>> I'm not sure what you mean by that. It's not very easy to criticize something/someone in Turkey without being called names (depending on your view), but Kemalists are usually cool with criticisms as long as you're not insulting Ataturk. You may cite the infamous Article 301, but Kemalists did not write that law (I agree that this is debatable).
In my experience, there are more discussions that touch on the national psyche. Some things that are barely open to debate are the Kurdish language and territory, the treatment of Armenians (I am avoiding a specific word here), war crimes during the war of independence, a pogrom against Jews and Greeks in the 1950's, purifications in Hatay and Bozcaada. I think all countries have their taboos, but your strong identity does not make discussions easier.
>> [Turkey not being multi-cultural] is wrong on so many levels. Turks are very welcoming people and I've never heard one bad thing from my foreign friends who had visited Turkey. Turkey is also known for being multi-cultural. It's even probably more diverse than the US, which is why there are so many problems within the country -- because there are so many voices.
Please don't get me wrong on this one. Turks have been very welcoming to me and I loved my time there because of that. Still I wouldn't qualify Istanbul as a multi-cultural city. The Greeks, Jews and Armenians left a long time ago and Turkey never attracted big groups from far-away colonies. Most immigration have been Turks returning from other places.
Istanbul is very Turkish. Food, language, (business-)culture. This struck me, coming from Amsterdam and Rotterdam. I am not saying it is good or bad, but definitely different from what I expected.
>> This is also not true. In the context you used "uproar" is a relative word, but people did protest the new law and it was probably the biggest one since Gezi Park protests. (May want to read this: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/01/2...)
Some friends of me were there :) Still the internet (and press) censorship is not a new phenomenon and most people let it slide.
In conclusion, I was trying my best to explain to a 'westerner' in what ways our standards do apply to Turkey. If I missed the mark, it is because I also see through western eyes. Don't get me wrong: the power, optimism, camaraderie and restraint that the protestors showed at Gezi was the most beautiful thing I ever experienced. Stay strong: Her yer Taksim, her yer direnis.
> Still I wouldn't qualify Istanbul as a multi-cultural city.
I have this theory that social entities, be it countries, ethnicities, or other types of groups, end up with slogans and myths that are designed to counteract the reality about the group. What with America's "land of freedom" and Russia's "wide and generous Russian soul". Similarly, Turkey's "multiculturalism and tolerance". It's part marketing, part self-delusion therapy on the social entity's part to keep it from disintegrating...
