January 04, 2016

"Let them eat cake"

One of the huge problems that arise when the government passes laws criminalizing "hate speech" is that such laws are quickly used to imprison people who express views the government doesn't like. 

Germany has a similar law: Volksverhetzung – defined as "agitation of the people towards violence."
And one woman in Germany is facing such a charge, for making “prayer suggestions” on Germany’s Day of Unity.

Interesting:  The Koran calls on Muslims to kill non-Muslims, but this is not considered "agitation of the people towards violence."  But "prayer suggestions"--none of which were pro-violence--bring down the full weight of the mighty State.  And of course most Germans--as most Europeans--simply shrug.  What else can they do?  There, as here, politicians do as they please, without regard for how their decisions affect "ordinary" citizens.

There's a word for that philosophy, but I can't quite recall it now.  But it reminds me of a former queen of France--Marie Antoinette--who is reported to have similarly dismissed the misery of the common folk with the derisive sneer, "Let them eat cake."  Shortly thereafter the common folk threw her superior ass on the guillotine and separated her superior head from her neck.

But of course we're way, way more tolerant of imperial abuse now than back in Marie's day.

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