GARETH VAN ONSELEN: The great MP free-speech hypocrisy
MPs backing the pro-EFF Maritzburg College boys’ right to freedom of speech should get their own house in order
Until MPs sort out their own Parliament, an antiquated monument to censorship and the repression of free speech, they should keep quiet on the subject outside of its walls. It is a profound hypocrisy, to assault freedom of speech and the Constitution when it comes to their own business, only then to preach to others about its importance and to feign concern and principle elsewhere. They are like vegans who work in an abattoir but proselytise about a meat-free diet. Enough. Really. Put up or shut up. The number of words that have now been banned from use in the chamber is ridiculous. As are the words themselves. And every party plays its part in the destruction. "Fat cat", "meow" (the noise), "hungry puppies", "chihuahua" and "donkeys", "rat", "to sit his flea-infested body down", "rubbish", "faction", "juvenile delinquent", "clown", "political dwarf". All of them and many others besides have been banished. The banality of each remark is a testament to the infantile character of Parl...
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