The Farce of Western Free Speech
0 comments | by Finian Cunningham
The magazine had previously incensed millions of Muslims worldwide by its publication of images profaning Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). That is believed to have provided the motive for the gunmen who, while fleeing the scene in Paris, shouted: \"The prophet has been avenged.\"
Insofar that Western governments support free speech, it is more often for expedient political advantage. It is not a universal ethic, as claimed. And, laughably, they are telling barefaced lies to claim otherwise, as they continually do.
French comedian Dieudonné, for example, has been banned from public performances by the French government owing to his farcical arm gesture, known as the \"Quenelle.\" The gesture can be interpreted in many ways, from a vulgar personal insult, to a derisory slur on the ruling class. The French authorities claim that the sign is \"anti-Semitic\" and a reverse Nazi salute. Dieudonné denies this and instead says the gesture is \"anti-Zionist\" and \"anti-establishment.\"
But hold on a moment. That\'s just what the French ruling class deems to be the meaning of Dieudonné\'s Quenelle. On the basis of their prejudice, the artist and anyone who displays the gesture in public is subject to prosecution. That\'s not just censorship; it is state persecution for having an opinion.
Press TV is not tolerated. It is banished. Because the truth of Western state terrorism, as practiced by the likes of Sarkozy, Hollande, Obama and Cameron is too much to bear for how it might enlighten and empower public opinion. The truth of Western-sponsored state terrorism as practiced by the genocidal Israeli regime is too much to bear for public discourse; any criticism is shoved down the memory hole under the spurious pretext of \"anti-Semitism.\" The fact that Western leaders should be prosecuted for war crimes is too much to bear. All such views, no matter how intellectually rigorous, morally scrupulous and legally substantiated, must be censored, and those who articulate them must be hounded into isolation.
A satirical magazine championed by Western war criminals for its \"free speech\" to dehumanize Muslims is hailed as \"heroic?\" While an informative, serious news channel like Press TV is banned. Now that is farcical cartoon.
Finian Cunningham (born 1963) has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. He is a Master’s graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism.