GayandRight

My name is Fred and I am a gay conservative living in Ottawa. This blog supports limited government, the right of the State of Israel to live in peace and security, and tries to expose the threat to us all from cultural relativism, post-modernism, and radical Islam. I am also the founder of the Free Thinking Film Society in Ottawa (www.freethinkingfilms.com)

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Self-censorship in Spain....

Bcause of the cartoon uproar, we're going to see a lot more self-censorship.
An annual festival of satire in Valencia has fallen foul of censorship after more than four centuries following the furore over Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

In the Fallas festival, giant sculptures of the high and mighty are placed in the streets for the public to mock before being destroyed in an orgy of gunpowder and flames. It has survived attacks by the Roman Catholic church, various puritanical rulers and the Franco dictatorship.

This year's figures will include President George W Bush, several of the Spanish prime minister, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, and the Prince of Wales dancing, in Highland dress, with the Duchess of Cornwall. But self-censorship has seen Muslim and Arab figures modified to avoid offence.

The Fallas season is now underway until March 19 but as it approached, Valencians watched global protests against newspaper cartoons of Mohammed with growing alarm. Last month, the mayor, Rita Barberá, urged artists to "temper freedom with a sense of responsibility" when referring to religious subjects.

At least one well known local Fallas artist admitted to removing elements from his display of comic sculptures.

He had sculpted three life-size figures of illegal Arab immigrants storming the Spanish border, in a reference to last year's crisis in Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's enclaves in North Africa, involving thousands of migrants. The artist has now removed details that identified them as Arabs.

The artist asked not to be named, partly for fear of reprisals, partly because he did not feel proud of such "self-censorship". But this year was "different", he said. Radical Muslim leaders appeared to be looking for excuses to cause trouble.

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I must correct you on your spelling: 'Spain' is now spelt Andalusia.

The rulers get to name the place and the fascists(calling themselves Muslims) are winning, so it's only fitting that we use proper references.

4:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ferdinand and Isabella must be rolling in their graves! Seriously, how can the Spaniards be such wimps. By virtue of their history and their geograph, they more than most Europeans should understand the Muslim mindset. This will just encourage the Islamists all the more. I hope they are prepared to face more terrorism. They will have brought it upon themselves.

12:30 AM  
Blogger T.C. said...

Terrible. I lament the fall of freedom.

10:37 AM  

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