Whisper in the Corner
“The
women’s suffrage movement is only the small edge of the wedge. If
we allow women to vote it will mean the loss of social structure and
the rise of every liberal cause under the sun. Women
are well represented by their fathers, brothers and husbands.” Winston
Churchill
The
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which
is being voted on in Parliament today proposes
a maximum sentence of
ten years
for vandalising
a statue. Sentence length will be determined by the statue’s
“emotional symbolic value.”
The
Bill goes on to propose a
minimum four
years sentence
for serious sexual offences and
to outlaw protests causing “serious unease” and/or “serious
annoyance”.
“Unease”
and “annoyance” are value loaded words and would elicit entirely
opposite responses from Home Secretary, Priti Patel and Clapham
resident, Patsy Stevenson, as would what people
think of the Churchill statue’s
“emotional symbolic value.”
Liberty
claims the Bill “threatens protest” with human
rights lawyer, Kenan
Malik, warning that it the Bill is voted into law our right to
protest will be reduced to “whispering in the corner.”
And Churchill’s
statue gets better protection than Patsy Stevenson.
