Photo by Bianca Cappellini
Last Tuesday, at the weekly meeting of Progressive Happy Hour at Red Rock Tavern, our friend Bianca asked us to get progressive and stand up for freedom of the press... in Italy. To do so, all gathered designed letters to hold up and spell the phrase "Siamo Tutti Farabutti", a new rallying cry for the censured journalists and bloggers in Italy. Bianca then submitted the photograph to the online site of the progressive Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, which has been posting photos from readers worldwide who identify with the Italian media's cause.But what does it mean?
It seems that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has become the "most persecuted man in history" that is named 'Silvio Berlusconi'. This came after losing 'immunity from prosecution that has protected him from criminal proceedings."* (FYI: 106 investigations and trials against him and 2,500 court hearings) On top of that, Mr. Berlusconi has launched a series of lawsuits against the European media, asserting that freedom of the press does not include the liberty to insult (or criticize), specifically him. According to the BBC, "Italy's Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi owns or heavily influences swathes of the country's media." So when left-leaning news media sources recently reported on his use of escorts, his possible ties to the mafia, and other political abuses and missteps, Mr. Berlusconi retaliated by calling all [opposing] journalists "farabutti", which translates from the Italian as 'crooks'.
And so, readers and supporters of La Repubblica began a battle cry:
"Siamo tutti farabutti perché vogliamo una stampa (e una tv) libera!!!!"(We are all crooks because we want a free press, in print and on television!)Frankly, that's an outcry we can stand behind.
Other Sources:
(*Perhaps Mr. Berlusconi should visit CT some time... on second thought...)
1 comments: