Crazy and Heroic
I walk the free speech walk but not to the edge of a cliff. Not so two insane - but heroic guys in Paris yesterday.
One, in red and white, is (silently) wearing a sign with the Danish flag saying “Support Denmark, Support free speech”. Besides (silently) wearing a sign reading “Free Cartoonist” on it, the other, the founder of the BAF protest warrior-type organisation, is holding a (fake) severed hand, a pen among its fingers.
Voices start to ring out. “It’s provocation!” “You tread on 1.5 million Muslims!” “Connards!” “Rat faces!”
“Ignore them, they are idiots!” reply others as a crowd starts to press around. A rhetorical question rings out: “Would they be carrying out the same provocations in other types of demonstrations?!” (Actually, Monsieur, yes we would and yes we have.)
no pasaran.
And there is video.
If more people were willing to stand, silently, in the face of the Islamic protests against free speech I would feel less concern about the erosion of my culture. As it is, I am struck by the madness of two civilized people standing before the mob.
Interestingly, the French police did nothing to protect their right to bear witness:
What has happened is that a short blonde Frenchwoman has tugged on their sleeves and gently but firmly started pulling them away.
“I will show you my ID 10 meters from here” says the plainclothes cop. “They are going to lynch you!” she adds, as she leads us into another street.
no pasaran
While I realize that the French police chose discretion over valor, what we are going to have to be prepared to do is force the state to protect people who propose to exercise their rights. On both sides. A counter demonstration should not be hustled down a sidestreet. It should be protected from any illegal action on the part of the members of the main protest.
Again, if free speech means anything, it means being able to take your stand in the face of a potential mob and be able to count on the state to help you uphold your position.
Written by jay on February 13th, 2006 with
1 comment.
Read more articles on Terror and culture and media.
- [+] Digg: Feature this article
- [+] Del.icio.us: Bookmark this article
- [+] Furl: Bookmark this article
#1. February 13th, 2006, at 9:30 PM.
As far as I can make out, the only person warned off amidst all the pro-Holocaust “protestors” in London last week was a guy who had stopped his van to object to the mob, something he had every right to do.