The Death of Free Speech? Roy Chubby Brown Gig Cancelled

[gailjon]

Now, I have never seen a full RCB gig, but Sheffield Council's decision to cancel a perfectly legal gig seems a slippery slope to full on thought control.

The reasons given to cancel the concert are given as:

“There is no place for any hate-filled performance in our diverse and welcoming city.”

Councillor Terry Fox, leader of Sheffield City Council, added: “The council wholeheartedly supports Sheffield City Trust’s decision to remove the booking for Roy Chubby Brown’s January show.

“Sheffield is a City of Sanctuary, with diverse communities and the content of this show is unlikely to reflect Sheffield’s inclusive values.”

I still thought that we lived in a country that allowed people to go a watch shows of any sort that did not contain any illegal material. Unfortunately, the council seem to have taken upon themselves to dictate what people are and aren't allowed to go and and watch.

This really seems to be a case of a council determining what they feel is allowable for their citizens to see. I am not someone prone to the hysterical belief that 'woke' culture is taking over, but as a keen historian this most definitely has whiffs of certain fascist and Soviet ways to control what their citizens think.

What is next? Banning Church services because they do not reflect what the council's own beliefs are? Banning certain bands because they don't like their music?

Article below:

https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/celebs-tv/protests-planned-after-roy-chubby-5894511

 

[gailjon]

I think what concerned me about this was that the council took it upon themselves to cancel the gig for the reason that they don't like him, rather than any potential illegality.

I am all for preventing hate speech of any form from having a place in society, but when councils start to prevent perfectly legal events occurring then that surely oversteps the bounds of what a council is for. They are not here to determine what they feel their populace should be able to watch surely?

What prevents them from stopping any event that they don't like occurring? Why do they have the right top stop someone from performing when a private individual is not allowed to prevent something they disagree with occurring? I am thinking about cases where people have not been able to refuse service to individuals that they do not agree with. If someone ios not allowed to refuse sewrvice to a religion/sexual orientation, etc ythen how can the council be allowed to refuse service to a comedian?

I do not agree with people refusing service based on these issues, but am trying to see how the council can ban something because they don't like it when we are not allowed to ban/refuse service to people or organisations we don't like.