Apparently they are against authoritarianism, apparently they support pluralism, and apparently they are independent thinkers and supporters of freedom.

Whereas…

They immediately engage in the character assassination of anyone who doesn’t think like them and fails to adopt a stance that suits their lordly desires.

Many artists from Sezen Aksu to Zerrin Özer and from Şafak Sezer to Yavuz Bingöl were the beneficiaries of their hate speech.

Their latest victim was Murat Dalkılıç. There was nothing left unsaid about him on virtual media.

What did he do; what crime did he commit?

Let’s look at what he tweeted to find out: “It was a nice coincidence to cross paths with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Cuba and get the opportunity to have a chat.”

So?

Mr. Erdoğan, who was elected president of the Republic of Turkey with 52 percent of the votes cast, shook hands with a singer who is a citizen of the Republic of Turkey in a foreign land, took a photo with him and had a small chat.

This is the crime!

I am saying this because I know for certain. Many artists do not want to commit this “crime” because they are wary of this lurking evil of character assassination.

If it were not for this, there are plenty of artists who would like to commit this crime in question.

Don’t utter a word or bother asking “what are you doing by appearing on a television station that was the star defender of those who unjustly imprisoned you” when Prof. Büşra Ersanlı, who was arrested in 2011 on the basis of a plot created by parallel members and imprisoned for nine months, suddenly appears on a television station known for its parallel connections, but spout nonsense because an artist shook hand with the president! (Parallel structure is a term used to refer to the Fethullah Gülen-led movement.)

What kind of logic is this; what sort of thought process?

Don’t for a moment think that the persons ridiculing this are averse to shaking hands with Erdoğan.

On the contrary…

I know for a fact how these people jumped through hoops to be able to meet Erdoğan. You would be taken by surprise upon learning the identities of the journalists among this group, given their reputations of being strongly anti-government.

It is sad that they have no principles at all.

If nothing else, a person should at least have some principles if they are among the opposition!

No opposition mob on the planet could manage to raise such a stink!

These people unfortunately succeed in doing so.

They “sell” whatever their markets are willing to buy; there are no better sellers than them, and they even sell out each other when the time is right.

Due to the extent of their lack of principles, the reputations of those they oppose are strengthened!

For instance when they tried to demonize Erdoğan, he became an angel in the eyes of the nation.

You will lose all credibility when you try to demonize someone who paved the way for instruction in the mother tongue in private schools, made it free to wear the headscarf in the public sphere, criminalized hate speech and discrimination, lifted the ban on the use of certain letters of the alphabet, allowed for places to revert to using their original names, returned property that belongs to minority foundations e.g. the Mor Gabriel Monastery, and initiated the resolution process…

Those that lose their credibility to such an extent lose their reputation as well.