tweets.
Yeah, true that. Id be happy to post them a letter or contribute to their commissary
The guiding principles for a great society need to be laid out from the ground up so that individual issues can be addressed in a broad framework.
Five pillars of peace, freedom and prosperity.
https://rafechampion.substack.com/p/rebadging-the-liberals
We also need to review school curricula and university courses to see how many of the great thinkers and great ideas of civilisation are not being taught.
I sorta prefer the Direct Action approach https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=outwSoEA4ks
I have no individual issues with hate speech because it doesnt deem itself worthy of my individual attentjons.
Now imagine if ‘we’ took an identical stance like the two strong hearts flashmob in Brissy did! Oh what fun could be had!
"The best way to take control over a people and control them utterly is to take a little of their freedom at a time, to erode rights by a thousand tiny and almost imperceptible reductions. In this way, the people will not see those rights and freedoms being removed until past the point at which these changes cannot be reversed." Pat Miller.
This is why living by principles is so important. We miss out on so much when we don't.
I hope and pray all those doing this protest sing along are unjabbed and at the least protested in some way during the covid mandates era or realise it now, if not their hypocrisy stinks.
As Saul Alinksy says - you must may your enemy live by their principles. We on the right are too quick to hold ourselves accountable to principles that the left either ignore or recognise only in their favour.
If a principle is to apply, it must apply to all for equality before the law.
A principle applied only to one side is a weapon, not a virtue.
Ah yes I wrote about this https://news.rebekahbarnett.com.au/p/cancelling-the-cancellers
I am 100 percent free speech.
If your offensive, that's on you to get hoisted by your own petard.
Without free speech, how are we to judge someone by the content of their character?
In high resonance with you over this, Bek.Clearly, a large number of people believe that censorship is okay as long as it targets the OTHER team. The same applies to violence, evidently.
100% agree - we either have freedom to say what we think, or otherwise, it means 'someone' is controlling, or limiting freedom in a democracy.
A couple of points.
Just because someone is jewish by birth doesn't mean they can't be antisemetic. The most famous case being George Soros.
secondly the john farnham lyrics are "like the river to the sea", not "from the river to the sea". The criminal offence also has an element of intent which everyone seems to be overlooking. The words alone are not sufficient. Every case prosecuted satisfies the intent because the "protestors" intended to be arrested.
Thirdly, the left doesn't care about Freedom of Speech, they care about freedom of their speech. Saul Alinsky says you must make your enemy live by their own rules. I will only support revocation of the legislation if there is an bipartisan support for an enshrined right of freedom of speech. Otherwise we just go back to the position the left can say whatever genocidal garbage they like meanwhile the right gets ostracised for saying there are two genders.
The left doesn't give a shit about free speech. During covid they cheered as I lost not only my right to freedom of speech deplatforming people across all social media platforms while subjecting us to daily indoctrination, they also revoked my freedom of association, me freedom of movement and my freedom of employment.
Our law and even in the US has exceptions to free speech. Calling for the genocide or ethnic cleanings of a nation state should, to a reasonable person, be one such exemption. So many people have a fundamental ignorance of what freedom of speech actually covers in the law.
Finally, we have no freedom of speech in Australia. At best the High Court found there is an implied freedom to political speech in the Constitution.
There is the story of the boy who's sister kept pulling his hair. He complained to his parents and they excused it - "She doesn't know what it feels like".
So the little boy turned around and sharply pulled her hair.
"Now she knows"
I didn't mention in the article that police have cautioned several people who held a sign or produced artwork with variations on the phrase ("from the sea to the river" and "river to the sea") resulting in those people taking down said sign and artwork.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/28/nordacious-james-hillier-removes-artworks-queensland-police-hate-speech-laws-ntwnfb
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-08/queensland-hate-speech-laws-court/106540850
I don't think that "we have no freedom of speech" or 'one side doesn't care about free speech' are reasons not to advocate for freedom of speech.
I also think it's unreasonable to characterise certain slogans only by their most extreme possible meaning when the great majority do NOT mean 'death to all Jews' when they say these things, as clarified by the interview in this article. It's similar to what was done to anti-mandate and anti-lockdown protesters. They were called 'anti-vaxxers' (many, probably most, were not) and characterised as flat earth cookers on the basis of a few kooks who turned up with outrageous signs.
Coming back to this after ANZAC day we have the perfect example of what I said.
One of the guys who booed a race grifter, oops I mean "elder" has been arrested.
No one on the left is defending his freedom of speech, in fact they are claiming his political expression is a hate crime.
If we play by principles it just means only the right is held to account.
If you want freedom of speech you have to hold the left to account, because they won't do it unless dragged kicking and screaming to do so.
Strange the context in which you use "genocidal".
We have laws on incitement to violence, slander and defamation.
Hate speech laws add no value, and it is much worse than that because they are weaponised by the left.
Weaponised by whichever side or entity would benefit from it. It's not unique to the left, although I'll grant that there seems to be more enthusiasm for silencing critics on the left in general.
Why do you think that incitement to violence is ok as an exclusion to free speech, but calling for genocide and ethnic cleaning should not be an exclusion ?
If I was Farnsey, I’d be suing those dumbasses for using my song for an offensive purpose.
Otherwise, you’re right. Even though they’re dumbasses, they should be allowed to say what they want. It only shows the world just how stupid they are.
The real issue arrives when protesters start disrupting people’s lives or use violence. No one has a right to stop someone from walking down the street or driving to work just because you have something to protest. That’s restricting a persons freedom to move and not be harassed.
This law does not oppose freedom of expression..it opposes rage and violence against any and every population.
That's all.
Use freedom for good. This video shows people chanting waving flags of Palestine . A place made up by the brits for their own devices.
Not freedom. Wake up Australia
I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
“When people say ‘Palestine will be free from the river to the sea’ they mean free from apartheid, free from illegal occupation, free from violations of international law.”…
…why should a person in leadership position feel compelled to openly lie about an expression
He is lying about what “they” mean ✝️
Until on mass all Western Citizens reject statutory regulations as law the more extreme the onslaught of "legal fiction" will control us like sheep.
The loons we have in govt have simply lost the plot n whatever moral compass they had left following the demonic covid mandates.
Who signed that egregious n insane Qld law? If only humans will wake up from their slumbers, hate speech is total nonsense and lunacy let alone the idea of a law backing it. You can't have hate speech in the presence of free speech. I thot Qld was sensible again after the Old premier from Covid days left. Looks like they all must always fornicate with the harlot riding the beast.
It is FOR FREEDOM that Christ has set us Free, Gal 5: 1. Sincerely I really couldn't care less abt some 1st amendment or other legal free speech protections. I take my God given freedoms as a human created freely seriously hence the reason we defied their satanic mandates in 2021. So shld everyone who knows and values their humanity. If you don't, then senseless laws like this one are your lot.
God bless