Speelgoedmannetje said:
Oh, the upcoming of Geert Wilders.
I wonder how there will be dealt with him next election, I think they do the same as the Belgians.
Speel,
While I admit to not knowing much about him (other than the brief internet searches I just did) I have at least heard of him. IIRC he has been on the US news show 60 minutes (among others). As far as his beliefs, other than his apparent desire to outlaw selling the Koran and stop the "Islamification of Belgium / Europe", I find some of his apparent views inline with mine (at first glance anyway). I welcome your responses to my inputs below:
1. From
the Wall Street Journal Opinion Page - "Then again, it's almost amusing to note that many of the same Islamic extremists who called Mr. Wilders a "dog" and would like to see him "tried by an Islamic court"—as one demonstrator told the BBC Friday—have also made an Arabic translation of Mein Kampf a hot-selling book throughout the Muslim world, including on London's Edgware Road." - Maybe he has a point? The above comment would seem to indicate so. I am not specifically defending what Geert apparently said, rather making the point that in this case at least, he comment may have some (indirect) validity. I can see how his statements would certainly be considered "politically incorrect" but he does seem to draw a crowd.
"It also strikes us as odd that Mr. Wilders, who advocates violence against nobody, should be a target of official opprobrium on the theory that the state has an over-riding interest in sparing the feelings of those who do advocate violence, whether implicitly or explicitly. Among the placards held aloft by Mr. Wilders's critics Friday was one that read "Islam will dominate the world: Freedom can go to hell." Perhaps the Home Office should take slightly greater alarm at this than anything Mr. Wilders has so far said or proposed." - An interesting observation IMO.
From the
Wikipedia entry - "The Party for Freedom's political platform often overlap those of the assassinated Rotterdam politician Pim Fortuyn and his Pim Fortuyn List. It bases its ideas on a small government, law and order, and direct democracy ideological framework. It calls for a €16 billion tax reduction, a far stricter policy toward recreational drug use, investing more in roads and other infrastructure, building nuclear power plants, and including animal rights into the Dutch constitution." - Again, on the surface of the above statements, I find many of these platform "planks" to be similar to my own.
I realize that in general, Europeans tend to be far more open minded than the majority of Americans so I wish to ask, it is because Geert seems so "limiting" in his ideas that he is controversial in Belgium / Europe? Please explain.
Finally, my thanks to Speel for something new to talk about.
Regards,
Ltstanfo
)
