Readers on freedom of expression and hate speech, following the cancellation of the comedian’s Edinburgh fringe show
In Brian Logan’s reasonable and informed article (Who went too far: Jerry Sadowitz or those who cancelled his Edinburgh fringe show?, 16 August), I think he missed a couple of salient points.
First, the comparison between Jerry Sadowitz’s use of the P-word and George Carlin’s Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television routine is inapplicable. Save for one of them (cocksucker), none of his list of verboten words are in any way a targeted, intentional declaration of hate. Indeed, even “cocksucker” is broadly used to insult straight and gay people alike. Carlin was confronting the taboo of universally applied expletives; the P-word is no such thing.
