Kevin Myers gets Steyned
Posted by judyw on July 18, 2008
Ann wrote about the Irish journalist Kevin Myers last week (Speaking the hard truth about Africa). He criticized western aid to Africa and had some harsh words to say about Africans. Now the Irish Times reports:
The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) is to make an official complaint to the Garda Síochána today about the publication of what it considers to be a racially offensive article that appeared in the Irish Independent last week.
The ICI said it believed the publication of the article, “ Africa is giving nothing to anyone – apart from AIDS”, which was written by columnist Kevin Myers and published last Thursday, breached Section 2 of the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989.
Section 2 of the Act says it is an offence to publish or distribute written material if it is threatening, abusive or insulting and intended to, or having regarding to all of the circumstances, is likely to, stir up hatred.
Myers is in double trouble:
The ICI said it also intends to lodge an official complaint about the article with the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism.
“We believe the published article does not just overstep the boundary of common decency – it triple jumps right past that – but it also crosses the legal boundaries,” said the council’s chief executive, Denise Charlton.
Naturally, this attack on free speech has nothing to do with free speech.
“The issue at stake here has nothing to do with freedom of speech or expression. It is about respect for, and the upholding of, Ireland’s laws.
“Journalism, like any other profession, operates within the framework of the rule of law in Ireland,” added Ms Charlton.
Let’s hope Myers’s plight attracts as much attention as Mark Steyn’s show trial with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
7 Responses to “Kevin Myers gets Steyned”
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Wall St. Journal: Aid to Africa an unmitigated disaster « Refugee Resettlement Watch said
[...] I wonder how Kevin Myers finally made out after the attacks on him, our coverage on Myers was here and here. [...]
judyw said
Here is a comment on the blog post linked in comment #5. It’s from Bryan Mukandi, possibly an African:
Mark is correct about the difference between Europe and America, but I don’t agree that the European attitude is justified by its history. The American attitude is that our Constitution protects saying hateful things; our legal system punishes acting on them. Only if hateful speech directly incites violence (as Hitler did) would it be banned. We have seen that allowing hateful speech to be banned leads to unpleasant speech being banned, which leads to anything that hurts somebody’s feelings being banned. This is the way of Europeans and American college campuses. It is not the way of our Founding Fathers and our tradition of robust debate.
Further, it is only hateful speech about *some* people that upsets Europeans. Say anything you want about Israel, Israelis, or even present-day Jews (the ones who did not die in the Holocaust), and you will get a free pass.
cearta.ie » Free Speech, even for Kevin Myers - Update said
[...] Mangan’s Miscellany | Nemozen | Old Atlantic Lighthouse | Refugee Resettlement Watch here and here | The Trooper’s Gal | Twisted One 151; update (20 July 2008): Stephen Spillane’s My [...]
Mark said
What the Europeans do in Europe in regard to their laws is not easily interpreted by Americans. We have a unique and singular focus on free speech, while the Europeans believe that this basic human right is best balanced with the rest of human rights. They saw their entire continent reduced to rubble after Hitler’s hate speech. He incited mass violence with free speech. That’s why countries like Germany also have a very different toleration as does the U.S. for cults and cult activity.
judyw said
I think a criterion for admission to the United States as a refugee or other immigrant should be to understand why laws banning offensive speech are unconstitutional here, and a willingness to live under our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
saheel said
Section 2 of the Act says it is an offence to publish or distribute written material if it is threatening, abusive or insulting and intended to, or having regarding to all of the circumstances, is likely to, stir up hatred.
This Law should be applied in all countries
Well done Mr.judyw
Wishing you a very successful life
Saheel
acorcoran said
Free speech even for Kevin Myers: http://www.cearta.ie/2008/07/free-speech-even-for-kevin-myers-update/