Russia's anti-gay and blasphemy laws threaten freedom, says open letter signed by more than 200 writers from 30 countries. Authors, include Günter Grass, Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood and Jonathan Franzen.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/201...letter-writers
Silly bumpkins.. considering that putin has given russians some pride after the ussr collapse
That might very well be true. Nonetheless, he compares gays to pedophiles and supports laws banning "gay propaganda", which is something I'm steadfastly against. Anti-blasphemy laws are just as bad, if not worse. I do not believe religion deserves any special treatment protecting it from criticism or ridicule. It's a decidedly anti-free speech policy. Are these the most terrible things a world leader could do? Definitely not. Is writing a condemnatory letter an appropriate level of protest? I think it is. I fully support the letter and the authors backing it.Originally Posted by luhsun
Last edited by Frostball; 02-08-2014 at 10:29 AM.
So Günter Grass, Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Jonathan Franzen, and other 200 are all bumpkins are they? All unsophisticated and socially awkward country folk are they?
I think Putin is probably reflecting Russian public opinion. The only way of proving it would be to hold a referendum on the issue and that would stop special interest groups imposing their minority beliefs on the majority. In any case, as it stands at the moment, Putin isn't listening and I doubt that what he interprets as foreign interference in his country's internal affairs is likely to change his mind.
"L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.
"Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.
Ya, Putin has given Russian's pride while siphoning off 50 billion USD into his personal bank account. Russians seem to have a pathological desire for an abusive corrupt autocrat to step all over them and tell them what's good for them.
Last edited by OrphanPip; 02-08-2014 at 01:49 PM.
"If the national mental illness of the United States is megalomania, that of Canada is paranoid schizophrenia."
- Margaret Atwood
Living in Chicago, I sympathize.
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -- Mahatma Gandhi
Silly bumpkins.. considering that putin has given russians some pride after the ussr collapse
Stupidest comment, ever.
Out of curiosity…are they gonna protest the hundred and hundreds of other horrible dictators and autocrats who commit terrible human rights abuses that are still currently active…or just the easiest, most obvious target that everyone has been jumping on the bandwagon of criticising lately (deservedly)?
I mean, it's nice and all, but it's hardly courageous and it feels pretty empty.
Vladimir: (sententious.) To every man his little cross. (He sighs.) Till he dies. (Afterthought.) And is forgotten.
Authors should write books, or poems. Hopefully, gradually, the readers will be more liberal and the world a better place by dint of let's say, salman rushdie's literary prowess.
Preaching to the converted, and writing an open letter which achieves nothing but (self) masturbation.. or bullbaiting the conservatives ... now, that's what i call the supreme sacrifice of the creme la creme of world literature.
certainly not a Putin fan or someone who claims to understand Russian culture and society but I think it's strange that I've heard so much more about "rights abuses" in the lead up to Sochi than Beijing. What's going on in Beijing is much worse and on a far wider scale than Russia, including of course child labor.
Power corrupts...etc
And how much did we hear about the human rights abuses of the U.S. in the lead-up to the Salt Lake games?
I think it must have to do with the fact that the whole gay rights issue is very hot button these days. It's an issue that has been a frequent part of the national and global conversation, perhaps just in the western world, at least.
It's a good point that I don't remember hearing as much outcry over china's human rights abuses. It's possible that there was outcry, but that I just don't remember it, but I'm thinking that it's true that there wasn't much, at least compared to this case with Putin and Russia.
But one thing that I don't agree with is saying that just because there were worse things in the past that there wasn't an outcry over, that now we can't use a convenient opportunity to speak out against something now. It's not a one or the other proposition, either. One can speak out against the rights issues in Russia and the admittedly worse issues in other countries. Just because Russia isn't the worst, doesn't mean it isn't bad, and it doesn't mean that we should just ignore it until we address every country worse than it. As an analogy, just because the flu isn't nearly as bad as cancer, aids, or even pneumonia, doesn't mean it's a bad thing to treat and do research on the flu.
So I'd say if one thinks there are worse things to speak out against than rights issues in Russia, what you should do is speak out against those worse things yourself. What you shouldn't do is cynically reject the premise of speaking out against Russia if people choose to devote their energies toward that.
Charles dickens moved his readers to tears and helped the political process of outlawing child labour. Our famous writers now can only regress to signing petition .. and one is known to hide for 40yrs his involvement in the waffen-ss. At least chen lin used his literary skills to condemn cao cao via a famous petition to the emperor.
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