Borat The Victim

According the U.S. State Department, Borat is considered a victim of human rights abuse in a list compiled on the unethical behavior of Kazakhstan. Besides Borat, the Kazakhs are accused of murdering an opposition politician, Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly, his bodyguard and driver last year. Other offenses include limiting freedom of speech and torture among other abuses. Borat was specifically listed because his website hosted on a Kazakh site was pulled after the government took offense to how Borat (Sacha Cohen) was displaying Kazakhs and the country.

Of course no one in their right mind would condone these sorts of things, especially murdering politicians and limiting the freedoms of a nation's citizens. Nevertheless, this is a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. The United States government condones torture and limiting freedom of speech here at home. Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, sending prisoners to Uzbekistan and Syria to be tortured and using 'free speech zones' are all part of the Bush Adminstration's plans to make the United States into a land of the fearful and skitish.