Double standards in religious free speech

The anti-Christian vilification started with the cover of the university student magazine – a prominent one in Australia.

It was published in print, online, and distributed all about the campus and other public places thanks to the student fees of members of UNSW's student body. Many of those paying members are Christians, who were insulted by it and expressed their disgust, both on the publication's Facebook page, and directly to the management of the university.

But no public response.

The anti-Semitic comments were posted on a Facebook page, and the seemingly blunted university sensitivities sprang back to life. The Professor decried insulting comments online, but wasn't nearly as concerned about these gems still up on the Tharunka Facebook page:

“f**k off Christians — if your god is as omnipotent as you believe he is then he'll surely punish us for liking this Facebook post..."

“The butthurt. Oh, the butthurt. It's...so...beautiful...”

Professor Hilmer did not respond to my request for comment, but noted it. I can't imagine he Facebook 'liked' it.

As one student posted on the Tharunka Facebook page last month:

Would you dare represent even a symbol of Islam (such as the crescent) or Judaism (the Star of David) in such a blatantly offensive manner? Of course not.

And that is the crux of the matter, so to speak: a respected Vice-Chancellor of a leading Australian university, and the Chancellor, David Gonski, who supported Professor Hilmer’s stance, caught out applying a truly inconsistent moral stance.

It's a shame that some people exploit their freedom of speech to insult others. But what this episode shows is that it's easy to wave the flag of free speech, until you are otherwise motivated to tear your garments.