Be Reasonable Roadshow – Dundee

Be Reasonable was in Dundee last Tuesday where our latest roadshow event took place.

Dr Stuart Waiton, senior lecturer in criminology and sociology at Abertay University, spoke about politicians’ preoccupation in recent years with micromanaging the minutiae of everyday life.

He said: “It’s a profound mistake that the Government is doing this – it’s going to undermine parental authority.”

He went on: “It reflects an infantile and distant political elite who are disconnected from ordinary people. Politics should be reflective of the people’s will and not a tiny minority.”

Next up was parent activist Penny Lewis, a mum concerned about privacy and a parents’ authority. She said she was campaigning on this issue “for trust and freedom – trust in parents and trust in the ability of parents to act in the way which is best for their children.”

She added: “Politicians want to redefine family behaviour – they say they’re doing it because they want Scotland to be the best place in the world for children to grow up in. But the best place is one where the privacy of family and the authority of parents is respected.”

“Trust is essential for communities to flourish.”

She also raised concern that the plans to criminalise parental smacking do not recognise the difference between children and adults.

She said: “In everyday life we make distinctions between adults and children.”

“I don’t tell my 18 year old son what time to go to bed or what to have to eat because he’s an adult and he can make his own choices. But I did tell him those things when he was four because that was my duty as a parent. We don’t treat children in the same way as adults.

James Gillies from The Christian Institute then shared some practical points about how people could get involved in the campaign, before a time of Q&A to round off the event.

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