I got this email from one of my fans, that said, "Really wanna kill you!"
Just imagine if you had someone after you, for real ...
Had the opportunity to meet the esteemed writer, Salman Rushdie last night. As most people on this planet know, the Ayatollah Kohmeini of Iran issued a death warrant for Mr. Rushdie in 1989, on Valentine's Day (!). This was due to his book, "The Satanic Verses," a serious parody of militant Islam, and the subsequent "Fatwa," or death warrant, stirred up a huge international controversy. As a result, Mr. Rushdie had to go underground. As I understand, many other people surrounding the publication were killed, including a translator of the book, who was stabbed to death in Japan. But he survived ...
His kick these days is, appropriately, "Freedom Of Speech." He maintains that any open society does not burn books, censor books, or ban books. In his speech, he cautioned us all to look out for things like the Patriot Act, and the curtailing of our sacred (?) liberties, that We The People not fall prey to the fate of other (burp) totalitarian societies that went the way of the Buzzard. (No names, enter favourite boob dictator here ...) Are we ever vigilant?? Do we care about the rights of others?? I had the pleasure of speaking to him briefly about free speech, Eminem, and even Justin and Dave from the band New Model Army, whose names came up when he mentioned the town of Bradford, where NMA originated. Mr. Rushdie said that there was a personal connection for him to the town of Bradford.
It seems that when he was underground (including a stint of hiding in Bono's basement!) a film was produced in Pakistan about him. It did not shed a good light upon him, and was made, in some manner or form, by would-be hard core muslims. In the film, Salman was depicted as a crazed poet, with a flask of whiskey in one hand, and a whip in the other. He tortured a right-wing (?) dissident counter-spy, somewhere in his palacial mansion in the Phillipines.
"And you know," he said, "Every writer has one of THOSE ..."
Absurd. Then to REALLY torture this guy, they brought out "The Satanic Verses," and made him read. He cracked. I cracked UP, when I heard this ... In the film, Special Forces from the Israeli Army (?!!?) took the poor loser away and beat him some more. Mr. Rushdie could be heard cackling maniacally in the background. Then, in real life, the powerful English Film Commission, or some such body that issues permission to put films in theatres in the UK, was considering whether or not the film should be shown. They said no, partially out of the concern, he said, that Mr. Rushdie himself would be upset and sue the production. Instead, he wrote a letter (while still in hiding!) to say that the film should get granted the right to be shown, and that he would PROMISE not to sue anyone. Imagine that level of dedication. As a result, the film got shown, and had it's premiere in Bradford, West Yorkshire, a town with a considerable muslim population. It bombed. No one came. The film was weak. Mr. Rushdie let it be, and was a bigger man for it. Letting the people decide was the best way to sort out the good from the dogpoopie. If you REALLY believe in freedom, and want your Happymeal, you must accept the occasional stinker. On the power of it sucking alone, and with no lawyers or big tussle in the press, the film slinked away to an early grave. Mr Rushdie and freedom of speech are alive.
Let's keep it that way.
-Todd 007
(PS - John Ashcroft, will you marry me??)
Posted by calico at March 31, 2004 11:55 PM