h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Here's a sample of one of the essays on my Blog [http://mochenddu.wordpress.com]. I'll put a few more up over the coming weeks...

Everyone has a line across which their tolerance should not be pushed. A line where they believe common sense is left behind and we begin to wander in a world we no longer recognise. For me that line was crossed when the British New Labour government proposed and then forced through an Act of Parliament regarding 'incitement to religious hatred'.

As has been proven by previous anti-discriminatory legislation, such as the notorious Race Relations Act, this will have no appreciable effect on the attitudes of the public at large and may even harden antipathies and prejudices previously only vaguely held before. Yes, it will slowly change discriminatory practices in government agencies and some, but by no means all, commercial organizations. Open prejudice in such places is now criminalized, but what lies behind our eyes has not changed one jot as a result of this infringement of our civil liberties.

From living through the times in which it happened I believe that the public changes in attitude and behaviour towards people of differing ethnic backgounds came about as a result of educating their children alongside ours, and the more frequent and positive view of ethnic minorities in the media (especially on TV). Legislation had little or nothing to do with it.

Racial hatred is not actually wrong? Stupid? Yes. Wrong? No. You should not criminalize someone just because they don't like people of another ethnic origin. You should not criminalize them just because they are ignorant - think where that might lead?. If we were to do a real blind survey of opinion in this country you would find a surprising number of ordinary people, of all ethnic origins, who harbour prejudices against people from other ethnic origins. We all do, including me, and I was a front line supporter of the Anti-Nazi League for twenty years.

The criminalization of racial hatred in this country has been an unmitigated disaster, dividing communities along ethnic lines and reinforcing prejudice. Prosecutions have consistently failed to nail even the most open bigots, such as the leaders of the BNP. Indeed such prosecutions have been used by these ambitious men to feed the feelings of persecution amongst poor, working class whites and now we are seeing them elected to councils up and down the land.

But at least we can recognise racial hatred when we see it. How can you define a religious bigot? What is religious hatred?

If we were to strictly enforce the clauses of this act every copy of the Bible, Torah and Qu'ran would have to be taken off the shelves of shops and public libraries. Each one requires its followers to exclude those who are not of their faith, a clear case of flagrant discrimination. Some parts of these texts even openly advise or demand discrimination on grounds of religion, race, sex or sexuality, and worse, much worse.

Turn on the TV and there are many satellite channels where religious (mostly Christian and Islamic) preachers hammer home their messages of exclusivity, and thus discrimination. Many stray well over the line into full blown bigotry and hatred. People watch these channels and their prejudices are informed by them. Similar sermons are preached up and down the land in churches and in mosques. Will the government begin a campaign of censorship against these?

This is the burden we bear for having a liberal society that is supposed to value free speech. Unfortunately the government has different ideas. It believes it can change people by criminalizing free speech. After all it worked so well for race relations didn't it?

My primary concern though goes beyond these generalities to more specific areas.

The first is the definition of a religion. What is it? What do you have to do to become recognised by the government as one? I should tell you now that the government has not yet recognised any branch of paganism as a religion. We are too vague in our beliefs and disorganised. We don't have a body of scripture or a hierarchy to work with.

The second is who are the government going to come after? Well the Police and the CPS at the moment are focusing their efforts on a handful of Jihadi Islamic preachers that they can get no other way. Phew! That's us off the hook then...? If you just thought that then perhaps you should look up the works of Pastor Niemuller - google him you lazy drones .

What happens when some evangelical missionary fanatics decide that stand-up comics, or religious columnists, or loud-mouthed pagans have upset them? If they can gather enough evidence of these people employing their right to free speech they can demand the CPS prosecutes them. Thus if I publish a blog that attacks the fundamental beliefs of christianity (and that would be so easy) I could be prosecuted for inciting religious hatred.

So now you can be criminalized for publically not agreeing with christianity. Don't worry about the blasphemy laws, this is serious. All but two of the present Law Lords are practicing christians and 70% of the Judiciary claim to be. The Act has some really nasty penalties for those found guilty, including imprisonment.

What one might like to consider is this - who promoted this Act? Well the New Labour Cabinet at the time was led by a High Anglican (now converted to Catholicism), two other Catholics (including a member of Opus Dei), the son of a Presbyterian Minister, three Anglicans and two Evangelicals. Get my drift? This Act was not created to defend all religions, nor even to hunt down a few radical muslims, but to defend Christianity.

We shall see over the next few years how they choose to use it, and how the radical christians try to abuse it. Remember that this government has wilfully misused such legislation before. The first people to be arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2001(?) were Mr.Wolfe, the septugenarian concentration camp survivor who dared to call the Home Secretary 'bonkers' at a New Labour party conference, and two people reading out lists of British Iraq War Dead on the pavement by The Cenotaph.

Personally I am an equal opportunity bigot - I discriminate against everybody based upon their behaviour, but don't worry there will be an Act along soon to get me too...