Celtic fans waving an Irish flag - Celticwiki.com Freedom of expression and thought are cornerstones of any ‘free society’. Who could disagree with such an uncontentious statement?
It is not quite as simple. There are always going to be tensions and conflicts, but more and more the issue of what is ‘free speech’ has become heated and controversial, with claims and counter-claims on what people have the right to say and shouldn’t say, and who can say it.
This can be seen across the UK and West, from the rise of ‘no platforming’ at universities to the emergence of pseudo-offence and challenge as in the recent Peter Tatchell case, and the definition of ‘hate crime’ into ‘hate thought’ in legislation such as the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act.
