Thursday, September 20, 2012

Truth in Advertising

The American Freedom Defense Initiative, Pamela Geller's group, has won another round on behalf of free speech. Those subway ads are going to start appearing, at long last.

CNN carried the story:

A controversial advertisement that critics say is hateful toward Muslims will appear in New York City subway stations starting next week, despite the city's attempts to halt the campaign.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority initially rejected the ad, which reads: "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad."

The authority's decision was overturned last month when a federal judge ruled that the ad is protected speech under the First Amendment.

Jihad -- Arabic for "struggle" -- is considered a religious duty for Muslims, although there are peaceful and violent interpretations of what it means.

The American Freedom Defense Initiative, which produced the ad, has been fighting to place the message in New York's subway system since last year after the authority refused to display it.

"We don't think it's controversial," said Pamela Geller, the executive director of the American Freedom Defense Initiative. "It's truth. The MTA has run anti-Israel ads before and no one had an issue about it. 'Any war on innocent civilians is savagery': What's controversial here?"

Starting next week, the ads will be displayed in 10 of the city's more than 400 subway stations. The exact locations have not been selected by the transportation authority.

Geller said she had no qualms about releasing the message amid ongoing protests against an American-made anti-Islam film clip that led to the death of the U.S. ambassador to Libya last week.

"If it's not a film, it's a cartoon, it's always some event," Geller said. "I will not sacrifice my freedom."

She noted that other places such as San Francisco have had these ads appear on buses with disclaimers next to them.

Meanwhile, the usual suspects are decrying this "hate" speech:

"These hate ads are part of a larger problem," said Muneer Awad, executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations. "We're trying to make sure MTA has policies to discourage hate speech."

Awad wants to ensure that anyone seeing the ads next week are aware that the message is not sanctioned by the city of New York.

"It is a hate group paying for these advertisements; an avenue to promote hate speech," said Awad. "Millions of people will see this, we want to make sure they realize that it is not (promoted by) the city of New York."

"Discourage hate speech", eh? Where was this dude when America was being attacked with flaming hate speech in Cairo, hmmm?

Since CAIR has "American" in its title, they'd better get some tutoring on patriotism asap. Either that or drop the charade and adopt a more accurate brand: The Council on Islamic Relations.

Now that would be some truth in advertising for a change.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The only crime I see is foisting the allegation of "hate crime" on anyone. It is the cheapest, lowest and villest way of phrasing "shut up"! This is the essence of crimethought.

First off, someone out there still takes this organization, which is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case, as if it were some neutral observer arbitrating disputes. Instead of Council on Americal Islamic Relations, it serves as the "Co-conspirators for American Islamic Revisionism".

How dare the Authorities take them seriously and how dare they legislate on our consciousness? To ask that question is to answer it. This is not how tirannies begin; it is how tirannies are perpetuated. Once we start censuring our own thoughts, then the enslavers can finally rest their whip arm, as the mental whip takes hold in perpetuity. The slave-master becomes our own consciousness.

Yes there will always be hatred out there. It's a feeling. What next, criminalize "love"? How about "boredom"?

If the haters don't act on their hatreds, then OK. No harm done! I don't care if people hate one another as long as they don't go around storming embassies, slitting babies' throats and blowing up pizzarias for anything less than a bad anchovy. They may then start devoting their energies instead into making something out of themselves FOR themselves, instead of brooding with envy and resentment at perceived slights and injustices (e. g. the fabled "Palestinians").
If Hitler had never acted on his pet hatreds and insecurities he would have still be a loon and an anti-semite, but at least he wouldn't have the blood of millions on his hands. Tyrants are not stopped by hate laws, just as criminals are not deterred by gun control. Only decent citizens, who believe in individual liberty and the rule of law are constrained by those things. You can only use indecency as a weapon against decent people; and the wicked can only project their own immorality, indolence, barbarism and hipocrisy on the virtuous.


RUJV

Anonymous said...

The truth is not "offensive" to any morally sane, rational individual.