BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Polish Culture Re: Polish freedom of speech

Jaga - please provide an example of somebody in Poland (or anywhere else in the EU) being prosecuted for writing an article that makes fun of gays.

I've never heard of such a case. have you?

so why should somebody who writes an article that makes fun of the pope be prosecuted?

urban's magazine is vulgar and he is an ex-communist - so what? is anybody forcing you to read what he writes?

making it illegal to make fun of the pope is 100% wrong - and if you believe in freedom of speech you should accept that.

if you don't like it ignore it - you are free to do so.

Bob, maybe I am against the war with Iraq, but I am not for the European liberals...

Here is another fragment from Urban:

***"Kochany staruszku! Połï¿½ż się do łï¿½żka. Przykryj kołderką. Poczytaj sobie Katarzynę Grocholę albo jakiś lekki kryminał. Poćpaj kawiorku, pocmoktaj melbę, mniam, mniam. Puść se na wideo "Dzień świra" � uśmiejesz się zacnie. Podłub sobie w nosie albo między palcami u n�g, co tam lubisz***

Dear old man! Go to the bed. Cover yourself with the quilt. Read Katarzyna Grochola or another light criminal story. Sift mebla, yammy, yammy. Watch on video "Day of the fool" - you would laugh nicely. Dig in your nose or between the toes, whatever you like".

Raytan,

the priest in Germany was persecuted because he denied gays to get married in his church!

Here is the last example:

***Wyrzuć te starcze środki dopingowe, kt�rymi Cię szpikują jak byczk�w hodowanych na olimpiadę, żebyś m�gł przez godzinę ruszać nogą i mniej trząść ręką. Trują Cię przecież okrutnie i jesteś po tym podw�jny
kapeć. Nie r�b widowiska z ludzkiej agonii, powściągnij więc chętkę, żeby paść na stanowisku. Choruj z godnością, gasnący starcze, albo kończ waść, wstydu oszczędź.***

Throw away these old men's drugs, which they give you like for the bulls trained to the olympic games, so that you can move your leg for one hour and do not shake your hand that much.

They poison you terribly and you are the double dummy after that. Do not do a spectacle from the human agony, restrict your willingness to be knocked down on the stand. Be ill with dignity, extinquishing old man, or finish, save the shame.

that's a different issue.

if he'd been prosecuted for making fun of gays in his parish magazine you might have a point.

the fact is that if you believe in free speech you should not be in favour of making it illegal to make fun of the pope.

Raytan,

can you honestly say that Urban speech was just a "free speech" not the "hate speech"????!!!

Here is more:

Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson hit out Wednesday at Italy's nominee for EU justice commissioner as "sensationally lacking in judgement" for outspoken comments on women and homosexuals.
In European commission confirmation hearings, Rocco Buttiglione outraged some European Parliament members with views on homosexuality, which he called "a sin", and women, whose role, he suggested, was to have children and be protected by their husbands.
"I think this is sensationally lacking in judgement," Persson said of Buttiglione's comments, according to the Swedish news agency TT.
"I think it is strange, an expression of a point of view that obviously does not represent the European Union's opinion," he added.
http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/041013163124.qqn2xrm3

***A Swedish court has sentenced Ake Green, a pastor belonging to the Pentecostal movement, to a month in prison, under a law against incitement, after he was found guilty of having offended homosexuals in a sermon, according to Ecumenical News International.***
http://www.tinyvital.com/BlogArchives/000853.html

Raytan,

I do not understand. The minister goes to the prison because he said something against gays in the church but Urban - should be free, no any punishment, no any financial fee for saying vuulgarizms and offensive words against the pope????

Why gays are better than the pope?

Jaga - as you know urban makes fun of all sorts of people and says all sorts of vulgar things about them - he's been doing so for years. so why do you only object when he makes fun of the pope?

the pope is obviously important to you but that isn't the case for everyone.

he shouldn't be an exception.

how would you feel if somebody was prosecuted for making fun of george dubya bush?


re: Rocco Buttiglione

he was nominated for a position on the EU council which would have required him to ensure that women and homosexuals were not discriminated against. as he was clearly not in favour of equal rights for women or homosexuals it was ridiculous to propose that he should be appointed to such a position.

the swedish prime minister was not saying that Buttiglione's comments should be illegal - he was just pointing out how inappropriate it was for somebody to be given a job that would involve promoting the equality of the very people he was prejudiced against!


re: Ake Green

what exactly did he allegedly say? to lead to prosecution it would have to have been a lot more than just making fun of gays. I'd guess that he was advocating hate/violence etc against them which happens to be a crime.

in any case - what have gays got to do with this?
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Raytan

because there is a double standard - gays - you need to write always good about and the church - just the opposite.

Here below is more about gays controversy in the mail to Eric.