THE GREAT OZ HAS SPOKEN

Reposted from 1/22/08, 4:48 PM - Wikipedia is currently blocked and I'm too steamed to rant coherently about it.

These days, attempt to visit YouTube in Turkey and you will see this message:

Bu siteye erişim mahkeme kararıyla engellenmiştir.

T.C. Ankara 12. Sulh Ceza Mahkemesi 17/01/2008 Tarih ve 2008/55 nolu kararı gereği bu siteye erişim engellenmiştir.

Access to this web site has been suspended in accordance with decision no: 2008/55 of T.R. Ankara 12th Criminal Court of Peace.

Speech is not free in Turkey. The public, for it's own good, is gagged in the name of the ideals of the state Effigy. This latest bit of totalitarianism may be stepping broadly over an ideological line in order to emphasize the need for legislative, constitutional change. Certainly, such a spectacular display of Inquisition-era thinking presents an opportunity for public discourse. But will it be whispered?

There was a time when the symbols of state spoke a clear message, but in modern Turkey the message is anything but clear. The President has garnered support from a segment of the population that appreciates the visibility of his head-scarf clad wife. Ultra-Nationalists rally around the flag as a totem of Turkish Ethnicity. Kemalists struggle to maintain a visceral association with the ideals of the National Visionary. Flags are everywhere, but have taken on the sharp tung of the McCarthy era question, 'What DO you believe?' -but without a clear indication of what the SAFE answer is. The message is neurotic: display your solidarity with US against THEM -only all the teams are wearing the same colours...

Everywhere, bearing whiteness, is the visage of Mustafa Kamel. He looks down on diners from a half-bust emerging from the wall, clad in bronze stands sentinel in parks and areas of commerce, and from a prominent place watches in black and white and oil paint over the shoulder of both the blue and the white collared as they toil. If he could speak from the grave, what would he say?

What would he be allowed to say?