Poor old Stephen Fry. How detached can one Blairite, Uber Luvy become? When asked to prepare a thesis of his own in celebration of Martin Luther’s: Ninety-five Theses in 1517. Fry describes what he thinks is an 'extinction level event' in cyber space. He says here:
“An extinction-level event ... will obliterate our title deeds,
eliminate our personal records, annul our bank accounts and life
savings, delete all the archives and accumulated data of our existences
and create a kind of digital winter for humankind,” he warned.
Notice 'our' order of horrors. He couldn't even manage to mumble something about 'our' NHS records. I know the old chap has a fine command of the English language and even works for the BBC, but it seems to this reader, Fry is actually confusing the definition of his 'digital winter' with the definition of 'freedom'. Something of a insult to all those poor and starving serfs who before, and since Luther, have sort to destroy the tax and tenancy records of their overlords as a first act after battering down the master's door.
I was not invited to the Hay festival, but I would like to contribute some ideas in celebration of Luther's work. After careful consideration, I have reduced the list to one central thesis: Fuck off, Stephen Fry.
Debate Magazine
