Mike Diana - The of Art Censorship
THE
MIKE DIANA CENSORSHIP DEBACLE
by Hannibal Lechter
Mike
Diana is a zine and comic book artist, painter and all around fun guy who
was busted in 1992 in Florida for doing a zine. The zine was called Boiled
Angel and Mike zeroxed about 200 of these for his friends.
One
of them fell into the hands of a local prosecutor named Stuart Baggish,
who took it upon himself to make an example out of Mike. Apparently Mr.
Baggish did not favor Mikes stylish renderings of hacked up bodies with
crucifixes stuck through their noses. Neither did Mr. Baggish and his
fundamentalist friends take kindly to Mikes zeroxed scatalogical
renderings and anti-religious pencil sketches.
SO,
to set things right in the community, they crucified Mike. Told him he
couldnt come with 500 yards of anyone under 17. That he could not draw
anymore without being thrown in jail. Fined him about 5 times more money
than he had ever seen in his life. Kicked his ass, tossed him in the
slammer. Made him pay for visits to a shrink.
Did
the courts find these punishments excessive? No. All the way
up to the highest court in the state. Because Mike's drawings were
scrutinized by a bunch of respectable Christian bureaucrats, who couldn't
possibly be expected to understand a piece of anti-Christian art,
let alone tolerate it, Mike drawings were deemed to have 'no redeeming
social value,' and these draconian sentences were upheld. All
this because Mike zeroxed 200 copies of a hand drawn comic book for his
friends. Were Mike's hearings held in China he probably would have
received fairer treatment.
While
all kinds of nasty criminals are no doubt running around in Largo Florida,
Mr. Baggish and his lackeys are pooling all their efforts in a desperate
struggle to once and for all, nail that scourge to society, comic book
artist Mike Diana.
After
a series of unsuccessful appeals in Florida state courts, Mike is now
being forced to pay $3,000 worth of fines in installments.
We're talking about a guy who's profession has been selling junk food and
cigarettes from behind cash registers at 7-11s. Although with all the
publicity this case has received, Mikes gotten to go all over the country,
has appeared in magazines (nude and otherwise), has had his art shown in
all kinds of galleries . . . thanks to Mr. Baggish his determined
efforts in putting Mike in the limelight.
Alas,
it totally sucks having heavy fines and liabilities hanging over your
head, even with the newfound publicity and other opportunities. Mike
deserves and needs continued support . . . as he carries his Sisyphus-like
burden, doing community service work, paying fines, and getting hit up by
the man on an ongoing basis. Since his case has been refused by the
Supreme Court, there's no more legal avenues open to Mike. So, we
say, buy the guy's artwork, help him out, if you are able to, in defiance
of this sentencing.
All
of this proves how wrong the flag-waving propagandists really are.
The gulag CAN AND DOES HAPPEN HERE, and Mike Diana is just one of numerous
examples. Read the Postering
article for a close-up view of the bumbling, officially sanctioned
armed garbagemen in New York City who tried unsuccessfully to stamp out
free expression.
