Guest mimifme@gmail.com Posted January 1, 2008 Posted January 1, 2008 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -= purpose in publicizing it; censorship in. uk.* newsgroups -= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The postings. to uk.misc newsgroup generated a very defensive reaction from Usenet. readers in the UK. So much so, that they tried strenuously to suppress what was being said, both by breaking the rules. of netiquette in their responses on the forum, and directly by action to revoke. the account from which the postings. were issued. Yet. the postings were within the normal boundaries of behaviour for uk.misc,. and other less partisan spectators did not see justice in the censorship which was effected, as the following. excerpt shows; :Karen Lofstrom. (lofstrom@lava.net) wrote :>It does seem that the. frequency and the size of his posts are :>approaching net abuse. However, IMHO, they aren't quite there yet.. If :>his postmaster were to act in this. instance, it would raise troubling :>censorship. issues. The inescapable conclusion of the censorship effected. on the uk.* newsgroups is that the British are intent on their wrongdoing. remaining concealed, and therefore seek to subvert and suppress freedom. of speech, not only in their own country where the. media shows xenophobic bias and bile against all perceived enemies within and without,. but also in other countries which have. their own statutes to guarantee the basic human right of. free speech. It is absolutely necessary to bring their hate. campaign out into the open where it can be placed under scrutiny and the harassers. seen for what they are. That is the only way of making it. impossible for the security services to carry it out. There is a wider dimension, though. Xenophobia. as demonstrated by British people and institutions over the. last few years belongs. to the same stable as racial hatred. In one case, two youths on a Tube train made that racism explicit. by referring to their victim as a "soft toy, not up to. British Standards". Doubtless others victimize partly on the basis of race (isn’t it odd that they. chose to torment someone who is not ethnically. English?) while expressing their abuse in terms of another genetic attribute, namely mental illness.. All xenophobia on a genetic basis. is wrong, but while racial insults are illegal, abusing the mentally ill is neither against the. law nor subject to similar condemnation when it. is exposed. 6278
Recommended Posts