Five years ago, I wrote a column criticizing Democratic and Republican members of Congress who joined the media in gushing over an address from French President Emmanuel Macron as he called for European style censorship. Free speech has been in a virtual free fall in France for decades and Macron is a major voice in that movement. This week, the French added another outrage to Macron’s legacy by promising to prosecute three citizens who protested the President by flipping him off at an event. The use of “Le Doigt” could now land them in “La Prison.”
The three will be prosecuted under France’s abusive criminal code that allows for the arrest of those who engage in speech that “affect the personal dignity or the respect owed to a public official.” It is a breathtaking denial of political speech and invites selective prosecution.
If convicted, they could face a fine of 15,000 euros and potentially up to one year in prison, according to La Chaîne Info.
Macron has hit a record low in polling, but his government will now enforce respect for him through threats of incarceration.
France has been a leader in the rollback on free speech in the West with ever widening laws curtailing free speech. These laws criminalize speech under vague standards referring to “inciting” or “intimidating” others based on race or religion. For example, fashion designer John Galliano has been found guilty in a French court on charges of making anti-Semitic comments against at least three people in a Paris bar. At his sentencing, Judge Anne Marie Sauteraud read out a list of the bad words used by Galliano to Geraldine Bloch and Philippe Virgitti, including using ‘dirty whore” in criticism.
In another case, the father of French conservative presidential candidate Marine Le Pen was fined because he had called people from the Roma minority “smelly.” A French mother was prosecuted because her son went to school with a shirt reading “I am a bomb.”
A French teenager was charged for criticizing Islam as a “religion of hate.”
Yet, our leaders (and many in the media) were ecstatic when Macron came to the Congress and called for a joint war against “fake news,” declaring, “Democracy is about true choices and rational decisions. The corruption of information is an attempt to corrode the very spirit of our democracies.”
Nothing says Democracy like jailing those who do not show you respect.
The anti-free speech wave has now reached our own shores and many like Hillary Clinton have even called on Europeans to censor Americans on social media if Twitter or other companies fail to do so.
Many have argued (falsely) that hate speech is not protected under our Constitution, including members of Congress. In France, the middle finger is not free speech when directed at a public official. Likewise, speech considered harmful or disrespectful to particular groups is barred.
It is all about instilling good virtue but punishing the wicked. After all, as Maximilien Robespierre taught the French, “Terror is only justice: prompt, severe and inflexible; it is then an emanation of virtue.”
A common refrain heard today is that FOX News was stupid to fire Tucker Carlson, by far its most popular on-air employee. But then you have journalist and commentator Darren Beattie, who believes that corporations who own news networks often don’t care if they are profitable. In some instances, according to Beattie, an unprofitable news network can help drive customers to a separate, profitable enterprise owned by the parent corporation. In other instances, an unprofitable news network is just a mechanism for its billionaire owner to achieve national and world influence over public policy.
It’s long, long past time, Men.
_______________________
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
– Declaration of Independence, 1776
A women flipped off Trump and was fired from her job, she is now a local elected official in a district were Trump owns a golf course. Turley might have chosen to ignore that story, wouldn’t fit into his daily “rage” story.
If you were my employee and flipped me off, you would be fired as well. But knowing how you think, there is no chance you would have been hired. We look for quality workers (merit), not hacks that can’t think.
Where in the world is President Susan “Barack Obama” Rice going?
Who is the new puppet for Obama’s puppeteer?
One other question I have. Does Hilary Clinton really matter any more? I thought she had given up politics and was doing local productions of Beowulf where she co-starred as the Sea Hag.
GEB,
Who else do they have to run with?
Newsome?
Kennedy?
Cheny?
The WaPo is reporting that the DNC will NOT have any debates for Democrat candidates. Looks like they really intend to run with Biden. Who the heck thinks that is a good idea? Unless the idea is to throw the election and give the GOP candidate a hot mess in the form of a proxy war with Russia, and a recession.
Why in the world didn’t Hillary give Bill the Lewinsky?
George, somehow it wouldn’t be the same.
Well if you used “informed Consent” as it is used in medical circles, then basically the entirety of elected and/or appointed officials would be liable for damages. In many cases this serious a breach of informed consent could push a civil case in medical circles into a criminal case requiring prison time. Not a common event in medicine but it does occur. But there are obvious ramifications in the public discourse where there was actual conspiracy to block or suppress the truth and this lead to war or “police actions” that lead to death and damage of civilians and military following the “legal orders” of their superiors. The Gulf of Tonkin incident comes to mind as well as the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Usually I think the American Public can handle the truth and make a reasonable decision without everyone totally agreeing. Lying to the public should be prosecuted. That would never come to pass but It would be interesting to watch the chaos.
I consulted and did contract work for a very large Japanese chemical company for about six years. Their employees were probably 70% Asian — Iran to Korea. Something that many of them told me they admired most about the U.S. was our nearly universal tolerance, enthusiasm in fact, for mocking leaders and the elite.
They saw it clearly. We took it for granted.
Wow, Tucker out at FoxNews; I heard he was not right wing enough -are you going to be the replacement?
Don Lemon has been fired by CNN. They are seeking a screaming, whiny, prissy queen who loses her shlt when she doesnt get the attention she seeks. Not that you could replace her considering that would require you to give up trolling 25/8 with bogus avatars
Meh – our side does not spend all its time on cable opinion shows; no biggie if one of these hosts gets replaced.
I have never seen Lemon.
I can honestly say I have watched two segments of Calson. One was on NPR, which was spot on. I dont recall the other.
I agree, meh.
Still embarrassed by helping Trump get elected in 2016, FOX News is purging itself of populists. A year from now, the on-air talent will consist solely of coastal elites who are liberal and coastal elites who pretend to be conservative. Populist viewers in search of a replacement for FOX will have several options. Don’t rule out someone like Elon Musk or Bobby Kennedy starting up a network.
Macron would make an awesome member of the Democratic Party in the USA. No training or apprenticeship would be necessary.
Who said the following:
What is the fundamental principle of democratic or popular government – that is to say, the essential mainspring upon which it depends and which makes it function? It is virtue: I mean public virtue
signalingthat virtue is nothing else but love offatherXe/Xer/Xem-Land and its laws…The splendour of the goal of the
FrenchPost-Modernist Woke Revolution is simultaneously the source of our strength and of our weakness. Our strength, because it gives us an ascendancy of truth over falsehood and of public rights over private interests. Our weakness, because it rallies against us all vicious men, all those who in their hearts seek to despoil the people… It is necessary to stifle the domestic and foreign enemies of the Republic or perish with them.Now, in these circumstances, the first maxim of our politics ought to be to lead the people by means of reason and the enemies of the people by terror… The basis of popular government in time of revolution is both virtue and terror. Terror without virtue is murderous, virtue without terror is powerless. Terror is nothing else than swift, severe, indomitable justice – it flows, then, from virtue.”
A. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) / Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI)
B. NY Times / Washington Post
C. Joseph Biden and his Handlers
D. Attorney General Merrick Garland / DOJ / FBI
E. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) threatening Catholic SCOTUS Justices
F. None of the above
correct answer: Maximilien Robespierre address to the National Convention, May 7th 1794
Estvoir,
Great comment!
I would bet that there were 100’s or 1,000’s giving Macron Le Doigt during the retirement age protests. Are they all heading to the slammer?
Germany was on the forefront of this when they “banned” hitler-salutes and the use of anything related. I guess this was to assuage their guilt. That “slippery slope” is now the Grand Canyon!
While communists are a motivator in French protests, Macron is poking the bear.
The French revel in their history of violence against tyrants.
Look, this is growing wearisome to reiterate this but…We the People (with the protection of the 2nd amemndment) have the necessary means to replace a corrupt government that no longer serves us (We the People). When we actually want to stop whining about how bad things are getting and actually make the move required to eliminate this poisonous rot within our nation is when we will put an end to this. Continually talkng about it only makes pundits more wealthy and We the People feel more and more frustrated. We are almost past the tipping point on this.
“All tyrannies rule through fraud and force, but once the fraud is exposed they must rely exclusively on force.” George Orwell
One of the left’s major arguments against Trump was that our European allies were embarrassed by him. That was a smokescreen to hide their Wokeism. Trump is not woke, they are. Trump believes in free speech. The Europeans don’t.
The left does not believe in free speech or alternate opinions. They are dictatorial, and today, when one votes Democrat, one is voting for a future devoid of free speech.
S. Meyer,
I would add, voting Democrat is voting for playing WWIII/nuclear chicken, higher energy prices, higher food prices, more soft on crime DAs, or no cash bail, more higher crime rates, more illegal immigrants entering the country, and more woke insanity.
As you and I discussed in the past if I regretted voting 3rd party in 2016 and 2020 I did not think either were possible outcomes.
This coming go around, whomever is the GOP candidate, I HAVE to vote for him or her. It is the only sane choice.
“This coming go around, whomever is the GOP candidate, I HAVE to vote for him or her. It is the only sane choice.”
Good for you, Upstate. I have no allegiance to the Republican Party, but as we have seen the Democrats are the bigger threat. The Democrats wouldn’t be such a threat but for the fact that many Republicans support them.
We need to change the dynamics where Congress works for the people and is not permitted to work for personal gain. It seems impossible but we have to have term limits and get rid of most of the perks. We need rules that cause pain to legislators when they aren’t doing their jobs. We need a bureaucracy that can be fired. We need Washington DC spread over the nation so the cozy relationships cease.
The following occurred in the major German city of Hamburg. On June 10, 2020, the Senator of the Interior of the city of Hamburg, Andy Grote, a member of the (left wing) Social Democratic Party and head of the Hamburg police department, celebrated his election victory in a restaurant. In doing so, he violated the strict Corona restrictions in force at the time.
Almost a year later, on May 30, 2021, Grote criticized people who celebrated in the Schanzenviertel (Hamburg’s hipster district) despite Corona as ignorant. He wrote on Twitter, “What a stupid action!”
Another Twitter user criticized this double standard and replied on Twitter (literally): “You’re such a dick!”.
Andy Grote then arranged for 6 police officers to storm and search the man’s apartment at dawn more than 3 months later. A court recently ruled that the search was illegal, but the message has been sent.
It should be noted that the Twitter user himself is not an “evil right-winger”, in fact he himself belonged to the left-wing alternative scene.
Here we are the week after learning from Mike Morell that he and a Biden campaign hack (Antony Blinken) conspired to wage an orchestrated deception on the American electorate, one that appears in retrospect to have possibly tilted the election outcome.
So let me put it to JT directly: Does the 1st Amendment allow the freedom of elites within society to defraud the public to covertly advance a political goal? If so, then what does “the consent of the governed” mean? If not based on informed consent, but rather consent obtained through trickery and deceit, what remains of the Madisonian ideal?
Yes, defamation law was shown to be somewhat of a deterrent, but that leaves an enormous loophole for purveyors of deceit – craft your whopper with care not to defame any party. What law can we utilize to close that loophole?
Europe proves it. Speech codes are a slippery slope that always tilts left.
Spee
The elites are circling the wagons because they see the destruction and chaos they have created, and they need all the resources of power they can muster to save their own miserable skins.
What I cannot understand is criminalizing something like this is only going to put the class division front and center for all to see.
And that is going to piss the commoners off all the more.
I will not be surprised if this devolves into real violence of the shooting kind.