CORRECTION 2 I don’t endorse private property hooliganism. I fully support acts of disruption against public property.

CORRECTION:

I changed the heading of this post from “WW2 facts” to WW2 history” because my support for Irving is not a claim that I endorse his views.

Again, I need to clarify, that I do not endorse David Irving’s views as to the accuracy of the numbers of deaths in the Holocaust. However, I do agree with his belief that the Holocaust is heavily politicized, as is the history of WW2.

The politicization plays a prominent role in speech-control in the West today, with dozens of people jailed for it.

Irving himself denies being a “holocaust denier” and agrees that millions of Jews did die in the holocaust. The label anti-Semite and “hater” has been applied to him because he disputes certain facts about WW2 history. I am in no position to judge how accurate or not his beliefs are, but they are evidently sincerely held and Irving is evidently a writer with impressive accomplishments and credentials.  Thus, he is by definition a political dissident.

The very essence of free speech is the protection of unpopular opinion, especially political and religious opinion.

After, having destroyed Irving’s career and reputation by labeling him a “hater,” “Nazi,” and “anti-Semite,” the state media (BBC, in this case), then lifted his work whole-sale for their own purposes, a tactic that is endlessly used.

ORIGINAL POST

Land-destroyer blog (Tony Cartalucci, whom I’ve linked before but whose credibility has been questioned by some people) has a great list of  state oppressions that the champions of the oppressed among the humanitarian libertarians never seem to talk about:

“The US State Department-backed so-called “punk band” going by the name of “Pussy Riot,” stormed into a Moscow church, defaming the Russian government while mocking the beliefs of churchgoers with vulgarity and disruptive behavior. Marketed as an act of “freedom of expression” by the Western media and the West’s collection of foreign ministries, it was in reality what would be called both a hate-crime and disorderly conduct in the West. Furthermore, in the West, such an act would come with it steep fines and lengthy jail sentences.

In fact, similar cases have played out in the West – minus the feigned indignation over the perceived violation of free speech of alleged bigots, racists, and hooligans that have preceded “Pussy Riot.” In many cases, the West has actively pursued not only people harassing others and creating public disturbances, but also those distributing material to like minded people who’s beliefs are simply perceived as “socially harmful.”

The West Has Jailed Many For Similar or Lesser Offenses

[Lila: Actually, Cartalucci is wrong on this. Irving is a genuine political dissident, performing a vital task – elucidating history. Pussy Riot was violating publi private

[I accidentally wrote public, when I meant private property.  Activism in the public sphere or on public property is fine. Tax-payers own the place anyway.  But I was referring to Pussy-Riot’s actions disrupting church services, which are conducted on private property.]

property, not making any kind of rational statement that I could make out.

They are agents provocateurs, not political dissidents.  My own experience has proved to me that in the US  there are heavy social and economic costs for even factual, even-handed and credible alternative opinions. Everywhere, the snitches and sheep-herders of the money-power are busy, along with government operatives. If you figure them out, watch out.]

Cartalucci::

• 3 Years in Jail for Revising History: In 2006, the BBC reported, “British historian David Irving has been found guilty in Vienna of denying the Holocaust of European Jewry and sentenced to three years in prison.” The BBC also reported, “the judge in his 2000 libel trial declared him “an active Holocaust denier… anti-Semitic and racist.”” Irving’s beliefs, as unpopular as they may be, were expressed in his writings and speeches, not in the middle of a synagogue he had burst into.

• 4 Years and 2 Years in Jail for Operating “Racist” Website: For the crime of operating a US-based “racist” website and possessing with intent to distribute “racist material,” two British men, Simon Sheppard and Stephen Whittle were sentenced to 4 years and 2 years respectively in the UK in 2009. The presiding judge, according to the BBC, “told the men their material was “abusive and insulting” and had the potential to cause “grave social harm.”” Unlike Pussy Riot, however, these 2 men only crammed their leaflets into the door of a synagogue – instead of bursting in. Still they received 3-4 years in prison.
• 3 Years in Jail for Harassing a Jewish Man and Public Hate Speech: In 2011, an Australian man posted an “anti-Semitic” video on YouTube earning him a 3 year jail sentence. The video apparently showed the convicted man insulting a Jewish man before going on a tirade “in front of the Perth Bell Tower,” reported ABC of Australia. Clearly insulting someone in Australia and creating a public disturbance is a punishable crime, yet somehow the Australian government sees insulting churchgoers in Russia as “freedom of expression.” Equally as clear, is that hypocrisy and selective principles are being liberally exercised.

[Lila: Again, I disagree with this case. The man has no right to an offensive tirade on private property and certainly not to propagandize children, who are not at the age of consent.]

• 5 Years in Jail for Disagreeing With Mainstream History: Also in 2009, a man was jailed for 5 years for “propagating Nazi ideas and Holocaust denial” in Austria, Reuters reported. Gerd Honsik apparently wrote books and magazines which he attempted to distribute in schools, though it was the content of the material, not the manner in which he tried to distribute it that earned him his lengthy jail sentence. Unpopular though his ideas may be, according to the latest tirade by the West, he not only should’ve been allowed to proclaim them publicly, but do so in a place of worship amongst those he despised.
  

• Detainment for “Hateful” Public Disturbance: This year, the British Daily Mail reported in their article, “Elmo in cuffs: Man dressed as Sesame Street character is carried away in Central Park after anti-Semitic rant in front of kids,” that “the appearance of a hate-spewing man dressed up as Elmo was a jarring one for many New Yorkers who visited Central Park on Sunday afternoon.” The article elaborated by saying that though the man was put in handcuffs and taken away, he was not arrested. While no arrest or sentence was handed down, the story clearly indicates that there is a line drawn as to what is “freedom of speech” and what is “disturbing the peace” in the United States.

• Arrested for Aggravating “religious and racial” Facebook Comments:  For the crime of posting “anti-Semitic” remarks on Facebook, the BBC reported that “five men and a 15-year-old youth” were arrested in May, 2012. The BBC would elaborate by reporting, “the six people arrested were charged with a breach of the peace with religious and racial aggravations.”