Episode 52: Je ne suis pas Charlie Hebdou - 03.24.15

In Episode 52 of “The Infectious Myth” David talks about freedom of speech. “Je ne suis pas Charlie Hebdou” (I am not Charlie Hebdou) but that doesn’t mean that he is in favor of terrorism either. Freedom of speech is a complicated issue, and despite all the rhetoric that followed the horrible massacre in January, the liberal west is not as open about freedom of speech as we’d like to think. We routinely censor hateful discussions against Jews and Blacks, because we saw where that led. But attacking muslims, who are a reviled minority with little power in most western countries, is fair game.

 

David also points out that suppression of speech extends to medical issues, particularly the HIV=AIDS dogma and vaccination. He ends with the discussion of the Dalhousie Dental students, who have been raked over the coals for vile sexist commentary on a private facebook group, commentary that nobody defended as freedom of speech, even though it occurred at about the same time as Charlie Hebdou.

 

But the good thing is that the university handled the situation, not by strict punishments, to make an example of the men, but by a process of restorative justice. Which, David believes, is how we should deal with each other rather than always trying to divide the world into good and evil.