Free speech and opinionated whackos

It is possibly our greatest freedom.

Our right to free speech is something that most Canadians take for granted. Most people in the world have very little of it, if any. Even a relatively innocuous headline like "Inexperienced PM
spoke too soon" in the Toronto Sun referring to our own controversial head of state would have little chance of getting into print in China, Syria or Zimbabwe.

Since there is a perception of (private) media concentration in this country (in contrast to the publicly-funded and left-friendly CBC) some take it upon themselves to express their views in more untraditional mediums.

Lately, the "conspiracy truck" has been making its way around Vancouver (See it pictured above). I discovered it parked (presumably on purpose) near the old First World War memorial outside of the old train station in Gastown.

Actually, all of the ideas (eg. "The White House pre-9-11 planning of the illegal Iraqi invasion due to the looming peak oil crisis") plastered on the van are pretty well-known and powerful indictments in a web of "US-Zionist-Rich Racist Jerks" conspiracy theory. Marginalized people often feel like they have to get out these ideas into the public using "alternative media", as the mainstream media simply won't report it (since they are in the pocket of the original racist imperialist elites, of course).

Of course, in a country with freedom of expression and universal literacy, it may just be possible that our mainstream media doesn't dwell on stories about the great conspiracy of our time because, well, a lot of it is bunk.

In a country with free speech country, a truck plastered with cherry-picked facts and slogans can be no less free of the charge of propaganda than the slick news anchor laying out the evening news.

tags: peacenik, right wing propaganda, left wing propaganda, media bias