Of course 'free' speech must be liable to certain restrictions, relating to defamation, conspiracy, incitement, offence, &c. That is simply commonsense.

It has nevertheless struck me as inconsistent and paradoxical from the very first introduction of our various Race Relations legislations that it was those very people most opposed to censorship in any form who were most in favour of these measures.

I made this point once to John Brunner, who replied that racism was in a special category of iniquity & unacceptability; but when I put it to him that there were many people with the same freedoms and same number of votes as himself to whom the word "fuck" was as offensive as was the word "nigger" to him, he thought for a moment & made no reply.

~Michael~