Book Review: “Truth is Trouble”
I’ve just finished reading Malcolm Knox’s, Truth is Trouble: The Strange Case of Israel Folau, or How Free Speech Became so Complicated.
In this book, Knox takes the case of Israel Folau (a rugby player who made negative comments on social media about gay people and was sacked as a result) and not only examines it from both sides, but uses it as a means to explore free speech in Australia and the rise of the religious right.
Among many angles Knox uses to examine the case, he explores the rights of an employee to express their own beliefs in their free, out-of-hours time. Folau was sacked due to his comments, but was it because they were misrepresenting those of his employer, or because the employer was losing much needed sponsorships as a result? For years now, many employment contract terms caution against making defamatory comments on social media. But equally, the Fair Work Act 2009 states that, ‘it is illegal to sack an employee by reason of the employee’s religion’. The power that employers have extends well beyond the reach of the workplace.
Knox also examines cancel culture, the ‘pile on effect’, and the pressure to choose a side on any debate.
The book also explore the question of whether the intention behind the message is more important than the message itself. In Folau’s case, he argues his messages come from a place of love. This, apparently to some, makes these kinds of messages, or homophobic and apparently hateful messages, okay, since they came from a place of love. There is an imbalance between what the religious can say about those who do not follow their beliefs, and what the non-religious can say about the religious who, from a place of love, believe they are going to hell (with the latter losing out).
As someone who does not follow sports, I was unsure whether I would be able to follow this book, but there was no cause for concern. This was an excellent exploration of a very difficult subject. I was hoping for answers, but instead learnt that there are no simple answers.
Knox writes, “To my mind, the challenge is to be able to live with the pains of uncertainty, to engage passionate with not knowing the answers, to be able to cohabit with those anxious questions rattling around our heads, and, when we emerge to speak to others, to empathise with their insecurity and fear, no matter how they choose to express it or hide it; to imagine our way into their skins. Humility - genuine humility - in the face of uncertainty is one part of the Christian gift that we could all benefit from accepting”.
