Red Tape Hot Box on freedom of speech
One might think that in a country which lost almost all of its 3 million Jewish citizens due to the Holocaust, anti-semitic "literature" would have no raison d'×tre. Unfortunately, there are authors who write cheap, primitive pamphlets and there are publishers who are willing to publish them. Anti-semitic periodicals are available in most kiosks, as well as in many bookshops, including those all-Polish ones and even those located in churches(!). A very popular explanation is that these publishers comply with all legal requirements and, therefore, state press distributors cannot refuse to sell them. Many salesmen emerge as defenders of the freedom of speech, claiming that titles representing all opinions should be included in their range.
Leaving the moral question aside, the sale of anti-semitic titles is quite illegal. The Polish penal code prohibits inciting ethnic or religious hatred. Despite this, most courts and public prosecutors refuse to prosecute those whose actions represent a clear breach of that law. Courts cannot refuse to register a title because of its content. Prosecutors can file a lawsuit against the publisher or the author of the controversial texts, but even if a case ends up in court it is treated as a deed of "low harm to society". It's also hard to prove that the author was clearly insulting other nationalities or inciting religious hatred, as the case of a jokebook about Africans a few years ago shows.
This, of course, inspires more salesmen to sell such "literature". It is worrying that there are still people who publish and write such texts, it is worrying that there are some who choose to distribute them. But, unfortunately, there is no supply without demand. By the sheer number of these titles, one comes to the unfortunate conclusion that there are quite a few people who share the authors' points of view.
Leaving the moral question aside, the sale of anti-semitic titles is quite illegal. The Polish penal code prohibits inciting ethnic or religious hatred. Despite this, most courts and public prosecutors refuse to prosecute those whose actions represent a clear breach of that law. Courts cannot refuse to register a title because of its content. Prosecutors can file a lawsuit against the publisher or the author of the controversial texts, but even if a case ends up in court it is treated as a deed of "low harm to society". It's also hard to prove that the author was clearly insulting other nationalities or inciting religious hatred, as the case of a jokebook about Africans a few years ago shows.
This, of course, inspires more salesmen to sell such "literature". It is worrying that there are still people who publish and write such texts, it is worrying that there are some who choose to distribute them. But, unfortunately, there is no supply without demand. By the sheer number of these titles, one comes to the unfortunate conclusion that there are quite a few people who share the authors' points of view.
