Black and White

I heard Trevor Phillips speak recently on the subject of diversity. Mr Phillips is the chairman of the new Equality and Human Rights Commission, and is of the opinion that discrimination is acceptable in the UK in 2007, indeed that it should be encouraged.

He was, of course, talking about positive discrimination, which isn't discrimination at all apparently. No, it's a justifiable method of ensuring diversity in some professions. So the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission wants organisations to recruit staff not just based on a candidate's ability, but on the basis of colour and race.

On a similar note, the much over-rated Oxford Union held a debate last week on the subject of free speech. To obtain much needed publicity they invited two 'controversial figures' - Nick Griffin from the British National Party, and 'Historian' David Irving, a man convicted of Holocaust denial.

Amazingly to my mind, there were violent protests against the event. The protesters ranged from Holocaust survivors, National Union of Students members, MPs, and members of Unite against Fascism. They didn't think that these two figures should be given a platform to spout their views.

Surely you are either in favour of free speech and democracy or you're not. Equally you are in favour of equal rights, or against.

Picking and choosing when to apply your ideals is the privilege of those who are arrogant enough to think that they have the moral high ground, and makes them just as open to criticism as those who obviously do not.