Two high profile freedom of speech cases are unfolding these days, the one of the Pussy Riot sentencing in Moscow and the granting by Ecuador of political asylum to Julian Assange. I would argue that both cases are in many ways if not similar, then at least comparable to each other. After all, in both cases we have college drop-outs breaking the laws of major power and in both cases the offenders have become something of a symbol of resistance to the power of the state and the right to free speech. There are also some very important differences between these two cases, crucial ones, I would argue, which would also make it reasonable to view these cases as not similar, but rather polar opposites.
So in order to organize this issue in my mind, I decided to make a little table comparing and contrasting the Pussy Riot and Julian Assange cases. This is, of course, hardly an exhaustive comparison. Think of it rather as a “back of the napkin” kind of quick review:
And yet, looking at this table, I find myself wondering how a Russian “performance group” (that is what they call themselves) like Pussy Riot became the almost instant mega-hero of so many Western public figures. Do you think that I am exaggerating? Then check out this list of Pussy Riot supporters I found on Wikipedia:
Kate Nash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Cornershop, Faith No More, Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, Patti Smith, The Beastie Boys, Refused, Zola Jesus, Die Antwoord, Jarvis Cocker, Pete Townshend, The Joy Formidable, Peaches, Madonna, Genesis, Tegan and Sara, Johnny Marr, Courtney Love, Iiro Rantala, Propagandhi, Anti-Flag, Rise Against, Corinne Bailey Rae, Peter Hammill, Kathleen Hanna, Björk, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, British comedian Stephen Fry, Reykjavík Mayor Jón Gnarr and Warren Kinsella. A letter of support from 120 members of the German parliament, the Bundestag, was sent to the Russian Ambassador to Germany, Vladimir Grinin. The letter referred to proceedings against the women as being disproportionate and draconian. On August 9, 2012, 400 Pussy Riot supporters in Berlin marched wearing colored balaclavas in a show of support for the group.
To this, I would add the very intensive and, frankly, totally over-the-top coverage of the Western corporate media of the Pussy Riot trial.
Amazing, no? Could it be due to the quality of actual “musical performance” (called “punk prayer”) which got these ladies arrested? Well, judge for yourself:
And to get a full “appreciation” for their artistic “talent”, here is the translation of the lyrics:
St. Maria, Virgin, Drive away Putin
Drive away! Drive away Putin!
Black robe, golden epaulettes
All parishioners are crawling and bowing
The ghost of freedom is in heaven
Gay pride sent to Siberia in chains
The head of the KGB is their chief saint
Leads protesters to prison under escort
In order not to offend the Holy
Women have to give birth and to love
Holy shit, shit, Lord’s shit!
Holy shit, shit, Lord’s shit!
St. Maria, Virgin, become a feminist
Become a feminist, Become a feminist
Church praises the rotten dictators
The cross-bearer procession of black limousines
In school you are going to meet with a teacher-preacher
Go to class – bring him money!
Patriarch Gundyaev believes in Putin
Bitch, you better believed in God
Belt of the Virgin is no substitute for mass-meetings
In protest of our Ever-Virgin Mary!
St. Maria, Virgin, Drive away Putin
Drive away! Drive away Putin!
While I cannot disagree with some of the ideas contained in this screed (the Moscow Patriarchate is, indeed, both highly corrupted and totally controlled by the Kremlin, and “Patriarch” Gudaev is a scoundrel and crook of the worst kind), it is rather obvious to me that the real intention of this performance is not to denounce any wrongs, but to achieve a maximum shock effect. In fact, the Pussy Riot collective is nothing but the latest re-packaging of the infamous “Voina” (“war” in Russian) performance group which became famous by such “events” as organizing group sex flash mobs in public museums or having sex with a frozen chicken in a supermarket. You probably think that I am jocking, right? Nope, and to prove this, I am (reluctantly) posting these (deliberately small sized) photos of these “events” here. And if you think that I am exaggerating something, you can click on these photos for a better view of these “events” or you can even follow the following links for a full series of large, non-pixellated, and rather nauseating photographs:
If the first of these events was supposed to be some kind of statement about (then) President Medvedev, the second one – entitled “why was the chicken f*cked” and “tale about how the c*nt fed the war” – did not even carry some vague message of any kind.
It is rather obvious these ladies, whether packaged as “Pussy Riot” or as “Voina”, have no other message and no other purpose than to offend, disgust or shock. Their sole stroke of genius was to add to their usual sex-centered “performances” an anti-Putin and anti-Orthodox message. Here, they really struck gold as that got them an overnight hero status in the West. And that, in turn, says much more about the West, than about these sexually frustrated and otherwise dysfunctional women.
Indeed, while the western elites are lining up behind Pussy Riot, a putatively civilized western country like the UK is acting like some kind of comic-book Nazi regime, writing threat letters to a sovereign country like Ecuador:
For all the diplomatic verbiage wrapped around it, this is a crude, mobster like, letter of blackmail. Furthermore, and as I already mentioned in my commentary yesterday, there is absolutely no precedent in recent history to the kind of behavior shown by the UK in this matter. In fact, ALL of the Assange case is one never ending exercise in bending and abusing the law for the purpose of persecuting Assange: from the ridiculous allegations of non-protected sex, to the Interpol Red Notice, to the categorical refusal of the Swedish prosecutors to interview Assange in the UK, to the British refusal to give any guarantees of non-extradition and, finally, the the British threats to storm the Ecuadorian embassy – its all totally without precedent.
Compare that, again, to the case of the Pussy Riot prosecution in Russia which is very much in line, or even less severe, than what is considered the norm in most western countries (check this excellent and detailed legal analysis by Alexander Mercouris for more info).
It is true that what is at the core of both issues is free speech. It does not matter whether speech is intended to be political or in support of some noble ideal, or whether free is used to offend, insult or shock. Speech is speech regardless. However, why is it that the western elites do not support all forms of hate-speech like they do support Pussy Riot’s?
Would anybody seriously suggest that if these ladies had organized their performance in, say, a French synagogue, the western elites would all rise up in their defense? Of course not. So what is going on here?
Furthermore, speech is not the same as opinion. If, at least in theory, western societies do not limit the expression of opinion, they all limit the freedom of speech be it for national security reasons, repression of hate crimes, liable laws, etc.
So let’s cut through the crap here and set the record straight: the West’s support for Pussy Riot is not due to to their opinions about Putin or the Moscow Patriarchate (such opinions can – and are – frequently and freely expressed in Russia), and neither is it due to some unconditional support for free speech, which the West also restricts (much more so than Russia, I would argue).
The sad truth is that the West’s support for Pussy Riot is, in reality, nothing more than yet another expression of its rabid hatred for anything Russian or Russian Orthodox. And if that means erecting a small group of sexually dysfunctional women into a banner for freedom, so be it!And that if that also means looking away from the obscene and outrageous persecution of a real hero for freedom like Julian Assange by the US Empire and its vassals – then so be it also!
In a paradoxical way, Pussy Riot are a perfect symbol of what the West stands for, just as Julian Assange has become a symbol for what Russia – and all the other nations on earth which refuse to submit to the US Empire – stand for.
I see some poetic justice here, a form of karma, really. The modern, post-Christian, pagan, West, with all its boundless hypocrisy and arrogance, has sunk to a gutter level of ideological warfare, openly supporting the sick and pathological and persecuting the noble and courageous. I also find it quite beautiful that a small country like Ecuador has dared to do that which all the otherwise self-enamored countries of Europe could not: show some true courage, dignity and self-respect.
Truly – to each his own hero and his own villain.
Epilogue (provisional):
So Pussy Riot got themselves two years in jail. I would have preferred that they be given 5 years of community service (you know, actually doing something halfway productive for their fellow Russians), but that would immediately turn into yet another media circus, so I guess the judge made a good call.
As for Assange, his future will depend on the courage, or lack thereof, of the rest of the Latin American countries. Ecuador cannot, by itself, prevail in a contest of wills against Uncle Sam’s Poodle, but if this case sufficiently polarizes the public opinion in Latin America, the resulting public outrage might have some financial consequences for the UK and that might well force it to find some civilized and mutually acceptable solution to this embarrassing situation. It would be nice if Russia or China also helped, but I am not holding my breath here – these two are not known for their altruism.
One more thing:
I apologize to anybody offended by the crude photos I posted today. First, I assume that we are all adults here, but more importantly, and just like in my two articles about the “homo-lobby” (here and here), I feel that it is important to show things for what they really are and not just stick to abstract concepts. It is one thing to discuss “sexual diversity” or “freedom of speech” and quite another to see a half-naked “man” with feathers or a woman publicly sticking a frozen chicken into her vagina. A crude, disgusting, pathological and grotesque reality needs to be shown for what it is, and not for what its supporters want it to be.
PPS: Here is the Ukrainian version of support for Pussy Riot:
Topless Protester Cuts Down Cross in Kiev
Activists from the Ukrainian feminist group Femen cut down a wooden crucifix in the center of the country’s capital, Kiev, on Friday in support of members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot whose trial on hooliganism charges comes to an end today.
A video posted online showed a topless blond Femen protester wearing red shorts, with the words “Free Riot” scrawled across her chest and arms, cutting the cross with a chainsaw and then pulling it down using a rope pulled by two other activists, and then posing with her arms extended crucifix-style.
The cross was put up on a high hill near Kiev’s downtown Independence Square during the 2004 pro-democracy Orange Revolution to commemorate the victims of political repression under Joseph Stalin.
“By this act, Femen is calling on all the healthy forces of our society to mercilessly cut out of our brains the rotten religious prejudices which dictatorships rely upon and which prevent the development of democracy and women’s freedom,” the Segodnya daily quoted the activists as saying.
A good comparison with Assange case is of Operation Storm and KLA commander Agim Ceku, a wanted Interpol criminal travelling around numerous countries only to be held and released allegedly with pressure from the US, Britain and France who Serbia wants or wanted extradition to Serbia to face war crimes charges.
There is also the case in Finland of pastor Juha Molari who faced charges of inciting ethnic hatred by protesting the operation of the Chechen terrorist website KavakCenter by Finnish businessman Mikael Storsjo who himself faced death threats and was expelled from the Lutheran church in Finland before moving to Russia and converting to Russian Orthodoxy.
The Pussy Riot affair will be a PR disaster for Russia in the West but that’s just too bad. The case will quite possibly be appealed to Strasbourg under Article 10 right of free expression so the girls may not serve their full sentence. Anyway just to be cynical their stunt has made them international celebrities so when they get out they can form a band and tour the West doubtless they will make a lot of money.
Assange on the other hand has a bleak future. Either he remaind imprisoned in the Ecuadorean embassy indefinitely or he will be arrested as soon as he steps outside the building and sent to Sweden.
As far as I know the US has not made any extradition request for Assange and in any case the disgraceful unequal extradition treaty between the UK and US meand that it would be easier to extradite him from the UK than Sweden if the US wanted to.
If he’s convicted of rape that will destroy his reputation and the Empire will be happy with the result.
I agree with you almost with everything. But I wonder why you said that Assange is supported by the Russian government, as he also released some embarassing information about Russia. Also, what Western elites support him? It seems to me that he is supported mostly by public opinion. About Pussy Riot, it would have been better if the church had said that they want no criminal prosecution against them, and the court gave a suspended sentence. It would have been better if the less ws said and done about this sad event. Then I read this interesting piece, see the first article by Kommersant: http://en.rian.ru/papers/20120817/175278943.html The “nightmarish” forecast from Ponomaryov would be the best that could even happen to Russia. But unfortunately it is very unlikely.
Or, better, Iceland. Clearly, he did not see the storm coming, but then, who could blame him? Having to ask Ecuador for political asylum because of an accusation of unprotected sex? It’s too crazy to be real, and yet….
@Robert:Assange on the other hand has a bleak future.
I am not so sure at all. First, I don’t know how long the Poodle and the Empire can stand being in the ridiculous role they are stuck in right now and, second, I want to hope that there might be a way to sneak Assange out of there. I can think of one country which could help: Russia.
@Carlo:But I wonder why you said that Assange is supported by the Russian government?
Because I do not believe that the decision to give him his own show on Russia Today could have been taken without the Russian government agreeing to it.
what Western elites support him?
Compared to Pussy Riot, very few, of course, but they exist. He got quite a few actors and personalities to support him (and Wikileaks) too. I don’t think that it would be fair to say that the western elites only support Pussy Riot, some also gave their support to Assange, Wikileans, Bradley Manning, etc.
But yes, the main support Assange has is, of course, the western public opinion who, of course, sees through all that propaganda.
Even the “Assange is a CIA agent and Wikileaks is an Israeli disinformation operation” people are gradually (and finally!) shutting up with that nonsense.
My bet is that, with time, Assange’s popularity will only go up, and up and up…
Sorry I meant Iceland not Finland (that the globalists have major influence) given Wikileaks already has connections there, has bad blood with Britain over the banking scandal, its close proximity to Britain and overtly supports Tibetan groups so it would be hypocritical of them not support Assange.
Is the USA concerned pussy rot will be deported to the NGO’s homeland ? The US Congress and the man who occupies the Oval Office have conspired to restrict free speech with the passage and signing into law H.R. 347. HR 347 makes it a federal offense of up to 10 years in prison to protest near “any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area” such as….or a building or grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance.” :)
On the Pussy Riot business my view is these women deliberately set out to provoke the authorities into overeacting in order to raise their profile and become martyrs for the opposition to Putin. When they come out they will have succeeded in becoming international celebrities and can take their band on a tour of the West where they will be received with open arms by the music industry and the media as heroic dissidents who stood up against the tyrant Putin. This incident has given the opposition an issue and a symbol to unite around. They will all be wearing their balaclavas at the next mass demonstration in the autumn. Three highly offensive and utterly talentless members of a punk band unknown to anyone outside the bohemian fringe of Moscow now have a lucrative and glittering career ahead of them. It’s all worked out very nicely for them.
The authorities should have resisted being provoked into playing their game and called for no more than a thumping fine and community service. Given the media bias in the West against Putin they and their allies in the liberal opposition were going to make hay with this from the moment the women were charged.
Best case scenario would be if Putin exercised clemency and pardoned them before the case is appealed to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. If I were their lawyers I would appeal under Article 10 right of free expression thereby keeping the issue in the public eye.
Mercouris believes that the way the girls defence lawyers handled the case was detrimental to their clients interests and was always likely to lead to a longer sentence. I suspect that they were trying to politicise the case for maximum affect right from the start and didn’t care whether this would lead to a longer sentence and its quite likely the girls were in full agreement with this strategy. It’s worked very well for them.
I’m no fan of hate crime legislation, but what Pussy Riot did is clearly a hate crime. If some Russian skinheads or former members of the Slavic Union held an impromtu concert where they descrated a synagogue they would serve at least as long a sentence.
Why even the USA extradited two British citizens to the UK for republishing a Robert Crumb cartoon titeld ‘When the G**Damn Jews Take Over America’. For publishing a cartoon on a website they are serving four years in jail.
And don’t get me started on the likes of Robert Faurisson, GermarRudolf, or David Irving!
In fact, Assange has aligned himeself with Pussy Riot, saying in his Ecuador Embassy speech in London that the Russian singers were making a political statement.
Why didn’t Assange choose Finland?
A good comparison with Assange case is of Operation Storm and KLA commander Agim Ceku, a wanted Interpol criminal travelling around numerous countries only to be held and released allegedly with pressure from the US, Britain and France who Serbia wants or wanted extradition to Serbia to face war crimes charges.
http://de-construct.net/?p=6848
There is also the case in Finland of pastor Juha Molari who faced charges of inciting ethnic hatred by protesting the operation of the Chechen terrorist website KavakCenter by Finnish businessman Mikael Storsjo who himself faced death threats and was expelled from the Lutheran church in Finland before moving to Russia and converting to Russian Orthodoxy.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/84302/thread/1302371710/Finnish+terror+state+prosecutes+anti-terrorist+religious+fighter+pastor+Juha+Molari
http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=8377
The Pussy Riot affair will be a PR disaster for Russia in the West but that’s just too bad. The case will quite possibly be appealed to Strasbourg under Article 10 right of free expression so the girls may not serve their full sentence. Anyway just to be cynical their stunt has made them international celebrities so when they get out they can form a band and tour the West doubtless they will make a lot of money.
Assange on the other hand has a bleak future. Either he remaind imprisoned in the Ecuadorean embassy indefinitely or he will be arrested as soon as he steps outside the building and sent to Sweden.
As far as I know the US has not made any extradition request for Assange and in any case the disgraceful unequal extradition treaty between the UK and US meand that it would be easier to extradite him from the UK than Sweden if the US wanted to.
If he’s convicted of rape that will destroy his reputation and the Empire will be happy with the result.
I agree with you almost with everything. But I wonder why you said that Assange is supported by the Russian government, as he also released some embarassing information about Russia. Also, what Western elites support him? It seems to me that he is supported mostly by public opinion.
About Pussy Riot, it would have been better if the church had said that they want no criminal prosecution against them, and the court gave a suspended sentence. It would have been better if the less ws said and done about this sad event.
Then I read this interesting piece, see the first article by Kommersant:
http://en.rian.ru/papers/20120817/175278943.html
The “nightmarish” forecast from Ponomaryov would be the best that could even happen to Russia. But unfortunately it is very unlikely.
@jack:Why didn’t Assange choose Finland?
Or, better, Iceland. Clearly, he did not see the storm coming, but then, who could blame him? Having to ask Ecuador for political asylum because of an accusation of unprotected sex? It’s too crazy to be real, and yet….
@Robert:Assange on the other hand has a bleak future.
I am not so sure at all. First, I don’t know how long the Poodle and the Empire can stand being in the ridiculous role they are stuck in right now and, second, I want to hope that there might be a way to sneak Assange out of there. I can think of one country which could help: Russia.
@Carlo:But I wonder why you said that Assange is supported by the Russian government?
Because I do not believe that the decision to give him his own show on Russia Today could have been taken without the Russian government agreeing to it.
what Western elites support him?
Compared to Pussy Riot, very few, of course, but they exist. He got quite a few actors and personalities to support him (and Wikileaks) too. I don’t think that it would be fair to say that the western elites only support Pussy Riot, some also gave their support to Assange, Wikileans, Bradley Manning, etc.
But yes, the main support Assange has is, of course, the western public opinion who, of course, sees through all that propaganda.
Even the “Assange is a CIA agent and Wikileaks is an Israeli disinformation operation” people are gradually (and finally!) shutting up with that nonsense.
My bet is that, with time, Assange’s popularity will only go up, and up and up…
@VINEYARDSAKER:
Sorry I meant Iceland not Finland (that the globalists have major influence) given Wikileaks already has connections there, has bad blood with Britain over the banking scandal, its close proximity to Britain and overtly supports Tibetan groups so it would be hypocritical of them not support Assange.
Is the USA concerned pussy rot will be deported to the NGO’s homeland ? The US Congress and the man who occupies the Oval Office have conspired to restrict free speech with the passage and signing into law H.R. 347. HR 347 makes it a federal offense of up to 10 years in prison to protest near “any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area” such as….or a building or grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance.” :)
On the Pussy Riot business my view is these women deliberately set out to provoke the authorities into overeacting in order to raise their profile and become martyrs for the opposition to Putin. When they come out they will have succeeded in becoming international celebrities and can take their band on a tour of the West where they will be received with open arms by the music industry and the media as heroic dissidents who stood up against the tyrant Putin. This incident has given the opposition an issue and a symbol to unite around. They will all be wearing their balaclavas at the next mass demonstration in the autumn. Three highly offensive and utterly talentless members of a punk band unknown to anyone outside the bohemian fringe of Moscow now have a lucrative and glittering career ahead of them. It’s all worked out very nicely for them.
The authorities should have resisted being provoked into playing their game and called for no more than a thumping fine and community service. Given the media bias in the West against Putin they and their allies in the liberal opposition were going to make hay with this from the moment the women were charged.
Best case scenario would be if Putin exercised clemency and pardoned them before the case is appealed to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. If I were their lawyers I would appeal under Article 10 right of free expression thereby keeping the issue in the public eye.
Mercouris believes that the way the girls defence lawyers handled the case was detrimental to their clients interests and was always likely to lead to a longer sentence. I suspect that they were trying to politicise the case for maximum affect right from the start and didn’t care whether this would lead to a longer sentence and its quite likely the girls were in full agreement with this strategy. It’s worked very well for them.
I’m no fan of hate crime legislation, but what Pussy Riot did is clearly a hate crime. If some Russian skinheads or former members of the Slavic Union held an impromtu concert where they descrated a synagogue they would serve at least as long a sentence.
Why even the USA extradited two British citizens to the UK for republishing a Robert Crumb cartoon titeld ‘When the G**Damn Jews Take Over America’. For publishing a cartoon on a website they are serving four years in jail.
And don’t get me started on the likes of Robert Faurisson, GermarRudolf, or David Irving!
In fact, Assange has aligned himeself with Pussy Riot, saying in his Ecuador Embassy speech in London that the Russian singers were making a political statement.
True alas. First, to err is human and, second, since he now has a show on RT he probably needs to show independence I suppose. But you are right, alas