Thoughts from Lickey End

Speaking freely...

The play about rape in a Sikh temple has been cancelled in Birmingham following protests from the Sikh community. The consequent debate has been interesting.

Many have complained that the right to free speech is being trampled on. I find this attitude particularly curious, in that these people are objecting to the Sikhs' equal right to freely voice a dissenting opinion. Surely this is democracy, where someone freely says something, and someone else freely disagrees? No one was prosecuted for what they said, no one forced the theatre to cancel; it was a commercial decision not to continue with something that was getting them unwelcome attention, that might threaten future revenue.

Another argument was that there have been plays which have been offensive to Christianity, and "we had to put up with that", so therefore it is only fair that the Sikhs should now suffer in silence. This is a ridiculous argument. The Christians could, and should, have taken a similar stand to the Sikhs in the past, and certainly ought to consider it in the future.

I was impressed by the Sikhs who were interviewed on television. They stated that they supported freedom of speech, then defended their own views clearly and reasonably. It struck me that their attitude captured the very best of what it used to mean to be "British".

Playwrights long to leave their mark on society. Perhaps this playwright should rejoice that what he was unable to achieve on the stage was more than compensated by the impact made outside the theatre door.

posted by Neil @ 11:25 AM