Trample

Trampling: v. tread heavily or noisily, tread underfoot, crush

In the 1890s, a Frenchman called Edouard Drumont ran a newspaper full of crude caricatures of Jews and articles that railed against their increasing dominance of French and European life, reaching fever pitch during the treason trial of French officer Alfred Dreyfus. Drumont called his paper La Libre Parole - "The Free Speech".

As the Danish cartoon row spreads and editors hurry to wrap themselves in the mantle of Voltaire, it is worth noting that most of civilised Europe today gladly accepts (and in some cases even legislates to preserve) a taboo on the kinds of free speech that Drumont sought to establish.

[ Trampling others' beliefs in defence of yours ]