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“And what is progress exactly?” Rory asks sharply. “Progressing intowhat?”
“Enlightenment.”
“Justice.”
“Freedom.”
Rory stares at them all in bemusement. “But those are just words. Words that mean different things to different people.”
“We want to do whatever we want to do,” the man with the loosened bow tie drawls. “Hypothetically speaking, of course.”
“There needs to be a cleansing of negativity. Of pro-monarchy attitudes.”
“But youarepro-mon—”
“Today, for instance,” the man adds. “There need to be rules around protests.”
Rory frowns. “But you just said you didn’t want rules. That you wanted to do whatever you want to do — or does that only apply to you and not to everyone else? In what way is that democratic?”
A peculiar fire blazes behind the man’s eyes. At that moment, I’m reminded of Benji. “Dangerous messages should not be permitted to spread, and that includes those who stand in the way of King James. Curbing hate is more than democratic: it is essential.Theyare the ones on the wrong side of history.”
“And how far are you willing to go to curb hate? One of your lot on the radio last night suggested withdrawing political representation from those who don’t support the revolution.” Rory cocks his head to the side as the group around him quietens, hard frowns stamped on their faces. “What about medicine? Are they entitled to that? How about a marker on their credit cards, or just go the whole hog and freeze the bank accounts of the worst offenders? Do they deserve to eat? To live?”
The man’s eyes narrow. “We are still speaking hypothetically, are we not?”
“Are we?” Rory returns.
“If not, then I believe you are misrepresenting our arguments in bad faith.”
“They’re your own words, the words from supporters ofthe right side of history.” When no one offers a rebuttal, Rory adds, “Protest is aright. Expressing yourself is aright. Why should someone other than yourself not be allowed the opportunity?”
“Fine. They may do so. But then they should expect what’s coming to them, hypothetically. Every one of them needs to be held to account, hypothetically. And until then, hypothetically, you’ll see us around.”
