Every once in a while, European courts get something right, and rule reasonably on a question of free speech, rather than radically overreaching in the name of tolerance. A Belgian court did so recently, declaring that Hergé’s Tintin in the Congo, one of his marvelous series of Tintin comic books, should not in fact be banned. The book has been criticized for decades for its caricatured portrayal of Congolese natives, which were of course unexceptional when the work was completed in the 1930s. The Guardian reports:
Documents from the court of first instance in Brussels show that it did not believe the 1946 edition of Tintin in the Congo was intended to incite racial hatred, a criteria when deciding if something breaks Belgium’s racism laws. The decision was issued late on Friday.
In 2007, Congolese campaigner Bienvenu Mbutu Mondondo launched legal proceedings to ban the book, arguing its portrayal of Africans was racist. “It is clear that neither the story, nor the fact that it has been put on sale, has a goal to … create an intimidating, hostile, degrading or humiliating environment,” the court said in its judgment. Mbutu’s lawyer said he planned to appeal. “Mr Mbutu will take this case as far as he can,” lawyer Ahmed L’Hedim said.
Common sense from a Belgian court? Wow! Maybe some hope for the world.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAnyone who has visited the D.R. Congo recently cannot have failed to notice that the Congolese were better dressed, more apparently prosperous and less generally ill-disposed back when Hergé drew them in 1931 than they are today.
Regarding this unusually-bordering-on-the-miraculously-sane Belgian court's ruling, one can only recall the words of Bob Seger: "Little victories...."
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt is vitally important that we squelch any and all offensive or potentially offensive documents, images, texts, and recordings of previous generations lest a single individual anywhere in the world run the risk of becoming offended now or in the future.
After all, once we sanitize the past, we won't have to teach our children how to cope. (That's Mr. Mbutu's goal, right? It's for the children?)
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm glad that the courts ruled correctly on this one, but I'm still in mourning for the fact that this comic can only be read because the courts say so. The mere fact that the case existed is not a good sign for Europe in the long run.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseZsuzsa,
I was thinking the same thing. So the book's okay because the court deemed that it was not meant to incite hatred?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"A criteria!" "A criteria?" Is no-one educated any more, even in England?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseReminds me of that play, Spinning Into Butter. A theme of the book is "Little Black Sambo" (which was not about Africans, but about East Indians) and how obsession with racism has us "spinning into butter" like the tigers in the Sambo story.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseEU courts follow fashion, not the law. Racism against black Africans is so last season!
Muslim is the new Black.
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