An Occasional Reader (OR) has had a go at me and we’ve had some email to-and-fro.
I’ve been accused of being more extreme, more radical, more right wing, more conservative, more evangelical even, than before.
I asked for the receipts. What’s the evidence? Please tell me. I’m all ears. Honestly. We had a good discussion, quite friendly, if heated at times. Below is a kind of a summary, with the areas we discussed being first, then lower down things we didn’t discuss, but which I cover from time to time on this blog, and my position on them.
I’ve had a look over some recent-ish posts of mine. I find I still agree with them. So there you are. I agree with myself. But also with Alexander Downer. Who’s definitely of the Right, but not a right-wing nutter. At least I don’t think so. And I agree with Christopher Hitchens. And Harris Sultan. And Ayaan Hirsi Ali. And Asra Nomani. And Brigitte Gabriel. And so many others on the "right", or the Common Sense brigade. The reality monsters. The radical reality-based folx.
Here we go:
Evangelical Right:
First one is that I’m leaning to the Evangelical Right. How so? I ask given that I’m a life-long atheist. Quite radically, extremely so. Well, support for the anti-semitism bill running through congress. Well, say I, I’ve not posted anything about that, but as it happens I don’t support it. Mainly because it bumps another belief -- a radical, extreme one -- for Free Speech. I don’t think we should be mandating by law any restrictions on that. Not for Jews, not for Muslims. Not for Christians.
Being More Anti-China: I plead guilty to this. But claim mitigation. That being that China has itself become rather more of a bully on the world stage in the last dozen years or so, what with the “Wolf Diplomacy” and the aggression in the South China Sea, so surely a fair person is allowed to be rather more robust in response.
Being more critical of Islam: I plead no contest on this one. The whole reason for starting this blog was because I’d been reading about Islam and was troubled by its ideology. I still am. It may be that I make my points rather more directly. I hope I make them rather more clearly than I used to, otherwise, have I learned nothing in 15 years? I do think the threat of Islam, which is what I started writing about, is much worse much more quickly than I thought then. And so I quote regularly people who know Islam from the inside out -- people like Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She herself has become more strident. Because the threat has chased her out of Somalia, then the Netherlands and then Britain.
Being Super pro-Israel: To this I plead Guilty. And comfortably so. I’m inclined to say “proudly so”, but that doesn’t seem right. To me the issue of Israel vs Hamas is crystal clear. It’s crystal clear from having read widely on the subject. Not to the level of a professor. But certainly to the level beyond the average, and a country mile past the extraordinary ignorance of the students and street protesters. Hamas is an evil death cult. It has not a single redeeming feature, as a movement or as a people. (If there is One redeeming feature, I’m all ears). They don’t even value their babies. We tend to think all humans love their children. Not Hamas and the brainswashed Gazans who Love Death, Love Allah, more than they love their children who they are more than willing -- they are happy -- to offer to the Glory of Allah and the spread of Islam.
While Israel is a democratic, free, liberal, inventive society that loves life.
I have no problem making the distinction. It’s not “complicated” or “nuanced” to me.
Being Super pro-Nuclear: Guilty as charged. And that makes me on the Right, as far as Australian politics is concerned. It’s a live issue in Australia right now. The split is the Leftish Labor Party is agains, the Centre Right Liberal Party is in favour. And so am I. And so are any folks who follow the science and are not fooled by such nonsense as “We don’t need nuclear in Australia because we have abundant sun and land"
Choice: didn’t discuss at all, but for the record, I’m pro Choice. A liberal view.
Gun control: didn’t discuss at all, but for the record, I’m ok with gun control. Just that by the evidence, it won’t do much good, given the number of guns already in the country. The data by state don’t have a strong correlation between high gun control states and lower gun crimes.
Australia and China: I admit to being totally pro Australia whenever there’s something in the local press about an Australia China issue. The local SCMP will have a ton of comments whenever there’s an Oz-China issue, all in favour of China. I weigh in, in favour of Australia. Eg, on the issue of Australia demanding a full international investigation into the source of the Covid virus, and then China slapped on import bans on Australian minerals and seafood, I was (and remain) totally on Australia’s side. So, yes, guilty as charged on that one.
Free Speech: a dozen years ago in Oz, I was holding forth on NOT trying to ban “Hate Speech”. For that, by my sister, I was told: “my goodness, you’re becoming so conservative!” For standing for free speech. I’ve had other old, old friends accuse me -- “j’accuse -- of being a ‘free speech absolutist”. Again, guilty as charged. Australia is becoming a very censorious country, much more so than even the censorious Europe. I don’t like that. I’ve got more freedom of speech here in Hong Kong, than the have in Australia now. Colour me extreme and radical and horrid right wing for that one as well.
Anti-semitism Bill: This I don’t agree with. So, if supporting that it right wing, then I’m Leftie on that
ADDED: About China and about Islam and about Russia or the Soviet Union, my beef is always with the ideology not the people. So I can say: I don't like Marxism-Leninism, or Maoism, but I do like the Chinese people. I don't like the ideology of Islam, but every Muslim I've ever met is a fine person. I don't like Leninism, or Putinism, but the Russians are fun people. Always the ideology. We ought be able to criticise the ideology. Always. Which is why it's wrong to have a "Hate speech" tie to "Islamophobia". No... we must be able to criticise Islam. Just as we do Christianity. Or Communism. Or Nazism.