From a post by a Russian LJ blogger–related to the recent jailing of a Swedish pastor for a sermon condemning homosexuality:
The Soviet Union under Stalin embodied a favorite liberal principle, “the freedom of your fist ends at the tip of my nose.” But the Leader of the Peoples’ [Stalin’s] nose had dimensions so epic that citizens’ freedom stopped very close, and they had to be extremely cautious not to graze the Generalissimo’s nose–but even caution did not guarantee safety. <…>
There are liberal countries where the noses of gay activists are possessed of such length and such an elaborate shape that they extend even to the pulpits of preachers who criminally brush them; yet Christians’ noses are so short that no threats and insults are deemed to reach them.
Let’s say these relative lengths vary dramatically from country to country.