Jesus would be proud.

I don’t know how you could dare even publish these kinds of threats. This is a serious threat, Daphne, I would take this post to the police. This guy isn’t messing.

[Daphne – Do you know his parents? I don’t. I don’t even know who he is.]

Freedom does not come at another person’s expense. I do not tolerate shit from people and sadly, we Maltese tolerate too much shit for our own good. [Daphne – That’s because our definition of what constitutes shit is a lot wider than that of much older democracies.]

“You asked where the limit is. I would say burning people at the stake and arresting them because they laughed at something you hold dear, or criticised it.”

Oh, I see. You’ll be surprised to know that I’ve haven’t smelled any roasted humans lately. [Daphne – No, and it’s not thanks to the Catholic Church, but to those who opposed it. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761571679/age_of_enlightenment.html ]

I strictly do not agree with you. Do you not have right to mock another’s religion. Maybe next year we should dress up as your mother and we’ll see if you’ll enjoy it. This has nothing to do with sharia mentality and the rubbish you mentioned. It has to do with respect. Where is the limit?

[Daphne – You’re free not to agree with me. In case you hadn’t noticed, this is an argument for free speech, and not an argument against it. That’s why I upload your remarks, even though I don’t agree with them and think they are very poorly made. You would have a hard time dressing up as my mother, given that she does not wear a recognisable costume. And in any case, she would be the first to laugh. You asked where the limit is. I would say burning people at the stake and arresting them because they laughed at something you hold dear, or criticised it.]

I accept the invitation and here is my piece – Mr Apap Bologna you have a right to an opinion but you have no right to presume that you speak on behalf of anyone let alone “the people”. When you have the skill and the insight that enables you to write interesting opinion columns in the newspaper, then people will perhaps care about your opinion. Since, judging from the quality of your letter, clearly you lack both, the fact is that people don’t give a damn about your opinion.

On the serious side, though, I must express my concern about the way that some people in high positions have been acting in the recent past. Ever since we joined the EU, we seem to have become a more medieval country (where religious issues are concerned). In the space of a few weeks, we had the banning of Stitching and now this over-reaction to carnival. [Daphne – It’s because people feel threatened as a result of being exposed to the ‘width’ of the EU. They retreat, and begin to look inwards and backwards, talking about tradition and nit-picking about ‘morals’.] By the same token, doctors, nurses, pilots, and other professionals should feel offended by costumes ‘representing’ their professions.

If humans have a sense of humour, and if “man was created in god’s own image”, then I am more than sure that ‘the creator’ must also have a sense of humour. After all, one can quickly assess a person’s wisdom by his/her wit and humour.

On a final note, I must express my disappointment at the Nationalist MPs interviewed by today’s The Sunday Times (http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090315/local/politicians-call-for-debate-on-satire-limits). They were all quite happy to suggest a revision of current laws but – in sheer contrast with their MLP counterparts – they were quite careful about defending the religious characatures/impersonifications.The Labour Party – for once – seems to be more avant-garde on these issues (including Labour MPs’ comments on the banning of Stitching). Although this is not a bread-and-butter issue, this can be seen as one that affects our quality of life as no open-minded person wants to feel oppressed. I honestly hope that the PN will “wake up and smell the coffee” on this issue :).