"This seems to me to be exceptionally small-minded, populist, illiberal nonsense. Tom Brake and Cllr McCoy are a disgrace to a liberal party and should be ashamed of themselves."
That didn't really convey me your affirmation of her right to protest.
Would you prefer that people who are against the use of soft drugs should leave the party?
Would you prefer that people who are against the use of soft drugs should leave the party?
I second Bernard's response to that - you can be personally against lots of things but respect the right of others to make up their own minds. Colin Blakemore for example, he of the recent scale of harm research, seems to be against the war on drugs but not in favour of people using them.
Bernard - I do recall a protest, albeit probably not as big as this one owing to the rather smaller location, that a gay youth club was going to be promoting/glamourizing activities that at the time would have landed their underaged clients in more chokey than possession of cannabis at class B potentially. Am I glad that club was promoting disrespect for the criminal law - you betcha! And now that law is gone.
One of the problems with this of course is that while what this shop sells are all legal, because the "real deal" is illegal, its distribution is uncontrolled and makes it more likely that a youngster thinking cannabis must be cool because the shop sells things related to its consumption might fall into the hands of an unscrupulous dealer with every incentive to push the stuff onto those kids.
The liberal happy medium in this protest therefore might be to seek to persuade the wannabe protestors that if the real drugs were legalized and regulated that shop might well have to be licensed and sited away from a school. So the campaign against the shop as it stands could be a campaign in favour of more freedom for adults and more protection for kids from the influences of drugs culture.
In the great scheme of things, I reckon studying Byron and Shelley, or half of the contents of the kids' iPods, are probably just as influential in teaching kids that drusg can be cool!
So what would you think if a Lib Dem MP would arrange a protest against homosexuals? Or against single mothers? Etc. Of course they have the right to arrange such protests, but are they anymore liberal, if they do?
I am not sure that Mr Salmon is displaying any of the liberal values of tolerance and understanding by condemning my action without first informing himself of the background to the issue. I agree that de criminalising some drugs would enable greater control over their supply including places like this, which under regulation probably wouldn't be permitted so close to two schools. I have been using the issue to gently open up the idea with my residents. However, as Chris Black is obviously aware there is often a conflict as a councillor between representing your residents, and your own personal/party views. Trying to explain the nuances of this issue when I have an aggressive Tory leaning local press more than happy to portray me as 'soft on drugs' for not taking up the issue would probably lead to me losing my seat. Being a local councillor isn't just about party politics.
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4 comments:
Well, you wrote:
"This seems to me to be exceptionally small-minded, populist, illiberal nonsense. Tom Brake and Cllr McCoy are a disgrace to a liberal party and should be ashamed of themselves."
That didn't really convey me your affirmation of her right to protest.
Would you prefer that people who are against the use of soft drugs should leave the party?
Would you prefer that people who are against the use of soft drugs should leave the party?
I second Bernard's response to that - you can be personally against lots of things but respect the right of others to make up their own minds. Colin Blakemore for example, he of the recent scale of harm research, seems to be against the war on drugs but not in favour of people using them.
Bernard - I do recall a protest, albeit probably not as big as this one owing to the rather smaller location, that a gay youth club was going to be promoting/glamourizing activities that at the time would have landed their underaged clients in more chokey than possession of cannabis at class B potentially. Am I glad that club was promoting disrespect for the criminal law - you betcha! And now that law is gone.
One of the problems with this of course is that while what this shop sells are all legal, because the "real deal" is illegal, its distribution is uncontrolled and makes it more likely that a youngster thinking cannabis must be cool because the shop sells things related to its consumption might fall into the hands of an unscrupulous dealer with every incentive to push the stuff onto those kids.
The liberal happy medium in this protest therefore might be to seek to persuade the wannabe protestors that if the real drugs were legalized and regulated that shop might well have to be licensed and sited away from a school. So the campaign against the shop as it stands could be a campaign in favour of more freedom for adults and more protection for kids from the influences of drugs culture.
In the great scheme of things, I reckon studying Byron and Shelley, or half of the contents of the kids' iPods, are probably just as influential in teaching kids that drusg can be cool!
So what would you think if a Lib Dem MP would arrange a protest against homosexuals? Or against single mothers? Etc. Of course they have the right to arrange such protests, but are they anymore liberal, if they do?
I am not sure that Mr Salmon is displaying any of the liberal values of tolerance and understanding by condemning my action without first informing himself of the background to the issue. I agree that de criminalising some drugs would enable greater control over their supply including places like this, which under regulation probably wouldn't be permitted so close to two schools. I have been using the issue to gently open up the idea with my residents. However, as Chris Black is obviously aware there is often a conflict as a councillor between representing your residents, and your own personal/party views. Trying to explain the nuances of this issue when I have an aggressive Tory leaning local press more than happy to portray me as 'soft on drugs' for not taking up the issue would probably lead to me losing my seat. Being a local councillor isn't just about party politics.
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