Sad Times Indeed

It's a sad indictment on Australia that Sheik Hilaly can't exercise his freedom of speech in expressing his views, without some hysterical (racist) reaction from the punters about deporting him from this country. To all those morons I say, he is an Australian citizen.

Please note, freedom of speech is not dependant on people liking the message. (I know people have a great problem with this proposition now a days)

I blame this on Howard, who has been using racism (the war on terror. citizenship requirements that are quasi white Australia policies) as a political tool - not to mention making a practise of deporting Australian citizens.

Just as an aside, the war on terror was created by the Christians when they invaded Iraq, don't forget that. But I digress.

Nothing the sheik has said is that new, or interesting, for that matter. Nothing he has said hasn't already been said by many, many other people through the ages.
Lets look at the two messages that come to mind.

1. Immodest women will be treated as nothing more than raw meat.
2. Immigrants have more of a right to this country than those who came here as criminals

• These are hardly new messages.
• For the first one, go back to any Christian pulpit predating the last twenty to thirty years any Sunday to hear that repeated ad infiniteum. Not to mention, it is what many parents say to their sixteen year old daughters, as they head out for the night on Saturday night.
• And the second, with the current hysteria surrounding tough-on-crime sentencing, I'd have thought it would have resonated with most of the punters. You know, criminals have no rights.

I don't agree with either proposition, but I will defend his right to express his opinion. And they are hardly revolutionary thoughts.

At least if he says it out in the open, (And he always has) those opinions can be challenged with differing points of view. Discussion and debate are created and, after all, that is a democracy. If we go with the stupid, lynch-mob mentality, he is still going to express those same views, but they will be expressed in private, with very little opportunity to express countering views. (As is the case with any censorship)
The people who are wailing for his head, are just as sad as any view he has expressed, may be sadder. (Step up all ye sad rat-faced receptionists and give the people your message. Oh you have no message to give? You just want to criticise from what you've read in the sensationalist press?)

All the while, the members of our in-every-way-but-in-name Christian Federal government are addressing fundamentalist Christian movements, Catch the Fires Fellowship (Don't I just wish that they would all burn) and Assemblies of God - imported directly from the great US of A to spread hate about anyone who thinks differently to them.

This government has over turned euthanasia laws, has quashed same sex unions in the ACT, has attempted to stop the abortion pill, has stopped abortion being made legal and has tried everything to stymie stemcell research. The only common thread to all of these decisions, Christian beliefs. We now even have Christian counsellors being deposited in Australian Schools.

Personally, I think Howard is a far more disgusting individual than Sheik Hilaly will ever be. At least the sheik is honest with what he thinks as he expresses it publicly, while Howard is underhand in spreading his Christian message, all the while demonising Muslims, fanning the smouldering hate in this country for his own political needs.
Wake up Australia!