Roger Franklin's piece (still available on the catallaxy blog) hammered home the ridiculous, ill informed opinions on radical Islam that appear all too regularly on the ABC's Q and A program, and go unchallenged by its muddle minded host Tony Jones. To self serving questions from the Australian Taliban David Hicks, giving a platform to Zaky Mallah who pleaded guilty to threatening to kill ASIO officers, and the outrageous notion that Islam is the most feminist religion, we can now add Q and A's view that refrigerators are more dangerous than Islamist terrorists.
Michelle Guthrie's complete over reaction to Franklin's article was designed to deflect criticism of long standing, incipient politically correct green-left group think, poor editorial judgements and lack of fact checking that characterises ABC's prominent current affairs and news platforms. In pointing out ABC's poor judgement and rank hypocrisy Quadrant's chief editor and its board members have absolutely nothing to apologise for.
Unfortunately the unnecessary apology and censorship have ripped a big hole in Quadrant's reputation as a champion of free speech.
Perhaps the board and chief editor can take time to read what the magazine stands for:
Quadrant is uncompromisingly in favour of freedom of thought and expression. While insisting on civilised discourse, it opposes any political, academic or religious tendency that wants to suppress freedom of speech. It does not support diversity for diversity’s sake nor does it mindlessly endorse tolerance of all viewpoints, especially those that do not return the compliment. Rather, it understands tolerance to mean the willingness to listen to unpopular or unorthodox views that are well argued, while in practice taking tolerance to mean the willingness to live and let live, which is so typical of Australian life.
uncompromising
[uhn-kom-pruh-mahy-zing]
1. not admitting of compromise or adjustment of differences; making no concessions; inaccessible to flexible bargaining; unyielding: an uncompromising attitude.
2. without reservation or exception; undeviating; absolute, as believing in or adhering to a principle, position, or the like: an uncompromising advocate for free speech.
