By Benjamin Wachs
It's just a matter of time before Fred Flintstone appears on America's Most Wanted, and nobody thinks it's ironic.
We're not that far off.
First there were the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him) that were used as an excuse for rioting across large swaths of the world.
Then it was the New Yorker Cover that sent Democrats into hysterics not seen since the publication of Freud's cold case file.
(Incidentally, the arch-conservative Weekly Standard published a parody cover of the New Yorker's parody cover that is, sadly, much funnier than the original).
And now an obscure Dutch cartoonist has been thrown in jail and is facing charges of creating insensitive cartoons after what authorities describe as a 3-year investigation.
I'm going to repeat that last part for emphasis: A 3-year investigation. Of a cartoonist. One can only imagine the forensic evidence. ("Imaginary tiger footprints lead us to believe Hobbs was involved. Also, does anybody understand this Far Side cartoon? Why are the cows funny?")
But most bizarre is this fact, as reported by the Wall Street Journal:
But the minister, a devout Christian, added fuel to a mounting political furor by revealing the existence of a previously secret bureaucratic body, called the Interdepartmental Working Group on Cartoons. Officials later explained that the cartoon group had no censorship duties and had been set up after the 2006 Danish cartoon crisis to alert Dutch officials to any risks the Netherlands might face. ... Headed by a senior bureaucrat from a national agency coordinating counterterrorism, it draws from the intelligence service, the interior minister, the prosecutor's office and various other government bodies.
The national agency in charge of counter-terrorism is heading a secret multi-agency task force on potentially dangerous CARTOONS? What is up with the Netherlands? Have they run out of shit to legalize?
This is nothing to feel smug about, though: this is a trend. The littlest things are setting us off. Just this summer in SF we've had talk about arresting artists if they mistreated animals. That, I'll grant, has more justification than going after cartoons (Family Circus: you're on my list!), but it showed a hair trigger, and local reaction to the New Yorker cover clearly reinforced the observation that there's a whole lot of people around these parts who wouldn't mind a lot more censorship.
Back in 2001, Ari Fliescher said Americans needed to "watch what they say" ... and that was in response to a comedian. I'm terrified that these sentiments are creeping through both sides of the political aisle.
If they are, the present trend suggests the match that burns the first amendment away is likely to struck be over something very very stupid indeed. Free speech will end not with a bang but with a whine.
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