A Pessimistic Little Prediction

When Queensland enacted Australia's first anti-stalking legislation, it was hailed as a victory in protecting women from the evil that men do.

One was wryly amused when the first person to be charged was a woman.

It showed that the people one expects to use a law against aren't necessarily the only ones who get got. But while the anti-stalking legislation is a rather silly example - it simply proved that the law was to be applied equally - there are plenty of other laws on the statutes that don't come out exactly as planned.

Vilification laws have recently been twisted on their heads by the case of Australian pastors found guilty of hate speech simply for quoting the Koran.

So here's a pessimistic little prediction for you - while useful idiots are protesting supression of free speech and the risk of being arrested for incitement, those who are most likely to fall foul first are right-leaning bloggers.

How soon after the passage of the laws before terrorist Muslims and their sympathisers use sections of the legislation against those speaking out against them by complaining that blogs - even those as relatively mild as this one - are inciting violence against them?

Just a thought.

-- Nick