We must not change our way of life.

[redgunamo]

The statutory legitimisation of offence-taking has been a disaster. People are entitled to believe whatever the hell they want. However, they are not entitled to expect others to respect those beliefs and they are certainly not entitled to enact those beliefs in such a way that it impinges upon the day-to-day operation of a modern, liberal, secular society. These things you would have thought were self-evident, but instead society has twisted itself into knots to accommodate the entirely incompatible belief system of a particular religious group. The result has been chaos, resentment and entrenched division.

There's the rub though; they actually are entitled. Otherwise, what does modern, liberal and secular actually mean.

[Burney]

There's the rub though; they actually are entitled. Otherwise, what does modern, liberal and secular actually mean.

Well what it should mean is a society that has a clear idea of its own values and is free and tolerant up to the point at which it is threatened. At that point, it should be confident enough to act ruthlessly in its own defence. We've made the mistake of thinking 'tolerant' means 'prepared to tolerate anything in defence of some vague idea of inclusivity'. It doesn't.

[redgunamo]

Well what it should mean is a society that has a clear idea of its own values and is free and tolerant up to the point at which it is threatened. At that point, it should be confident enough to act ruthlessly in its own defence. We've made the mistake of thinking 'tolerant' means 'prepared to tolerate anything in defence of some vague idea of inclusivity'. It doesn't.

Taken to its logical conclusion though, it does mean that. I agree that it actually shouldn't.