We are all against free speech

May 28, 2007

We are all against free speech

FAIR makes the obvious point that if a television channel participated in a military coup against an elected government in the US (or Canada, I'd say), its proprietors would be put in jail.

In this case, nothing like that is being proposed. It's a simple matter of revoking the broadcasting license of a channel that did in fact support a military coup against an elected government.

So now the BBC (among others) is saying that revoking a license to broadcast on publicly owned airwaves is a violation of freedom of speech. (Ok, ok. They're actually just quoting people saying that, and then spectacularly failing to provide any accurate background information.)

This wildly incoherent position means one of a few things:

1. We are, all of us, against freedom of speech;
2. Everyone should have access to broadcast on the airwaves, without restrictions;
3. The words "freedom of speech" mean something entirely different when uttered in the context of Venezuela;
4. The media admires Chavez so much, that they hold him to a higher standard than any other country in the world.

Take your pick.