Great piece, thank you Helen. Since when have pretentious organisers of TALKfests been using the phrase 'duty of care'? Liability for conference organisers ends with 3rd party insurance to cover physical incidents. Linguistic interactions only need to be limited and regulated by duty of care when there is the technical matter of authority involved, such as with giving medical or legal advice. What utter insanity reigns in too many areas ;(
I endorse (such as it is) of the thrust and criticism of the disinviting of Alka Seghal Cuthbert. I can't for the life of me get my head around the feeble mindset of the 'unsafe' individuals given their profession.
In jest I say, perhaps the covinier of the panel for the next, should offer a therapist, off stage left or better, a shot bar to the right to fortify courage. Some may need a drip feed, the slur foisted upon rational discourse and common sense may feel more natural but the discussion far more lively.
I came to read your piece due to it being linked from the excellent substack of an individual who calls himself Rudolph Rigger. (I know his real name, but that's beside the point.) He recommended you highly, and as one would expect, he was correct! I am fascinated by the ethos of this "words make me unsafe" point of view. It strikes me as the thing of sissies and losers, but, of course, that is far too simple a way to describe it. I remember a time, long gone by, when we relished uttering phrases like, "sticks and stones..." Apparently, wokism removed that truism along the way!
Great piece, thank you Helen. Since when have pretentious organisers of TALKfests been using the phrase 'duty of care'? Liability for conference organisers ends with 3rd party insurance to cover physical incidents. Linguistic interactions only need to be limited and regulated by duty of care when there is the technical matter of authority involved, such as with giving medical or legal advice. What utter insanity reigns in too many areas ;(
I endorse (such as it is) of the thrust and criticism of the disinviting of Alka Seghal Cuthbert. I can't for the life of me get my head around the feeble mindset of the 'unsafe' individuals given their profession.
In jest I say, perhaps the covinier of the panel for the next, should offer a therapist, off stage left or better, a shot bar to the right to fortify courage. Some may need a drip feed, the slur foisted upon rational discourse and common sense may feel more natural but the discussion far more lively.
I came to read your piece due to it being linked from the excellent substack of an individual who calls himself Rudolph Rigger. (I know his real name, but that's beside the point.) He recommended you highly, and as one would expect, he was correct! I am fascinated by the ethos of this "words make me unsafe" point of view. It strikes me as the thing of sissies and losers, but, of course, that is far too simple a way to describe it. I remember a time, long gone by, when we relished uttering phrases like, "sticks and stones..." Apparently, wokism removed that truism along the way!