American R ‘n’ B pop star Chris Brown has been refused a visa to enter Australia.
Tickets for Brown’s ‘One Hell of a Nite’ tour were scheduled to on sale tomorrow, whic
h will obviously not happen now.
Whilst the issue of Brown being give a visa to enter Australia has made the news over the last week or so, that matter is really quite simple.
Brown was convicted in 2009 for assaulting and threatening to kill his then girlfriend, singer Rihanna. He was subsequently sentenced to five years’ probation.
While Brown’s proposed tour to Australia has been made into an issue of domestic violence, and it certainly is that, at base it is really about whether we want allow convicted and potential dangerous criminals into our country.
Whether they’re a terrorist, or an assault convicted wannabe gangsta pop singer, the answer should be the same. ‘No’.
However, this ought not be seen as a green light to silence opinion and block every person with an unpopular or controversial opinion from entering Australia.
Sadly, this is exactly what has happened in the United Kingdom where political commentators Pamela Gellar and Robert Spencer have been barred from entry into the country because of their outspoken criticism of Islam.
While we need to use our visa powers to prevent potentially violent criminals from entering our country, these tools should not be used as weapons to silence or suppress opinion, particularly opinion which does not conform to the prevailing narrative.
It’s the XYZ.