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February 20, 2006
Sentence For Holocaust Denial Sends Wrong Message
Topics: Culture and SocietyThe WaPo (via World News) has a report of a British historian who challenged the extent of the Holocaust and has been sentenced to three years in prison by an Austrian court. David Irving, author of the controversial "Hitler's War," was charged under an Austrian law that makes it a crime to publicly diminish, deny, or justify the Holocaust. Before sentencing, Irving conceded that he was wrong to say there were no Nazi gas chambers at the Auschwitz concentration camp, but insists, "In no way did I deny the killings of millions of people by the Nazis."
There's no question that denying the holocaust is offensive to Jews and others, and is wrong. But the man should be entiltled to make a fool of himself - it's just as much a free speech issue as the damned Muhammad cartoons. Haven't we been criticizing the rampaging muslims and their nutcase clerics for their reaction to silly cartoons? For the overwhelming majority of the world's educated population with half a brain (this of course leaves out most of the Islamists), denying the holocaust is such silliness that it's laughable. Putting an old man in jail for being a fool is not what a free and open democratic society should concern itself with, especially when Europeans have, for the most part, allowed Islamists to preach hate, violence, and murder without any legal repercussions. whatsoever.
In our previous post a student newspaper published a cartoon of a queer Jesus kissing and disrobing Muhammad, but refused to show a front image of Muhammad. What can be more offensive and blasphemous to Christians than that? To do so reflects not only a liberal agenda, a profound anti-Christian bias, extreme political correctness, bad manners, and a cowardly staff in deep fear of Muslims, but also free speech. Fortunately for the staff of the Strand, Canada has no law against stupidity; unfortuanately for David Irving, Germany does. That's not fair, but neither is life. Poor Mr. Strand is being punished through an unjust law.
Free speech is free speech, and if the Islamists can preach hate and violence, Mr Strand certainly should have the right to act stupidly and deny what is as real as the nose on his face. The mans as much a clown as the cartoons of Muhammad.
Hat tip - Tim
Posted by Richard at February 20, 2006 4:28 PM
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