Dexter Flynn, English Solicitor at Voisin law, rails against political correctness and what he believes to be Jersey’s ‘nanny state legislation’, including its discrimination law. Illustration by Marthinus Slabber
I’m going to start off with a question I suspect has never been asked: what do Simon Cowell and Jacques Barzun have in common? For the uninitiated, Cowell is a popular music/TV impresario who wears high-waisted slacks; Barzun was a French-born American historian, famous for his commentaries on ideas and culture. The one thing they have in common is their fundamental dislike of political correctness. Cowell "loathes" it. Barzun beautifully claimed that "political correctness does not legislate tolerance; it only organises hatred".
Just look at the millennial forums Twitter and Facebook – these are modern-day Roman colosseums. One only has to publish something deemed slightly inappropriate by the PC generals, and the perpetrator is immediately slain.
Freedom of speech and thought is being eroded by all those who’ve enlisted in the PC army. Questioning why your Chief Minister (unlike most other world leaders) saw fit to attend migrant camps means that you are, at best, a fascist. And the PC brigade is charged with bringing you down.
Saying that you don’t want the unfortunate migrants of the Middle East to be housed in Jersey (because there are far more appropriate solutions) places you in the pantheon of evil gods to be destroyed by the PC battalions.
Modern language terms such as ‘tax haven’, ‘tax avoidance’, ‘offshore financial centres’ and ‘trust structures’ are becoming culturally offensive. And let’s not talk about WC signs.
Nanny state legislation
It is such political correctness and its enforcement, in one form or another, that acts as a straitjacket upon society. One such example is Jersey’s nanny state legislation. We are an island of 100,000 people. Notwithstanding my advancing years as a Generation X-er and my recognised wisdom(!), our government sees it as only fit and proper that it should legislate as to when and what I can shop for on a Sunday; control my supermarket booze purchases; tax my sugar consumption; and tell me that gambling in casinos is abhorrent, despite there being numerous betting shops on the island (as well as internet betting).
Really? Has it not got more important issues to address other than Dexter’s drinking, gambling and shopping habits? And don’t even touch upon my greatest sin of all… smoking.
Discrimination law
A good example of such legislation as promoted by the PC infantry is Jersey’s discrimination law. Unlike almost any other piece of legislation, if you speak out against this law you must be racist, sexist and, come September, ageist.
Leaving aside the nonsense propaganda about our international obligations, one of the reasons for introducing age discrimination is the fact that in 2012, nine per cent of those asked in a study reported being discriminated against on the grounds of age. Yes, a characteristic being added to a law on the basis of a four-year-old study and a small minority of the population.
The reality is that most normal humans are anti-discrimination. The millennials, in particular, are very much alive to these important social issues. Therefore, why should we waste hundreds of thousands of pounds on legislation telling us not to be racist, sexist and now ageist, when that money could be better spent elsewhere? Here’s an idea – distribute that money among our pensioners.
And just what are we getting in return for our livre? Since the law was introduced back in 2014, there have only been a handful of discrimination cases, in respect of race and sex. Does this not merely confirm the fact that overall we are quite a nice bunch of people?
The case for self-policing
A small community such as Jersey has a much better chance of policing itself compared with the UK (from where we draw this type of legislation). To be frank, our small community functions in part on gossip, rumour and general curtain-twitching. Oh yes it does.
Perhaps a local’s racist, sexist and ageist behaviour is more likely to become a topic for debate at a Jersey dinner party given our 0.6 degrees of separation. Oh, the embarrassment of it. Surely this is a more effective deterrent, not a law that very few members of the general public have ever read or utilised.
I therefore declare my allegiance to my PC-loathing brethren, such as Cowell and Barzun, and invite our government to concentrate its fire power on dealing with real issues and not just pandering to the PC calvary who charge about causing havoc and mayhem for no real gain other than self-aggrandisement.
Then again, perhaps this rant is simply a sign of my age!