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| PETA hates him, another great reason to buy Galliano |
A few days ago I was in Tria one of our local malls here in the city of Burgas. Among all the restaurants, cafes, jewelers, and stores offering the latest in Eastern European fashion, I came across a store selling a dress I really liked. The dress was sort of a yellowish color which had a newsprint superimposed on it. It was also made of silk. The dress had a low plunging drape style neckline I really love. The dress was made by flamboyant yet genius designer John Galliano.
Of course seeing this dress, I really loved it and went to try it on. The front of the dress was absolutely fantastic, plus I have a pair of Jimmy Choo's that would look great against the print. However, when I looked at the back of the dress, I was under impressed with the way this dress sat. This factor coupled with the cost, I opted not to buy the dress. However, I was left with the feeling I should have bought it and taken it in for tailoring. There is still time to do so. In the end, I will probably wind up buying the dress and taking it to a tailor.
No, this blog is not going to be about me yammering on about some dress that I should or should not buy. If you wanted to hear about this subject, you could just as easily strike up a conversation with your wife or daughter then wait for your eyes to glaze over. I am simply setting the mood for what I really want to talk about, FREEDOM OF SPEECH!
Many people back in the US, really don't think too much about freedom of speech. I guess it is one of those things like money, if you got it, its just not something you talk about much and you assume everyone else has it too. However, the reality is much different. Most countries do not have freedom of speech enshrined as a right to citizens. Many developed western nations pretend to have free speech. Yet, these same countries have laws against so called "hate speech" that are punishable by criminal prosecution! Prosecution that is punishable by fines and incarceration.
Fortunately for me, considering I am a tad uncouth and many times offensive, Bulgaria, a former communist country, where in the past you could simply "vanish" for saying the wrong thing, now enjoys the same free speech that we have back home in the US, yet, most of Europe has laws against. Viva Bulgaria! :-D
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| Similar to the dress I mentioned |
Fortunately, the judge in Galliano's case, just handed out a token sentence. The French court gave him a suspended fine of 6,000 euros ( about $8,415) but he was not sentenced to jail time. The victims (if you can call them that) were awarded one symbolic euro each. Yes, I know what you are thinking because I am thinking it also, "hands across France, justice was served by making this man who is a millionaire, with his bad words, pay a whole euro to each of these victims. What a waste of government money!" LOL
All jokes about this stupid sentence aside, Galliano could have had the book thrown at him! A first offense of hate speech in France is punishable by a maximum of six months in jail and a fine of 22,500 euros ($32,410). A side from that, this guy now has a criminal record in France because of this conviction. Now, Galliano, because he used some awful and unpopular words, now shares the likes of a thief, batterer, or even a rapist.
I am not saying I think it is a good thing to go around saying hateful things to people. Hell, John Galliano was fired from Christian Dior for saying these things. Which is fine, if Dior doesn't want an anti-Semite representing their brand, then they shouldn't have him on their team. I also think people are just in shunning someone who says things like this, that's perfectly fine also. Plus, there is also the option of boycotting Galliano completely based on these terrible statements. However, criminalizing these statements, or any statements, is just madness!
Plus, there is a little thing I would like to call "person responsibility" of the so called victim. If someone is making offensive statements in a place like a cafe, you can always ask the manager to tell the offender to leave. If the manager does not, then leave the cafe and do not pay the check. Why would you stay in an establishment only to listen to awful words you find offensive? This is something I never understood.
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| Free speech is so last season in Europe! |
Galliano is not the only person who has been convicted of such non-sense. Like for instance, Brigitte Bardot, has been charged with the same thing and convicted 5 times! Each time she received a fine, the last fine alone was 15,000 euros ($20,837). Also, France is not the only country in Europe that has laws against hate speech. Laws against this type of speech in Europe exist in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. This is even failing to mention the countries that also have laws against denying the holocaust and ban books like Mein Kampf. Plus, The European Union's Framework decision on Racism and Xenophobia states that all of these things "should be crimes in EU member states"!
Things always start out with good intentions, like making laws against certain types of speech so someone's feelings don't get hurt. However, the road to hell is paved with good intentions too.
