Baby steps

Baby steps

I'll admit, as the rain belted down a few days ago I had second thoughts about attending the protest at University against the often thoughtless censorship being imposed on art and media. "Will it really be worth it?" I thought. Eventually I decided that a little sogginess wouldn't hurt, and besides, I might not get another chance to show my support for a cause I believe in very much, but unlike my friend Franco Rizzo, never had the guts to do anything about. Don't be fooled though, he's doing it for the chicks. Just kidding.

I'm not going to go into the finer points of the ban on ir-Realta', because other people have done that already, and because it isn't just about ir-Realta'. All I'll say is that I've read the story, and seen films in Maltese cinemas which contained similar content. Eastern Promises comes to mind, for example. The only difference is that that was actually a good film, whereas Li Tkisser Sewwi isn't exactly the finest example of Maltese literature. That said, the language and blasphemy used are nothing to write home about.

I would however like to say a few things about the Rector's latest justification for the ban, in the form of an article in The Times. Firstly, contrary to what the Rector stated, Ir-Realta' is banned from Junior College.

Secondly, he still insists on calling it an article, rather than the prose it actually is. He goes on to say that it wasn't initially clear what it was, because of the use of the first person. I agree that it wasn't clear initially, but if you carry on reading (I wonder if he did), it becomes quite clear that this is a work of fiction. You really would have to have no morals at all if, as editor, you had to publish a real account of a woman practically being raped. This is not the first time that Ir-Realta' have published prose and other works of offbeat art. I do understand that the Rector was watching his own back, but since his article in The Times is the third different reason that has been given to the ban, what does that do to his credibility?

To read some of the comments on this and other news websites, you would think that by protesting we were doing something freakish. One commentator on another website suggested we should be "wiped away". Was he censored? There were all sorts of people at the protest; English-speaking and Maltese-speaking students; media, literature, theatre, law, architecture, and medicine students, to name but a few. You could argue that some of those who attended are radical and conspiracy theory-obsessed.

Make fun of them all you like (as I occasionally do), but a University without these types of students can't call itself a University. Our campus is already enough of a sausage factory, producing mindless, uncritical zombies, as it is.

This isn't about wanting to say and do whatever we like. This is about not wanting to be judged according to false, pious double standards. It's about safeguarding the right to offend, which is just as important as the right to be offended. There is an overwhelming fear in this country: the fear of upsetting people, and of being afraid what other people think about you. I'm guilty of it too sometimes, and in a way it's to be expected, given the fact that we're all squashed on top of each other. A little thought, reasoning and putting things into perspective would go a long way, though.

I'm not usually one to talk about patriotism. I don't really believe in it, but I think if there's something that shows love for your country it's the desire for it not to stay forty years behind. By this I don't mean technologically, of course, but in terms of the attitudes towards people, ideas and opinions which are a bit different, maybe even a bit crazy. Some of these ideas should have been put into practice years ago.

Others might not be acceptable; they may even be dangerous, but that's up to each individual to decide for themselves, and not have someone decide for them. If this country is going to wake up, it's going to need a bit of craziness.

Matthew Bonanno is a fourth-year Communications (Hons.) student, and Culture Editor of www.insiteronline.com