A man could occupy moral high ground and preach from above – all day long -  but enough of that, let’s just appeal to common sense instead, a sense so common it is basic to all of the species known as homo sapiens….

I refer to the Lund Slave Auction Fallout

Also reported here : Artist avoids jail for ‘negro slave taunt’

Some weird discussions have followed in the wake of the mild sentence slapped on the artist (a $890 fine – $1,480 damages payable to the victim and a suspended jail sentence) for what he did :”created and distributed posters with a picture of  Jallow Momodou of the National Afro-Swedish Association (Afrosvenskarnas riksförbund) superimposed on the image of a naked man in chains.”Our negro slave has run away,” read the text on the posters.”

In fact the name of the victim is Momodou Jallow, not “Jallow Momodou”that’s just some more carelessness on the reporter’s part, otherwise everybody knows that Momodou is a very usual first name and that the names Momodou, Ahmadu, are derivatives of the name Muhammad.

Jallow is a usual surname, varying in spelling from Diallo in the ex-francophone colonies and rendered Jallow, Jalloh in ex- British West African colonies.

The Afrosvenskarnas riksförbund is a nationwide organisation of Africans in Sweden, in translation, Afro-Swedes Federation

For more information these links are in translation( English).The ASR is a kind of watchdog of African interests, including all the Africans and Afro-Vikings born and bred here.

Contrary to the impression that some highly voluble street amplifiers would like to give, Sweden is not a racist country, nor are the Swedish people intolerant people. In my opinion, the Swedes are among the very best on planet earth and planet earth includes all of the Middle East and Africa. It’s a wonderful country.

I read Punch (UK) from the time I was eleven years old till it closed. Am familiar with Private Eye , cherish satire as a genre. Loved even the more cynical Evelyn Waugh, from time to time have adored Paul Theroux…

There’s a point that I want to make here – in the face of some monomaniacal and from my point of view, views that are  both extremely stupid and racist: that in the name of freedom of speech someone has a right to impose a picture of anyone’s face (someone’s mother, father, daughter, son, member of parliament, royalty, a member of the local police force) – impose a photo of his/ her face over a  picture of  a naked body and set up posters of this person all over town , as a protest action – and all in the name of “Freedom of speech”.

That freedom of speech is so supreme that it supersedes any other value or consideration that holds society and nations together and that in the name of “freedom of speech” racist or Nazi Propaganda and neoNazi propaganda for example,  should be allowed to have a free reign in Sweden. That’s why we have laws about hets mot folkgrupp and Hate Speech - so that we don’t give birth to an even more absurd situation in which we give blessings to

Ku KLux KLan

groups running around & doing their thing in the name of “ freedom of expression”, here in Sweden

In short my view is that people do not have the right to use freedom of speech to commit crimes such as slander, defamation of character, what in Sweden is called “olaga hot” not to mention the violation of e.g. what’s known as the Official Secrets Acts in some countries.

I’ve followed David Horowitz work here for as long as it has existed.

There are ideals of free speech as advised by considering what is Lashon Hara , for example

Yesterday, this message popped up from Aminatta Forna, one of my favourite authors and my facebook friend:

“Literature can make the world a safer place because it provides a peaceful forum in which we can disagree. So please sign this petition. Here’s a word from Salman: “Here’s a petition some Indian writers / journalists / thinkers have started asking for The Satanic Verses to be unbanned in India. Please sign if you agree. (You don’t have to be Indian.)”

Remove ban against ‘The Satanic Verses’

www.ipetitions.com

This a request to unban Sir Salman Rushdie’s book, ‘The Satanic Verses’ in India. ‘The Satanic Verses’ is an epitome of free speech. Banning the book is as good as banning one’s right to have an opinion in the world’s largest democracy. For a long time, to appease vote banks, successive government…”

I read the Satanic Verses and all that Rushdie had written prior to that, before the Fatwa. I also followed and participated in some of the work carried on by Arne Ruth and the PEN club initiatives. The ban may well be lifted whether I sign the petiton or not,  it’s not dependent on me and I do not intend to sign the petition, for many reasons that I will not give now, but will probably get round to giving my own explanations one of these days… it shouldn’t take more than an hour or two to fully explain myself…..this was all written in a hurry, this morning. I haven’t had breakfast yet….

You must have noticed that I have not mentioned anti-Semitism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and homophobia.

Good to know about:

Racism in Sweden

Center Against Racism

More about the above

A paper doing good anti-racism work : EXPO

United We Stand

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