Rory O'Neill, an Irish drag queen and gay rights activist who goes publicly by the name "Panti Bliss," has launched an aggressive attack via "X" on John McGuirk, the editor of Gript, a conservative online news outlet in Ireland. The tweet in question is worth quoting, not only because Rory is an influential commentator in Ireland, but also because this particular tweet is highly illustrative of the threat the militant left pose to the values of a free and open society.
Here’s what Rory, aka “Panti Bliss” said:
McGuirk should be an absolute pariah, chased from every shop, barber, pub, garage...every public space where decent people might encounter him, and yet he's regularly platformed on "respectable" media.
This tweet represents the lowest tactics of the militant left, who parade as "progressives" and actually wholeheartedly reject the ideal of a free and open society, in which people of different opinions can peacefully do business with each other and share public spaces with each other.
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For the militant left, the thoughts of rubbing shoulders in the same society with people who don't accept their ideology is intolerable. If Rory/”Panti Bliss” gets his way, we will return to a sectarian society, fragmented into a plethora of moral and religious tribes who refuse to have any dealings with each other and will not rest until the “other side” is shut down completely or excised from the public sphere.
The militant left have already made substantial headway in cancelling their critics, intimidating venues into cancelling events disliked by the left, and convincing governments and social media giants to censor their critics. In part, this is because people are afraid to speak out against their deplorable tactics because they fear they may suffer repercussions in their personal or professional life - as have others. So the intolerance and censorship and cancellation become increasingly normalised and viewed as socially acceptable. If nobody is speaking out against something, it must be ok, right?
Well, the tactics of the militant left are NOT ok in a free and open society. They have the potential to undo one of the great achievements of the modern era: the creation of an open public sphere where moral and religious disagreement does not necessarily lead to war, persecution, or prosecution.
I accept the right of people like "Panti Bliss" to say offensive and toxic things in the public sphere, because I believe in the sort of society in which citizens are free to express their opinions, including opinions I find deplorable. But I also believe that this sort of vindictive and bigoted behaviour should be called out and condemned as wholly inconsistent with the values of a free and open society.
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Obama set the Civil Rights movement back 50 years in the exact same sense these "people" are setting the Gay Rights movement back 50 years! Keep in mind - Obama is in fact the greatest fairy tale ever told (Bill Clinton) so of course censorship is criciial in suppressing the truth!
When I read articles like this I can't help but think of two fighters - one is free to swing as many punches as possible while the other fighters hands are tied behind his back! It's like yelling at someone while the others persons gagged!
This is how sick and mentally disturbed these people are.
The 'Militant Left' is referenced again and again here. But who are they, exactly? Does anyone know?