Dictators and countries with a single ruling party claim to be democratic and allow free speech - just so long as the sentiments expressed support the party line and offer no criticism. Here in Australia we believe that every citizen has the right to freely express their opinions and we claim that we guard this right fiercely.
A far right Dutch politician recently visited Australia to publicly lecture on his views opposing the influx of Muslims into western countries. This proposed subject brought demonstrating crowds into the streets and many venues cancelled bookings at short notice. A proposed public meeting in Western Australia was cancelled when no suitable arena could be found.
Geert Wilders has what some would call extreme views on the aspirations of Islam. They attract support from many people, and they are bitterly opposed by many others. There are " rights " on both side of the divide. Those who go into the streets to protest what they see as " racism " are free to do so in our society, just so long as they do not interfere with Wilders right to express his opinion. Unfortunately, the aim of these demonstraters seems to be to prevent Wilders speaking in public.
Now a new form of " punishment " has been visited on ordinary Australians whose " crime " was to log on to an ABC programme called " Making Australia Happy. " It is suggested that the International hacker group - " Anonymous " hacked the ABC computers and has displayed on the net the passwords, user names, email addresses, locations and postcodes of those who logged in to have their say on this show.
This information can be used to create all sorts of mischief, from insults to identity theft and if the perpetrator is Anonymous it flies directly in the face of their stated aim - which is to prevent restrictions on the free flow of information on the Internet. They are punishing people for having the temerity to have their say on a public forum !
The laws of Australia protect citizens from slander. The right exists to sue for damages if a person is unjustly vilified or if the statements made are simply untrue. Unfortunately, we are now seeing a growing trend to simply shut off the means for a unpopular point of view to get public air. At protest meetings the crowd is quickly whipped into a frenzy and any speaker wishing to offer a contrary view could face physical attack.
This tactic of hacking media computers and putting personal details of those taking part in forums on the Internet will make many people reluctant to offer their contribution, and when that happens - it is the first move in shutting down free speech. The whole point of the free speech ethos is the right to say what you think without reprisals from those of a different opinion.
The " Hacker " has an obvious advantage. The skill to penetrate computers is even practised by governments for both defensive and offensive reasons, and the legion of private hackers comes from all walks of life - and all political, religious and academic persuasions. They work in the shadows - and the extremes to which their results extend are only limited by their personal morality.
We still have the right to say what we think - but these days it may come with a personal price tag !
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