The revaluation of all values required by alphabet ideology continues apace.

“Comedy,” and “fringe” used to refer to transgressive speech that both tickled the funny bone and challenged the conventional, just as “liberal” used to mean maximizing liberty and free thought.

In today’s newspeak, “fringe” means “adhere to the narrative” and “liberal” means “shutting the wrong people up.”

The truth of these unfortunate facts was once again put on display by the cancellation of the Comedy Unleashed performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the world’s largest arts festival.

"This is an inclusive space. That is why you must leave." https://t.co/mF5Tt7Ea5K

— Konstantin Kisin (@KonstantinKisin) August 15, 2023

I am old enough to remember when artists went on the warpath to ensure government funding for”art” that displayed a crucifix in urine or a Virgin Mary made out of dung was necessary to preserve freedom.

Today cracking jokes about men who pretend to be women requires that you be silenced and canceled.

'Those who claim that “cancel culture does not exist” will struggle to explain how it is that one of the most successful sitcom writers of all time — @Glinner — now cannot work in the comedy industry' | @andrewdoyle_com https://t.co/HwwkpxojCm

— UnHerd (@unherd) August 16, 2023

This year we decided to make an appearance at the trade fair known as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. We liaised with a local promoter and booked a venue in Leith, on the outskirts of the city. The bill was to include Bruce Devlin, Mary Bourke, Dominic Frisby, Alistair Williams and the co-creator of the classic sitcoms Father Ted and The IT Crowd, Graham Linehan.

Graham has been considered controversial for holding a range of beliefs. Most notably: that human beings cannot change sex, that women deserve the right to single-sex spaces and the chance to compete fairly in sports, that feminists such as J.K. Rowling should not have to put up with rape and death threats for stating biological facts, and that gay and autistic children ought not to be medicalised and put onto a pathway to sterilisation. What a monster.

Linehan is so controversial that he was billed as a “surprise canceled comedian” and not explicitly named. This predictably stirred interest and the show sold out–because people are dying to hear something besides lectures on why abortion is great and everybody should be queer.

Comedy that does little more than lecture us to be Leftist isn’t funny, and people want to experience comedy.

Given that we knew our show would sell out, we did not advertise Graham in advance, preferring instead to tease the audience with the prospect of a “surprise cancelled comedian”. With the show just a few days away, we finally announced his appearance, and within 24 hours the venue, Leith Arches, had posted a statement on Instagram stating that they “DO NOT suppprt [sic] this comedian, or his views and he WILL NOT be allowed to perform at our venue and is CANCELLED from Thursdays [sic] comedy show with immediate effect”.

The histrionics didn’t stop there. “We are an inclusive venue,” the statement continued, “and will not allow such views to violate our space.” The venue later deleted the post and replaced it with one that was marginally more literate.

“Inclusive” is another word that has been redefined. It used to mean, well, inclusive. In today’s newspeak, it means “exclusive,” as in having no opinions but the ones that are explicitly approved.

You know, “fringe” opinions that everybody is required to have. “Original” thoughts that are duplicated everywhere.

'Graham Linehan, once a champion for the Left, has been turned into a pariah simply for expressing his view about biological sex and his defence of women.'@DanWootton | @Glinner pic.twitter.com/A5qFEvFzmf

— GB News (@GBNEWS) August 16, 2023

When I was growing up I kept hearing about the travesty of Lenny Bruce getting into trouble for his profane act. He was a hero fighting “the man.”

In today’s censorious cultural environment on the Left, you can fight “the man” but only if he is “cisgender.” Fighting the man who pretends to be a woman will get you tossed out of polite society because doing so violates some standard of inclusivity.

All this reminds me of those who continually demand “tolerance” and “love” as they scream through a bullhorn “Punch a TERF.”

Make Orwell fiction again.