[Peace-discuss] re: Hate speech

[C. G. Estabrook]

Tom comes, at the end, to the heart of the matter:

  "...lurking behind the utterly hypocritical lectures on the
  violence and supposed 'irrationality' of Islamic culture 
  creeps yet another pretext for the predatory machinations 
  of Western imperialism." 

That's what we should be having demonstrations about (not the
proposed firing of editors from a student newspaper).

I wish that, on the way, he hadn't so easily cast aside the
idea of free speech -- as all authoritarian societies do -- on
the important, undeniable, but irrelevant grounds that MSM is
under corporate control. --CGE


---- Original message ----
>Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2006 13:48:54 -0600
>From: Thomas Mackaman <mackaman at uiuc.edu>  
>Subject: [Peace-discuss] re:  Hate speech  
>To: peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
>
>
>The notion that what is involved in the cartoon uproar is a
question of free 
>speech is a red herring.  Noone protesting the cartoons has
any state control to 
>prohibit what the corporate press in the West prints.  On the
contrary, the cries 
>of "freedom of press" are being used as blunt instrument to
silence the 
>righteous outrage of masses of people who have, quite
correctlly taken offense 
>at the images.    
>
>As we should know only too well, what the mainstream press
chooses to print 
>(and what it doesn't) actually result from countless
different pressures, including 
>the profit motive.  But at heart these decisions always
reflect, even if in distorted 
>fashion, the interests of the ruling elite.
>
>Pasted below is a letter to the editor of the DI, which I
hope will be printed.
>
>Best,
>Tom
>*********
>   
>It’s Not Just the Cartoons
>
>
>The anger of Muslims unleashed by the racist “prophet”
cartoons must be 
>contextualized.  In Europe, Denmark included, Muslims are a
poor and 
>exploited, but growing, section of the population.  European
politicians have 
>increasingly promoted anti-Islamic chauvinism as a means of
diverting anger 
>from unpopular “austerity” social policies.  On Europe's
extreme right, anti-
>Muslim chauvinism is truly blood-curdling (Le Pen in France,
Bossi in Italy, 
>Haider in Austria, etc.)  The Danish newspaper
Jyllands-Posten, which first 
>published the cartoons, is cut from this cloth.  It supports
the anti-immigrant 
>Danish People's Party, and has historical ties to German
fascism.  This is no 
>friend of freedom of speech! 
>
>To this must be added the deep anger resulting from the
continuing oppression 
>of the working masses of the Middle East and South Asia at
the hands of 
>Western imperialism.  It is within living memory that the
entire Muslim world, 
>from West Africa to Indonesia, was under the yoke of British,
French, Italian, and 
>Dutch imperialism.  Israel was carved out of Arab lands with
the backing of the 
>Western powers, and continues the process of dispossessing
the native 
>Palestinian population.  And now the US has placed
Afghanistan and Iraq —
>where the images of sadistic torture at Abu Graib have been
seared into the 
>consciousness of a generation—under de facto colonial rule
while menacing Iran 
>and Syria with wider war.  
>
>Indeed, lurking behind the utterly hypocritical lectures on
the violence and 
>supposed “irrantionality” of Islamic culture creeps yet
another pretext for the 
>predatory machinations of Western imperialism.           
>
>
>
>Tom Macakman
>Students for Social Equality
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