Freedom to boo

Fans MUST be allowed to boo players who take the knee in support of Black Lives Matter, claims Free Speech Union as they lobby FA to stop supporters from being banned by clubs

Football fans who boo players taking the knee in support of Black Lives Matter should not be banned by clubs, a free speech group has demanded.

In a letter to the Football Association, the Free Speech Union insist that if players are free to make the gesture, then fans must be free to disagree with them.

The FSU argued in the letter to the FA’s interim chairman Peter McCormick that the ‘simplest solution’ to an issue which continues to split football and other sports, would be to stop players taking the knee at all on the grounds that it shows support for a political cause and not a moral one, something banned in football law.

And extending that argument, the FSU said players who advertise their support for Black Lives Matter (BLM) by taking a knee should ‘face similar penalties’ to booing supporters.

The FA insist taking the knee is an apolitical stand against discrimination, yet a list of high-profile footballers — among them Les Ferdinand, Wilfried Zaha and Britt Assombalonga — have started to rail against the gesture, which they believe has become devalued and is covering up a lack of real change in anti-racism policies.

On Saturday, more players in the top two divisions didn’t kneel before kick-off than the concerted support shown for the gesture when it was first conceived last summer post-lockdown.

General secretary of the FSU, Toby Young, wants the FA, whose president is Prince William, to issue guidelines for clubs ahead of the return to stadiums later this season or at the start of the next campaign.

In the letter, he said: ‘If the position of the FA is that it is perfectly legitimate for players to express their support for BLM in the stadium by taking the knee it should make it clear that it is also acceptable for fans to express their feelings about this political movement.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9282101/Fans-allowed-boo-taking-knee-demands-free-speech-group.html

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Australian National University hope to introduce gender-inclusive education

Utter nonsense that will go nowhere

Staff at Australian National University in Canberra have been asked by academics to stop using the word 'mother' and instead say 'gestational parent', alongside a list of other bizarre changes.

In a bid to introduce gender-inclusive teachings, ANU's Gender Institute Handbook also asked for fathers to be referred to as the 'non-birthing parent' and 'breastfeeding' to be replaced with 'chestfeeding'.

'Mother's milk' was also said to be replaced with 'human or parent milk'.

'While many students will identify as "mothers" or "fathers", using these terms alone to describe parenthood excludes those who do not identify with gender-binaries,' the handbook, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, reads.

'This non-gendered language is particularly important in clinical or abstract academic discussions of childbirth and parenthood, both to recognise the identities of students in the class, and to model inclusive behaviour for students entering clinical practice.'

Staff have been asked to 'correct' themselves if they accidentally use the wrong terms. 'Language habits take practice to overcome, and students respect the efforts you make to be inclusive,' the guide read.

But a spokesman for ANU, Australia's top ranked university, said the document is not an official policy of the institution.

The spokesman said the handbook was produced by experts who are allowed to 'research in their field of expertise under our policies on academic freedom'.

The changes come a week after a hospital in the United Kingdom told staff to use terms like 'birthing parents' and 'human milk' rather than just referring to 'mothers' and 'breast milk' to avoid offending transgender people.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust unveiled a blizzard of 'gender inclusive' phrases in a drive to stamp out 'mainstream transphobia'.

The Trust is the first in the country to formally implement such a radical overhaul for its maternity services department - which will now be known as 'perinatal services'.

Other changes include replacing the use of the word 'woman' with the phrase 'woman or person', and the term 'father' with 'parent', 'co-parent' or 'second biological parent', depending on the circumstances.

It said: 'Gender identity can be a source of oppression and health inequality. We are consciously using the words 'women' and 'people' together to make it clear that we are committed to working on addressing health inequalities for all those who use our services,' a policy document read.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9262007/Academics-Australian-National-University-told-staff-stop-using-word-mother.html

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)

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