Taking a break from the vastly taxing activities of wanking over a dead politician from the 1960s (read: Enoch Powell) and spray painting the Danish flag on roundabouts, Reform supporters have found a new favourite activity, pushing me to do the one thing I never believed was possible: defend The Tab.
The Tab Edinburgh recently posted a video reporting on a cross-party statement from a group of left-wing Edinburgh University political societies that stated Reform UK will not be invited to their collaborative events. Such a decision, unsurprisingly, caused huge backlash amongst Nigel Farage’s comrades, as many took to the comments to pronounce their abhorrence at the decision from such left-wing parties. Many characterised such a decision as fascist itself; “Let’s stop fascism by being… fascist?”, “Isn’t silencing the opposition a key tenet of… fascism?” As one user even claimed that “you’re a lunatic if you think Reform are fascist! You obviously have no grasp on reality.”
These comments debate the right to freedom of speech and expression which they believe are currently under threat, however, they largely fail to fully grasp the issue at hand. As one user pointed out; “sure, [it would be fascism] if it were the government banning Reform from the ballot, but we are allowed to choose who to work and talk with” which epitomises the exact crux of the issue. The Reform society is not being banned from campus, they are just not being invited to “any cross party events.” Frankly, why should these left-wing societies, whose demographic often includes marginalised groups pander to the needs of Reform – a society that actively perpetuates such divisive and hateful rhetoric? The paradox of tolerance theory is central to this debate; whilst we should continually extend tolerance to anyone regardless of partisan differences, there comes a point where extending such tolerance to those who are perpetually intolerant undermines the whole principle.
Furthermore, amidst all the typical comments (“The right is waking back up and it is much, much bigger than you think”) from Reform supporters, one common theme that kept popping up was the notion that universities are, as one user stated, “breeding grounds of leftist ideologies and perpetuate indoctrination.” This highlights a growing shift within UK politics in which right-wing voters often feel as though their voices are being shut out in the name of “the woke left.” Thus, when these “woke breeding grounds” refuse to engage with such hateful voices, it gives credential to Reforms’ feeling of disillusionment within British politics and increases their anger at the system.
This was a sentiment that was seemingly reemphasised by other commenters who dislike Reform, but argued that “censoring them will just help make them stronger” with another characterising this move as “furthering said division” as through “suppressing these people, will only make them worse.” Whilst their characterisation of Reform society as nothing more than “an angry rebelling teenager” is a flowering attempt at taking the diplomatic route out, they may have slightly missed the mark this time. Division has already been pushed to its breaking point; reform campaigns for “no gender questioning, social transitioning or pronoun swapping” have long since stoked the fires – what more division can be done? Furthermore, these comments truly prickled a nerve in my brain – what do they really think is going to happen if we ignore these right wing extremist groups? Peaceful co-existence? A happy, unabashed political system? Unlikely.
The comments on this post reflect how political culture at university can often act as a microcosm and battle ground of the increasingly polarised, divisive nature of British political debate. Crucially, The Reform Society is not affiliated or officially registered with EUSA – an incredibly sketchy move as this puts it largely above EUSA safeguarding and wellbeing regulations. On such grounds alone societies do not have to engage with them. Freedom of speech warrants freedom of rejection, something Reform and its supporters should keep in mind.
“2024 General Election in Kingston upon Hull East Reform UK Poster” by Hullian111 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related
Reform: Freedom of Speech Cannot Force People to be Your Friends
Taking a break from the vastly taxing activities of wanking over a dead politician from the 1960s (read: Enoch Powell) and spray painting the Danish flag on roundabouts, Reform supporters have found a new favourite activity, pushing me to do the one thing I never believed was possible: defend The Tab.
The Tab Edinburgh recently posted a video reporting on a cross-party statement from a group of left-wing Edinburgh University political societies that stated Reform UK will not be invited to their collaborative events. Such a decision, unsurprisingly, caused huge backlash amongst Nigel Farage’s comrades, as many took to the comments to pronounce their abhorrence at the decision from such left-wing parties. Many characterised such a decision as fascist itself; “Let’s stop fascism by being… fascist?”, “Isn’t silencing the opposition a key tenet of… fascism?” As one user even claimed that “you’re a lunatic if you think Reform are fascist! You obviously have no grasp on reality.”
These comments debate the right to freedom of speech and expression which they believe are currently under threat, however, they largely fail to fully grasp the issue at hand. As one user pointed out; “sure, [it would be fascism] if it were the government banning Reform from the ballot, but we are allowed to choose who to work and talk with” which epitomises the exact crux of the issue. The Reform society is not being banned from campus, they are just not being invited to “any cross party events.” Frankly, why should these left-wing societies, whose demographic often includes marginalised groups pander to the needs of Reform – a society that actively perpetuates such divisive and hateful rhetoric? The paradox of tolerance theory is central to this debate; whilst we should continually extend tolerance to anyone regardless of partisan differences, there comes a point where extending such tolerance to those who are perpetually intolerant undermines the whole principle.
Furthermore, amidst all the typical comments (“The right is waking back up and it is much, much bigger than you think”) from Reform supporters, one common theme that kept popping up was the notion that universities are, as one user stated, “breeding grounds of leftist ideologies and perpetuate indoctrination.” This highlights a growing shift within UK politics in which right-wing voters often feel as though their voices are being shut out in the name of “the woke left.” Thus, when these “woke breeding grounds” refuse to engage with such hateful voices, it gives credential to Reforms’ feeling of disillusionment within British politics and increases their anger at the system.
This was a sentiment that was seemingly reemphasised by other commenters who dislike Reform, but argued that “censoring them will just help make them stronger” with another characterising this move as “furthering said division” as through “suppressing these people, will only make them worse.” Whilst their characterisation of Reform society as nothing more than “an angry rebelling teenager” is a flowering attempt at taking the diplomatic route out, they may have slightly missed the mark this time. Division has already been pushed to its breaking point; reform campaigns for “no gender questioning, social transitioning or pronoun swapping” have long since stoked the fires – what more division can be done? Furthermore, these comments truly prickled a nerve in my brain – what do they really think is going to happen if we ignore these right wing extremist groups? Peaceful co-existence? A happy, unabashed political system? Unlikely.
The comments on this post reflect how political culture at university can often act as a microcosm and battle ground of the increasingly polarised, divisive nature of British political debate. Crucially, The Reform Society is not affiliated or officially registered with EUSA – an incredibly sketchy move as this puts it largely above EUSA safeguarding and wellbeing regulations. On such grounds alone societies do not have to engage with them. Freedom of speech warrants freedom of rejection, something Reform and its supporters should keep in mind.
“2024 General Election in Kingston upon Hull East Reform UK Poster” by Hullian111 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Share this:
Like this:
Related