The Oxymoron

I have always thought the idea of “freedom of expression” is a bit of an oxymoron. No matter which country or society you are from, there are just some things you don’t mention, there are just some things you can’t support.

Here in Asia, we are a little more open about that fact while the West is a little silly on the matter. The decision by CNN to fire Octavia Nasr, a top CNN Middle East editor, just proves our point. Octavia Nasr made the mistake of twitting that she respects Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, a recently deceased cleric who was highly influential in the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Personally, I can’t see what’s wrong with that. Nasr, who is a Lebanese herself, says that she respects Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah and got fired for that. CNN officials claim that her credibility had been compromised by her tweet.

Really? So whoever works for CNN can’t announce respect for anyone? If that is the case, CNN should fire any of their reporters who announce respect for the state of Israel as well. I mean what works for one side of the Middle East conflict works for the other side as well right? If Octavia Nasr, who works for CNN for 20 years, can’t say she respect anyone associated with Hezbollah, then why should anyone in CNN be allowed to say they respect any political, military, religious leader in Israel.

Let’s start hearing some banning and firing from CNN!