Free speech is vitally important. It is enshrined in the American Constitution, and it is assumed as a right in all other civilised countries, whether it is part of their constitution or their Bill of Rights, or merely by custom over generations.
And yet, free speech is threatened. If it was not threatened, no-one would riot to close down events that didn't suit their view of the world, social media platforms would stick to deleting pornography and incitement to violence rather than targeting unfashionable opinion. Facts would not be categorised as 'hate speech.'
Milo Yiannopoulos is a flamboyant gay man, witty, entertaining, and sometimes outrageous, though in my opinion, not nearly as outrageous as is commonly claimed. Milo's talks have provoked riots, the mere mention of his name can have some fuming because of his 'hateful' opinions. And they will condone violence against him and against his supporters.
He wrote a book, but his prospective publisher was worried about repercussions. They cancelled his contract.
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| Rioting because Milo Yiannopoulos was to speak. |
He published anyway. Most of what Milo Yiannopoulos has to say is serious, rational, and pure good sense - that it is vital to overturn the extreme Leftist culture that now reigns in politics, entertainment and in education.
There were a few things I didn't like about his book - the use of some pretty vile profanity, for instance, and the assertion that 'ugly' should be cured with surgery. But I remember that that particular one was in relation to the very loud 'feminists' he comes in contact with - the sort of 'feminism' that has nothing to do with the perfectly sensible variety we knew in the 60s and 70s. And I have seen on social media some gross specimens! Not that they were physically ugly so much - few of us are beautiful - but these ones seemed to want to display themselves as physically ugly as they could possibly manage, and in as few clothes as possible. So I can forgive him for that one - maybe.
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| Milo loves to be flashy. |
But then he'd say something that would make me break out in laughter. For instance, he related an incident when he was dressed up as a clown, 'I didn't mind about the clown costume because I still looked sexy as fuck.'
Milo is vain and he is funny. He is incredibly entertaining, but that is only one aspect. He is also very well read, and highly intelligent. I have seen him tie a Muslim activist into knots, because it so quickly became clear that he knew the religion of Islam, while the declared Muslim (Western, female) had very little idea.
For sheer entertainment, I would give this book 5 stars (out of 5)
So why do they try and silence Milo? He says: 'It isn't my outrageous behavior, my mockery of ideologies considered sacrosanct in America today, or even my addiction to uncomfortable truths. The establishment's real fear is that this book will affect readers, especially young people. In particular, they fear that the young people at the epicenter of political correctness in America's universities with begin to question the ideologies foisted upon them...'
Milo speaks out against Islam, among other things. Since Islam declares that the punishment for being homosexual is death, it is no wonder that he despises the religion. But this is one reason that Milo is so heavily criticised - we are not supposed to speak ill of Islam. It is Sharia Law, the barbaric law handed down to devout Muslims from the 8th Century - that any criticism of Islam is forbidden.
And yet European countries are now trying to enforce that law for them. How very, very sad.
Another advocate for free speech is Pamela Geller, who has been trying to shed a light on the facts of Islam ever since the Twin Towers were brought down by Jihadists in 2001.
And then they wanted to put an enormous mosque on the site instead. Some claimed it would be a symbol of unity or peace or something like that. Pamela saw it is as more like a symbol of triumph. Thousands agreed, and the proposal was eventually quashed.
But that was when her activism really began.
And ever since, people have been trying to stop her talking. She points out, again and again, that you cannot call facts 'hate speech.' It makes no difference. Facts are routinely called 'hate speech.'
Her recent book is called 'Fatwa,' as a Fatwa has been called against her. She sees routine death threats made against her, and at least once, there was a serious attempt to carry out the threat.
In her book 'Fatwa,' she describes her efforts to open people's eyes to the reality of Islamic teaching, and she describes the determined efforts to close her mouth. There were even efforts made to thwart her attempts to provide safety to young women threatened with 'honour killing' because they committed such 'crimes' as talking to an unrelated man, appearing in Western dress, or wanting to leave Islam. In Islam, of course, the prescribed punishment for 'apostasy' is death.
Pamela uses direct quotes from the Koran to illustrate her points. And yet, because she is pointing out the actual teachings of the Koran, she is labelled bigot, racist, etc. Facts should never be suppressed. How can one address a problem if one cannot describe that problem?
Here we are in 2017, and yet many European nations plus Canada, Australia and Britain, are caving in to demands from Muslims in a misguided attempt to keep the peace. Pamela says that Islam is at war with civilisation, and the politically correct Leftists are in collusion with them, whether or not they understand what they are doing. She calls them 'craven quizlings.'
On page 60, she says 'Who would have imagined that twelve years after 9/11, patriots and freedom lovers dedicated to opposing the ideology behind those attacks on the homeland (and over 21,000 deadly Islamic attacks worldwide since) would be demonized, dehumanized, and the object of a campaign to get us banned from an allied nation. It could only be the result of insanity or ... defeat.'
There was a terrorist attack in London. The advice from police was for people to run and hide. Pamela says: 'Running and hiding is no strategy in war. Operation Fetal Position is a recipe for disaster.' (Page 127)
For speaking out, Pamela Geller finds herself the recipient of some truly dreadful threats, often on social media and usually blandly ignored, while her own posts are routinely taken down. This, for instance, that a Muslim posted pictures of her next to bloodied dismembered bodies along with threats too gross for me to say. And yet that facebook page was not taken down.
She says, (page 189) 'This is ultimately not about me; it is whether America will stand for freedom or surrender. I don't want to die, but I will not live as a slave.'
But it seems that so many people would rather live in fear of repercussions by Muslims than to stand up to their threats. They refuse to even hear when people point out what the threat is. They would rather silence people like Pamela Geller than look at what is real.
An excerpt from Pamela's book - 'All my work is in defense of the freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience, the equality of rights of all people before the law, and individual rights. The claim that I operate a hate group is a vicious smear and eerily evokes the circumstances that preceded the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s.'
It's a strange world. On the news today, it speaks of the Christmas season being particularly dangerous as a season for terrorism. There is talk of new loudspeakers in cities so that they can sound an alarm when there is a terrorist attack, a heavy police presence is now routine at major events, and heavy bollards are being erected in places where crowds gather in order to protect against a terrorist deciding to deliberately drive into them. And yet there is no mention of just who these 'terrorists' are, and what they might be murdering for. |
| Bollards erected in the hope of preventing an Islamic terrorist attack. |
Milo Yiannopoulos and Pamela Geller are freedom fighters. They are fighting for the right to tell it as it is. And they are telling us to open our eyes, particularly about the dangers posed by the spreading influence of Islam.
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| In certain circles, the penalty for being homosexual is to be thrown from a tall building |
As a gay man, Milo could be threatened with execution, as other gay men have been, while Pamela is subject to a Fatwa.
Our government, our educational system, our politicians, would rather preach nonsense such that 'Islam is a religion of peace.' One only has to read the Koran and the other Islamic 'holy' books to know how false is such a claim.
Both these books are worth reading. Milo's book is entertaining, as well as informative, while Pamela's book goes into detail about the numerous times she has spoken out, and by one method or other, has been silenced. This part of the book becomes a little tedious to read, and yet the sheer repetition rams home her point that freedom of speech is under enormous threat.
Pamela Geller - 'The foundation of my work is individual rights and equality for all before the law. These are the foundational principles of our constitutional republic. That is now considered controversial. Truth is the new hate speech. Truth is going to be criminalized.'
Both books can be found online. Many bookshops will probably not stock them - further proof of the threat to freedom of speech.
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