Let's be super clear about something. There is an argument kicking around that we should chill out about Covid-19 deaths because other things kill more people/people die anyway. Farrelly's article today makes the same argument. Here's why it's bullshit. 1. As a moral principle, we ought to prevent avoidable deaths so long as they don't generate disproportionate moral costs. Most Covid-19 deaths - or potential deaths we've avoided - fall into this category.

OK, so it looks like a YouTube video has drawn some fresh attention to my column on free speech, and it's gotten some people fired up, so a couple of quick clarifiers (especially as I'm now getting hate mail to my private email account). 1. When I say I prefer to think of speech as an action than a right, I'm not claiming it's *not* a right, just that when we're making choices about *how we should speak* we might do better to think less about the inalienable value of our words and more about the moral context.

Here's a THREAD on what the fuck is going on with 'free speech' and why the whole notion is a bit bullshit. I'm writing a column on this at the moment, but my daughter won't sleep and I only have my phone, so Twitter it is! Perhaps the most striking thing about free speech debates in Australia is the abject hypocrisy. Whomever cries 'what about free speech?' on one day is conspicuously silent when another, seemingly analogous issue arises.