I am an arch critic of Erdoğan, his party and their politics, and I was the lonely first person among democrats to express concern about the authoritarian swing in Turkey as early as the end of 2009. I am someone who paid a price for being an opponent of authoritarian politics and of Kurdish politics, but it never occurred to me to change my ways when I encountered all sorts of intimidation. That is why I have no concerns about being labelled as an Erdoğan apologist, as I not only support his civilian government against any coup or plot, but also feel revolted by the Western media, which is more focused on portraying him as a mere monster behind all manner of evil than anything else.