Secretary of State for Wales David Jones expressed an opinion about gay adoption today. The indignation expressed at his opinions is predictable and, to a great extent, justified. There is clearly no evidence to support his claim, and it is probably largely based on prejudice. Nonetheless, one of the comments in twitters regarding this matter was along the lines 'his remarks should be reported to the police', and this prompted me to contemplate how bizarre some of the debates going on today have become.
I never had any doubt about the fact that Twitter is not the place to look for balanced discussion. The opinions which the people commenting on David Jones may be the ones I agree with, but their reduction to 140 characters makes their authors look as bad as the very people they deplore. It reminds me of scenes from 'The Animal Farm' where the sheep who were two stupid to learn all the ten 'commandments' were simply told to memorize 'two legs bad, four legs good'.
These people have a number of liberal cliches in their heads and they do not want to think outside them. 'Capitalism bad, wind turbines good, religion bad (unless it's Islamic fundamentalism), Iraq war bad, public spending good, gay marriage good, tuition fees bad, taxes on the rich good'. Today, when they shout 'bigot!' at somebody, you may agree with them; but tomorrow, they will shout 'bigot!' when you say something, and you will be left wondering why.
Do I support gay marriage? Yes. Do I think its opponents do not raise any valid points and are all homophobes? No. And even if I did, it would not matter. Lots of points in lots of debates are raised because people are prejudiced - and they will always think they are not, and the only way to resolve it is to recognize the overwhelming priority of the need for free speech - something which took centuries to achieve.
Let me give some examples. A huge number of people in Britain think that 'NHS is the envy of the world'. This claim is not based on any evidence whatsoever and is based on prejudice. A significant minority of Russians believe that the collapse of USSR was a Western conspiracy. Certain blends of protestants believe that the world was literally created in seven days. And yes, some people believe that being gay is an immoral (or otherwise) lifestyle choice and should be condemned.
When I argue with these people, I sometimes want to take a hammer and hit them on the head. But the very possibility of open discussion on all topics is something many generations of our ancestors never had. over centuries, fewer and fewer topics remained tabooed - do we really want to celebrate the freedom of speech by supressing it? Do these people calling for the police to investigate Jones' remarks really know what it is like to live in a country where the government has a right to prosecute you for your views?
Since when are we actually getting outraged at people opinions? People's action is what we should be outraged at. Holocaust was a crime, but denying it should not be; homophobic violence and its incitement should be condemned, but not homophobic views. For the ability to share the same society with someone whose views make you shiver with anger is a milestone of modern Western civilization.
'Resign! Resign ' - the Twitter shouts. Why on earth should David Jones resign? I see neither significant policy mistakes nor problems with personal conduct. Gay marriage was a free vote and not government policy. You may disagree with his views, but you may have noticed that even the opposition never calls on ministers to resign 'by default' - because the fact that they disagree with the minister is given (otherwise, they would be in the same party).
For the sake of preservation of free speech, for the sake of preservation of a wide, free, inclusive and yes, sometimes intolerant debate , for the sake of defying people who think in cliches and think their opponents hold certain views simply because they are bigots, and for the sake of ensuring that the fate of politicians is decided at the ballot box and not on Twitter, David Jones should keep his job.
