It has become a sort of trump card in debates over 18C for its defenders to ask its critics what they wish to say that they think they cannot say as long as 18C prevails. We hear it glibly asked by journalists, MPs, and, amazingly, human rights commissioners: “What exactly are you afraid of saying?” To 18C defenders it is as though the meaning of “to offend, insult, [and] humiliate” is crystal clear, and that the only speech that it could possibly capture must be utterly unjustifiable, akin to screaming “Fire!” in a crowded theatre.