Richard John returns with cancel culture in mind
ne issue that social media companies are grappling with is the challenge of ‘ free speech ,’ a situation exacerbated by the Leader of the Free World ’ s love and promotion of baseless conspiracy theories .
But how free is ‘ free ,’ and what is the position of the venue in accepting bookings from certain organisers ? That ’ s not a hypothetical question ; eight leading venues across the UK had to make a decision regarding bookings for the conservative US evangelist Franklin Graham who was planning to tour in May this year with a message of “ biblical truth ”.
However , the Trump-supporting Graham is a controversial figure , whose views are frequently seen as homophobic and Islamophobic , and politically extreme ; other comments include describing gay marriage as a ‘ sin ’ and advocating against bids to ban ‘ gay conversion therapy ’. UK evangelical Christians in the UK were among those who opposed the tour , stating “ we find it hard to reconcile … statements on such issues as immigration , poverty , gun control and Israel with our understanding of the teaching and values of Jesus Christ .”
The ACC Liverpool led the charge : “ Our city is a diverse city and proud of our LGBTQ + community and always will be ,” tweeted mayor Joe Anderson . “ We cannot allow hatred and intolerance to go unchallenged by anyone including by religious groups or sects .” Their cancellation of Graham ’ s appearance was followed by Sheffield Arena , who reversed their initial decision based on ‘ freedom of speech .’ Venues in Scotland and Wales as well as across England followed suit .
Speaking to The Guardian , Graham – son of evangelical preacher Billy Graham - said : “ we had contracts signed and , in some cases , deposits paid . I haven ’ t broken any laws . We are being denied because of religious beliefs and our faith . It ’ s a freedom of religion issue and also a free
Above : Richard John
43 speech Opinion issue .”
However , the consensus of the venues was that statements Graham had made were incompatible with their values , and that his appearance “ would be divisive , could be disruptive or lead to a breach of the peace .’ All the venues were subjected to protests from – among others – LGBTQ groups .
For venues , the decision to assess bookings can be made harder when the reservation comes from an organisation with an innocuous name , or when staff aren ’ t aware of controversies surrounding speakers . Arguably , choosing to ban people because their content causes offence potentially would see virtually every speaker removed from the stage . It ’ s an interesting case and one which I ’ ve been using in workshops with venues , with lively , if not conclusive debate following . Readers from venues might want to consider how they would respond to the issue .
And what of Franklin Graham . “ We have attorneys trying to get the venues to reverse their decisions . We certainly have a legal position we ’ re standing on .” Asked whether he might sue the venues for cancelling , he said : “ Legal options are always difficult , and I ’ d prefer not to do that .” www . conference-news . co . uk