‘Commentary’ Archives
Against Hate Speech
By Peter Molenaar My father”'s recent “cardiac event” made time for the two of us to revisit family history. Ancestors had been burned at the stake or otherwise repeatedly dunked under water until dead”¦and the bullies of childhood left marks as well. Nonetheless, in his medical practice, father treated religious people with devotion. Why then did that man on TV say: “No woman should even consider dating an atheist, given that such a man must lack a moral compass.” Forgive me, please. None of us is at war with God. Father believes consciousness is a product of the evolution of matter. Sentient life forms are recognized, while human consciousness is acknowledged as most precious. Secular humanism is then the basis of his morality. (more…)
Frank Reflections: When is satire racist?
BY FRANK ERICKSON If neo-Nazis in Paris were publishing racist caricatures of Muslims and then were murdered for doing it, would millions of French citizens hit the streets to show solidarity with the dead skinheads? I doubt it. This is all about who is doing the racism. We know this because if neo-Nazis were doing exactly the same thing, they would not have the majority of the West supporting them. It”'s easy for the West to defend this type of racism when it is coming from white intellectuals who are not being racist at all; they are being “satirical”, with nothing but their innocent little pens and paper. How easy and safe for the West to cloak this with intellectual babble about “satire” and freedom of speech, instead of calling it what it is. Do neo-Nazis belong to a “satirical” organization? The violence starts with the drawing of a racist caricature. If I go out on the street and start calling Black people the n-word and get myself [...]
