Narrowing the cultural space, or standards?

Pauline Hadaway on Spiked with a theme that’s familiar to anyone who has tried to open up new political or cultural spaces in Northern Ireland. In response to the issue of public sponsorship of the arts raised by the Factotum sorry day case, Sinn Fein was behind a more open hands off approach, whilst the DUP was opposed:

You failed to deliver a ‘positive image of the city’? You published material that an individual or community found offensive? These are narrow boundaries and unfortunately the ground is further narrowing, as definitions of what is offensive are stretched to include hurt feelings, being upset, or just feeling uncomfortable.

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