The Unshackled Waves Ep. 159 Western Civilisation Course, Hate Speech Laws, Miss America and Gender Neutral Toilets

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It was a week dominated by the culture wars yet again. To digest all the issues I was joined again by the Unshackled’s political editor Michael Smyth.

The Australian National University had been in negotiations for six months with the newly established Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation to offer a Bachelor of Western Civilization Course. However, following a backlash from the academic union and the student association ANU said it was withdrawing from the negotiations claiming proceeding with such a course would compromise their autonomy and academic freedom. However private donors fund university projects all the time and there is zero outrage at the Australia-China Research Institute at the University of Technology Sydney funded by Chinese businessman Huang Xiangmo. Learning about the west to restore some balance to our left-wing universities is bad but advocating for a foreign power is fine.

The New South Wales Liberal Government announced new hate speech laws which will see anyone who incites or threatens violence against anyone on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation or HIV status could face a three-year jail term and  a$11,000 fine. These laws were lobbied for by the Keep NSW Safe Coalition and their spokesperson Vic Alhadeff from the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies. They are a direct response to the Antipodean Resistance posters against gays and Jews. The problem with such laws is that incitement to violence can be interpreted loosely and be used to shut down legitimate free speech.

The Miss America beauty pageant announced it was ditching its swimsuit segment, instead focusing on inner beauty. This is clearly influenced by the #MeToo movement. Conservatives have been conflicted by this, they are normally opposed to the objectification of women but this move is more pandering to political correctness and the feminist lobby. Also, what is wrong with women striving to be beautiful and take pride in their appearance?

The AFL held its annual Gay Pride Game between St Kilda and Sydney at Etihad Stadium. The talking point was the all gender restrooms in 6 locations around the ground which stated anyone could use regardless of gender identity and expression. Many were worried about the safety of women and would have felt uneasy about using these restrooms. Are there that many genders confused people on the ground and most transgender people use the restroom of the gender they are transitioning to. These restrooms appear to become more widespread without much community consultation.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…

Author Details
Tim Wilms is the Founder and Editor in Chief of https://theunshackled.net. the Host of Tim’s News Explosion, the WilmsFront interview program and The Theorists with Andy Nolch. He based in Melbourne, Australia where he also conducts field reports.
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Tim Wilms is the Founder and Editor in Chief of https://theunshackled.net. the Host of Tim’s News Explosion, the WilmsFront interview program and The Theorists with Andy Nolch. He based in Melbourne, Australia where he also conducts field reports.