My morning laugh on March 20 came courtesy of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s op-ed, “Familiar foes: Ignorance and hate,” rather than the clever ripostes in “Mike du Jour” and “Baldo.” The president of Turkey has jailed tens of thousands of political opponents, intellectuals, reporters, lawyers, business owners — anyone who might possibly even consider speaking out against his regime one day.
Turks live in fear of a midnight knock on the door and guard their tongues. On a visit to Washington, Mr. Erdogan’s thuggish bodyguards beat up peaceful protesters. If they do it so casually here, can we even imagine how this man is feared in his own country?
In his op-ed, Mr. Erdogan used the slaughter in New Zealand to paint himself as an enlightened thinker. Downright shameless, but hey, we have freedom of the press, so The Post can treat us to the spectacle of a dictator spouting against “a coordinated smear campaign” and “practices incompatible with liberal values.” Hilarious!
Because Mr. Erdogan patted himself on the back for defending the teachings of Christianity, here’s one that’s apt: “Before you help your brother take the speck out of his eye, remove the log from your own.”
Salley Shannon, Derwood
