Denormalisation: the threat to democracy

Thursday April 2, 2009

What chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson and his ilk are saying, says Simon Hills, is that in order to be a part of society, we have to be just like them

The government has added a terrifying new word to its lexicon. The word is ‘denormalise’ and we should be very, very afraid of it.

It is trotted out by the Government’s chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson when he’s having a pop at smokers. In fact, this verb is entirely directed at them.

But he doesn’t say that, of course. Sir Liam simply wants to ‘denormalise’ smoking. But smoking can’t be denormalised, only smokers, which means that for the first time in our history it is government policy to cast opprobrium upon a sizeable minority of the people it is paid to govern.

Sir Liam is encouraging society to sneer at smokers like children used to bully the thin kid in the class with the club foot. The history of this is unknown in this country – we have to look to General Pinochet in Chile denormalising trade union membership or Hitler denormalising Jews to find precedents here.

Metaphorical

This isn’t to suggest that our esteemed custodian of public health is going to send smokers to the gas chambers because they choose to indulge in a perfectly legal habit that plays a major part in paying his wages, but he certainly wants smokers to wear a metaphorical cross on their jackets. They are not even to be allowed to smoke among themselves, in adult company, in front of a roaring pub fire and a good supply of stogies.

By denormalisation, he is setting up smokers to be scorned, frowned upon and suffer all the nasty bits of discrimination. This, among our politicians, is the ultimate evil when it comes to racism and sexism but is now perfectly acceptable, indeed desirable, when used against a minority of, ooh, 10 million or so.

A national health service for all – except for smokers. The right to work – except for smokers. Doesn’t sit well, does it? Replace the word smoker with black, or Jew, or woman, and for those people contributing billions of extra pounds to government coffers, it truly sticks in the craw.

This is the nature of modern government, though. Doctors are now talking of refusing to treat fat people. Perhaps they should be denormalised, too? Or how about drivers who decide to spend their hard-earned cash on a sturdy Range Rover instead of a nice Toyota Prius? Denormalisation is the least they can expect.

Wholesome

What Sir Liam Donaldson and his ilk are saying, in other words, is that in order to be a part of society, we have to be like them. That is to say we should be slim, non-smoking cyclists who like rambling and other wholesome pursuits. Our aspirations should be nothing less that aiming to live for ever.

This is an ambition that is attainable as training mosquitos to become nuclear physicists, but to disagree with it is not an option in 2009. Denormalisation, therefore, is the greatest threat to democracy this country has ever seen.

For what a free society depends on above all else is my right to stand in front of you, to tell you the error of your thoughts; that you, my friend, are wrong on every aspect of global warming, healthcare, education and housing. And then, when you are not to be persuaded, to walk away.

Anything less, surely, is fascism. Take a bow, Sir Liam.

Simon Hills is associate editor of The Times Magazine and author of Strictly No! How We’re Being Overrun by the Nanny State