International Herald Tribune wrote:A Dutch political cartoonist was arrested this week on suspicion of insulting people because of their race or religion through his work, authorities said Friday.
The cartoonist, who works under the pseudonym Gregorius Nekschot, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of violating hate speech laws and held overnight before being released, a spokeswoman for his publisher Uitgeverij Xtra said.
"He was arrested with a great show of force, by around 10 policemen," the spokeswoman said.
She asked that her name not be used, and declined to give Nekschot's real name, because the cartoonist and publisher have both received death threats.
To the best of my knowledge, no one has previously been convicted in any Western country over "hate speech" with drawn material, and AFAIK this is the first time in any democratic country that a person has actually been arrested over cartoons.
"Yeah, that's the bridge pier (expletive). I thought it was the center. Oh (expletive)." ~ From the transcript of the recording device on board the ship which struck the San Franciso Bay Bridge last year, causing a 50,000 gallon oil spill.
So, yes, he has been arrested. Yes, he was released shortly after. No, Ernst Hirsch Ballin, the Justice Minister responsible for the act, does not enjoy popular support for his decision.
So, yes, he has been arrested. Yes, he was released shortly after. No, Ernst Hirsch Ballin, the Justice Minister responsible for the act, does not enjoy popular support for his decision.
The very last paragraph is telling. It's all political in that case at least.
Are there are minorities who won't blow you up if you offend them? Oh yeah, furries!
Sometimes the failed experiments are the ones that don't try to kill you
I'm less surprised this happened, and more suprised it happened in a country other than my own. I always thought the US was the "I'm so easily offended!" country.
Crossfire: "Thank you! That explains it very nicely, and in a language that someone other than a physicist can understand..."
Denial is not falsification. You can't avoid a fact just because you don't like it.
"Data" is not the plural of "anecdote"
Rkolter wrote:I'm less surprised this happened, and more suprised it happened in a country other than my own. I always thought the US was the "I'm so easily offended!" country.
We don't arrest people for it. Really frustrates Europeans, actually, particularly when it involves nazis and such.
McDuffies wrote:Except when it concerns "war on terror", I guess?
As Orwellian and Kafkaesque as the US War on Terror can get on the homefront, I've never heard of a US citizen being imprisoned for sympathizeing with terrorists alone. I might be wrong, though.
Rkolter wrote:I'm less surprised this happened, and more suprised it happened in a country other than my own. I always thought the US was the "I'm so easily offended!" country.
We don't arrest people for it. Really frustrates Europeans, actually, particularly when it involves nazis and such.
Say what? Which Europeans, exactly, have expressed frustration over the US refraining from arresting who, exactly?
Rkolter wrote:I'm less surprised this happened, and more suprised it happened in a country other than my own. I always thought the US was the "I'm so easily offended!" country.
We don't arrest people for it. Really frustrates Europeans, actually, particularly when it involves nazis and such.
Say what? Which Europeans, exactly, have expressed frustration over the US refraining from arresting who, exactly?
There's probably a guy like Zundel around in the US somewhere that the German government has expressed a desire to have extradited.
Yeahduff wrote:We don't arrest people for it. Really frustrates Europeans, actually, particularly when it involves nazis and such.
Say what? Which Europeans, exactly, have expressed frustration over the US refraining from arresting who, exactly?
There's probably a guy like Zundel around in the US somewhere that the German government has expressed a desire to have extradited.
The US did in fact arrest Zündel and deport him to Canada, which in turn extradited him to Germany. Point taken, though, there are probably others like him who are safe in the US.
Just for the record, attitudes to what exactly constitutes "hate speech" varies within the EU also. In some EU countries, holocaust denial (which is what Zündel propagated) is a criminal offense, in others it would be protected under free speech.
Paul Escobar wrote:Just for the record, attitudes to what exactly constitutes "hate speech" varies within the EU also. In some EU countries, holocaust denial (which is what Zündel propagated) is a criminal offense, in others it would be protected under free speech.
That's the kind of thing I mean. I'm not so foolish as to loop the entirety of Europe into one philosophy, but there's been friction about what free speech protects, particularly due to the internet.
Yeahduff wrote:That's the kind of thing I mean. I'm not so foolish as to loop the entirety of Europe into one philosophy, but there's been friction about what free speech protects, particularly due to the internet.
I apologize that I can't site a case.
No problem, I just didn't catch what you were referring to until KWill brought up Zündel's name. But yeah, we get these "Nazi propaganda, legal or illegal?" frictions between EU countries too. For obvious reasons it's a divisive issue in much of Europe, and several European countries have chosen to draw the line of free speech exactly where the Nazis begin.
Paul Escobar wrote:No problem, I just didn't catch what you were referring to until KWill brought up Zündel's name. But yeah, we get these "Nazi propaganda, legal or illegal?" frictions between EU countries too. For obvious reasons it's a divisive issue in much of Europe, and several European countries have chosen to draw the line of free speech exactly where the Nazis begin.
Of course, but recall that neo-nazis can still get away with a whole lot, even in Germany.
