For those of us addicted to the genre here in the USA the answer is yes, but it is an easy call for us. We can call our president all manner of slurs, make fun of diplomats, politicians and their wives, hell even their kids. We can freely criticize religious leaders, religion, and expertly, or not so expertly, bash national policy, other bloggers, our neighbors, and our significant others, after which we can go on our merry way, with little fear of recourse.
Though there are probably a lot of bloggers each of us would like to muzzle, in the United States, unless we are slanderers, posting libelous content, or write on a subject in which we have known expertise — making our opinion in certain cases a basis for litigation — what we write is not going to land us in jail. (Though in Maryland it might get you put on a list of suspected terrorists)
With a few exceptions we aren’t really too worried about that knock at the door. They aren’t going to come and take us away for what we write. Not the case around the world where journalists, bloggers, and on line journalists sometimes face incarceration for what they report, draw, or opine about.
In December The Committee to Protect Journalist found the percent of jailed journalist that were “online” journalists had increased significantly.
Bloggers from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Iran, and Cuba, just to name a few, have been jailed or muzzled. Not even mentioning China here, a country whose crack-down on free speech is well known.
An Iranian blogger died in prison on March 18th. Thanks to Global Voices, where the story seemed to break, with follow up from Reporters without Borders and the recently reactivated Committee to Protect Bloggers, we heard about it quickly. The story was also picked up a day later by The Lede blog, in the NYT.
Iranian blogger Omidreza Mirsayafi was given a two year prison sentence in December for “insulting” Iranian religious leaders. By his own account he was a cultural blogger not a political blogger, he was incarcerated in Tehran’s “notorious Evin prison for insulting religious leaders”. How he died isn’t perfectly clear at this time, though the Iranian official version seems to be suicide, that seems to be in dispute.
For those of us who are not yet in fear of imprisonment for our thoughts, pictures and beliefs, may it always be that way. We should pay homage to, or at least consider, those who do this — thing we call blogging — at a greater risk to themselves than we will ever (hopefully) know.
He is one of us.
A blogger.
Here in the U.S., the price of being annoying may even be too low. We are lucky.
Doug’s last blog post..Sesame
Your right, I think the price of being annoying (here) is way too low, but as I’m on a budget I’m not complaining.
Glad to see you writing about this. It’s so under reported. We take our freedoms and liberties for granted way too much.
Chris’s last blog post..I Think Your’e Wrong
Yea, I’m surprised I haven’t read more on it.
I never think about those who can’t do this freely.
So far, except for a couple of instances, we are lucky.
To be able to say what you want, what you feel, is something I don’t want taken away.
I hadn’t heard of this Iranian blogger dying in prison, thanks for writing this.
casey’s last blog post..My Brackets, Done
Oh, you are so welcome Lacrosse boy.
I doubt I could ever be jailed for what I blog about, but it does make you realize how powerful one person’s ideas expressed intelligently can be. It also shows you how afraid people in power become when it comes to the distribution of ideas in direct opposition to them.
mojo shivers’s last blog post..Broken Ice Still Melts In The Sun, And Times That Are Broken Can Often Be One Again, We’re Soul Alone, And Soul Really Matters To Me
So far I haven’t seen anything that would get ou jailed but I’m going to keep my eye on you.
So my pro-incest short story wasn’t scandalous enough for you? LOL
Just you wait, Miss Cooper. I may surprise you yet.
mojo shivers’s last blog post..Broken Ice Still Melts In The Sun, And Times That Are Broken Can Often Be One Again, We’re Soul Alone, And Soul Really Matters To Me
This is a great post. I’ve been hearing a lot recently about the Iranian blogger who was imprisoned due to his blogging. In fact I was going to write a post about it myself! You are right — being able to express ourselves freely is such a privilege and we’re lucky to live in a country where our civil liberties are protected. It’s horrible that people are being treated so badly just for expressing themselves.
Akhila’s last blog post..In age of personal branding, are we losing authenticity?
I think it pays to keep informed on the goings on of others as we cheerily pen our posts.
Having a wife on that Maryland terrorist list I can’t imagine it being here like it is in other places. We should always be vigilant. Publicizing this kind of thing is important.
Thanks cooper.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen you post or disparage boyfriends or family, then again I probably wouldn’t have spent much time here if that was your main goal — though giving a peak now and them like you do is fun.
jacob’s last blog post..Doral Look Bleak for Tiger
You know what happened when Dorothy peaked behind the curtain, she was very disappointed.
We have incredible rights in this country that I can’t take for granted after the last years.
Once again, thanks for this post – and I do miss your mother posts but I can’t imagine you see her often now and that’s how good too
pia’s last blog post..End Game
No, my parents travel a lot for their jobs, they were considering moving back to this state as their permanent residence again but haven’t made that decision yet.… my mother has become a text messaging virtuoso though.
I saw this after my post so I went back and added it.
Here’s to appreciating our freedom, and keeping it that way, while staying aware of what is happening elsewhere.
johnm’s last blog post..meh
Exactly.
I don’t blog anything that would ever get me into trouble but at least I know I’m free to blog pretty much what I want. I hadn’t heard about this.
Even Germany has it’s pitfalls. The right to anonymous freedom of speech, especially in the Internet, blogs, etc. is not completely accepted. Technically, if you blog from a German domain you must have an “Impressum” — listing your name, address, contact data, etc. If you stand to receive an “Abmahnung” — cease and desist order from some ambulance chasing lawyer, one that you have to pay several thousand euros for the honor of receiving.