Barack Obama received a lot of criticism for not showing up to the Unity March in Paris that protested the shootings of the employees at Charlie Hebdo.  Of course, that also means we can't accuse President Obama of hypocrisy, unlike David Cameron and other European heads of state.  The United Kingdom, like France, does not support free speech, imprisons and fines people for what they say on social media or in public, and even criminalized the words of one of its greatest wartime leaders, Sir Winston Churchill.

Of course, this also extends to protecting the British people from hearing unwanted opinions from figures like Geert Wilders or talk show host Michael Savage.  (Though the former eventually won on appeal, it may lead to an awkward situation if Wilders ends up becoming the Dutch Prime Minister.)

However, as always, it's about Who?  Whom?  The Reverend Al Sharpton, who notably described the beginnings of Western Civilization as "White folks was in caves while we was building empires.... We taught philosophy and astrology and mathematics before Socrates and them Greek homos ever got around to it," is welcomed to the scepter'd isle and will even meet with members of Parliament.  [Rev. Al Sharpton to Travel to the United Kingdom for A Two-Day Trip Where He will Meet with Members of Parliament, speak at Oxford University, Speak at Voter Unity Rally & Preach in Brixton, National Action Network]

It's not about free speech or about hate speech.  It's about which "activists" and political leaders serve the interests of the ruling System — and which don't.  Heck, if you are a prominent enough multicultural mascot like the Rev., you don't even have to pay your taxes.  [As Sharpton Rose, So Did His Unpaid Taxes, by Russ Buettner, New York Times, November 18, 2004]