Patrick Cox

Patrick Cox

Patrick Cox runs The World's language desk. He reports and edits stories about the globalization of English, the bilingual brain, translation technology and more. He also hosts The World's podcast on language, The World in Words.

Free speech around the world

September 30, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment
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After Joe Wilson’s “you lie!”, after Kanye West at the MTV awards, after Serena Williams’ outburst at the US Open, you may think: enough already with nasty speech! Well, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet. This week, a report on a series of Dutch cartoon that are offensive – really offensive. Deliberately so, according to the Dutch-based Arab group behind them. The group claims that Dutch law exercises a double standard when it comes to speech and religion: while it often censors anti-semitic speech – like the cartoons in question – it tolerates anti-Muslim speech. vrye weekblad

Then, gadfly-journalist Max du Preez. Du Preez has been upsetting his fellow South Africans for decades – first, he upset his father by becoming a communist, then he upset the apartheid regime with his muckracking journalism. He edited Vrye Weekblad the only Afrikaans-language paper that exposed the murders, beatings and corruption of the racist government. That upset almost an entire people: du Preez’s people, South Africa’s Afrikaners. Only after the end of apartheid, when morality ceased to be a moveable feast, did du Preez’s father speak to him again.

These days, du Preez has new enemies: the South African Broadcasting Corporation, which fired him; former president Thabo Mbeki who du Preez called a womanizer; and agricultural giant Monsanto, which du Preez says is ruining rural South Africa by spreading genetically modified crops.

Finally, government free speech. This doesn’t come up much. Governments oversee free speech laws; they rarely get caught up in their own free speech shenanigans. Not the Danish government. Not Denmark’s tourist bureau. For its latest edgy advertizing campaign the bureau staged a faux one night stand between a young blonde Danish woman and a foreign man with apparently no name, and no nationality. Johnny Foreigner, as it were. Here’s the ad:

This was supposed to be a come-on to foreign visitors; instead it had Danish politicians trying to curb the speech of their own government.

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Discussion

3 comments for “Free speech around the world”

  • Mike

    This podcast was very interesting. It talked about the right of free speech that citizens have. Granted, we have as citizens have the right to say whatever we choose to as our right to free speech is protected by the first Amendment in our Constitution, but sometimes, our right of free speech gets out of hand. The podcast used the examples of Joe Wilson saying “You Lie!” during one of President Obama’s speeches and Kanye West’s’ outburst at the MTV Video Music Awards. Sure, they were using their right of free speech, but they were using it out of context. Free speech is great, but when one uses it out of context, it brings into question as to whether citizens should be given the right to free speech in the first place.

    Mike Chacon
    CST 229
    Professor Tirpak
    10/1/09

  • Cris Bobis

    Nowadays, freedom of speech is being misunderstood or being used in a wrong way. Freedom speech is not only expressed verbally it could be by symbols, music or plays. The podcast had given some examples such as Kanye West being crazy at MTV or Joe Wilsons’ “you lie!” shot at Obama during the Presidents speech. The freedom of speech had evolved to freedom of impression that is, I think on my opinion is the problem that freedom of speech is being mishandled. The podcast is reminding the listeners and how we understood the right to freedom of speech.

  • Monica Flitcraft

    Hello, I am a student from Phillip Tirpak’s CST 229 class:

    I liked that you addressed the problems with freedom of speech in this podcast. When freedom is given, there will be issues along with it. Freedom gives us the right to do what we want, say what we want, and act like we want. However, each one of these actions have been abused, and come with major consequences if used wrongly. I wouldn’t say some citizens deserve to have their “right to free speech” taken away, since that will be nonsense. People need to realize that with freedom, there will always be wrong-doings and consequences (this podcast showed many examples of that). We just have to let them suffer the consequences (Kanye West went on many public shows to apologize to Swift fans and to Taylor herself due to the negative feedback he received afterward). It’s a way of our society, which makes us distinct from any other country in the world.