Words and Politics
November 10th, 2007It was good to see the Venezuelan President told to shut up by the Spanish King. See, Chavez was referring to a democratically elected official as a “fascist” because he didn’t agree with their support of Bush. I don’t support Bush, either, but I’m far more opposed to this belief around the world that you can go around referring to people as fascists or communists or idiots just because you disagree with them. Life is nowhere near that simple and neither are politics. Take the “King” of Spain: in a lot of places, a King is fascism — a King is a disgrace, an enemy, an evil. But like with “terrorist” and “freedom” fighter there are distinctions, and since the Spanish King presides over a relatively peaceful, democratic society, he isnt a bad guy. Even “censorship” can be seen as an issue worth address: the King told Chavez to “shut up” but that’s not censorship: that’s, contextual courtesy. You don’t have the right or reason to be a loudmouth jerk and cut people off, sorry Mr. Chavez.