Bill Leak: Speaking freely of the dead

If unfettered "free speech" is okay for Bill Leak's fans, it should be okay for those who did not view him with fondness, writes Jennifer Wilson.

THE DEATH of The Australian’s controversial cartoonist Bill Leak last Friday provoked a storm of polarised emotion on Twitter, as colleagues expressed their shock and sorrow and representatives of groups Leak humiliated and ridiculed in his work, refused to abide by the rules of what was referred to as “common decency and good manners”.

These rules apparently require one to be silent if there’s nothing nice one can say, especially at a time of death and bereavement. The irony was lost on no one in the latter groups and practically everyone in the former — Leak himself blatantly despised common decency and good manners, and earned his living giving those niceties the finger in the name of "free speech".

The Oz cartoonist Bill Leak sparks social media outrage for racist cartoon https://t.co/VEnDnjSUDy @IndependentAus
— Michelle Pini (@vmp9) August 5, 2016

In his later work, the cartoonist lampooned LGBTQI people, Muslims, the Safe Schools programme, Indigenous Australians, the Human Rights Commission and its head Gillian Triggs, among others. Because of these cartoons, he is lauded by admirers as an outstanding proponent of free speech.

Action was brought against him under the now infamous Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act on the grounds of offence he caused to Aboriginals, with a particularly patronising and sneeringly vitriolic cartoon. The case was eventually dropped.

A life has many stages and those who knew Leak in earlier days, as well as those whose political ideologies he supported, are naturally grieving his unexpected death. Yet as so often happens in death, little acknowledgement is made of the dark side of the deceased, provoking outrage in those who’ve suffered the racism and marginalisation so evident in his later work, and who, equally naturally, feel no loss at his passing.

The efforts by the former to silence the latter were something to behold.

Here’s one example, from former PM Tony Abbott’s sister, Christine:

Anyone who attacks a satirical cartoonist because of what they say should be mindful that IS used that justification for Hebdo #BillLeak
— Christine Forster (@resourcefultype) March 10, 2017

I’ll leave you to deconstruct that example of conservative hyperbole in which criticism is conflated with assassination and beheadings. Clearly Ms Foster does not advocate unfettered free speech by Mr Leak’s critics, while staunchly defending her right – and his – to express whatever opinions they like in whatever manner they choose.

Of course the accusation that you are not observing “common decency and good manners” is an accusation intended to shame, as is the call for you to “respect” the dead — implying that you don’t have the class to know how to behave in such a situation and someone who does has to tell you.

This latter demand is one I’ve never entirely understood: why am I required to “respect” someone simply because they’ve died?

The reactions to Leak’s death on Twitter yesterday were a microcosmic example of class and privilege setting its sights against anyone who refutes the worship of its idols — using the same tools of contempt, ridicule, shaming and humiliation to achieve silencing as were employed by the idol in his later years.

People aren't badmouthing bill leak, they're just 'starting a conversation'. #billleak #auspol
— Greg Ducayne (@DucayneAU) March 10, 2017

It seems obvious to me that anyone has the right to speak freely of their relationship with and opinion of a dead man or woman. I can see no reason why those who admired Leak should castigate those who did not for failing to engage in hypocrisy. The idea that death eradicates the hurt and damage any individual might have inflicted on others in their lifetime is ludicrous, as is the demand that we feel sympathy purely on the basis of death. 'The evil that men [sic] do lives after them'.

Common decency is a fluid concept, determined by what suits the ruling classes rather than the commons at any particular moment. Good manners are things I tried to teach my dog.

Respect, I would argue, is sharing space with views different from our own and not shaming or silencing others because of that difference. It is, in my opinion, perfectly fine for those who do not view Bill Leak with fondness to say so. It is domineering and deceitful for his supporters to fail to acknowledge the legitimacy of those opposing views.

Free speech is for everyone, not just the privileged establishment — and it is everyone’s right to point out when (and which) emperor has no clothes.

Funny how so many simply do not get that.

You can follow Jennifer Wilson on her blog No Place for Sheep or on Twitter @NoPlaceForSheep. This article was republished with permission.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License

@ItsBouquet 'Free speech for everyone ... except you ... and you ... and you ... and anybody who dares criticise saint Bill Leak.
— Jeff Burton (@JeffBurtonMusic) March 11, 2017