Text 28977, 111 rader
Skriven 2012-05-24 14:50:14 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
     Kommentar till en text av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: The real free world..
=============================
Hello Robert,

On Wednesday May 23 2012 13:46, you wrote to me:

 RB>>> That's about what it amounts to - and is the reason WHY people
 RB>>> are scared of him.

 MV>> People are not scared of him. They just detest him.

 RB> YOU detest him.

I am not the only one. I know many people who share my sentiment. I also know
people who adore him. I know no one who fears him.

 RB> But you talk about him so much,

"me"? Hardly. I would never have brought him up as a subject nd I would not
have responded if i did noit feel the urge to correct the abject nonsense that
is spewed out.

 RB> and his popularity in the Netherlands appears so great,

Appearance can be deceiving. The fact is that his party is now fourth in the
polls. Is that popular? Depends on your POV I suppose. Fact is that his book is
hardly mentioned in the Dutch media. It seems Wilders gets much more attention
OUTSIDE The Netherlands.

 RB>  and the major parties fight him so hard...

Npt harder then they fight their other opponenets. Its election time remember?

 RB> that it's hard to believe there is no element of fear involved.

Believe what you want.

 RB>>> There are things it is not "politically correct" to say in public.

 MV>> It is not a matter of political correctness...

 RB> It very much _is_ a matter of political correctness,

No, it is a matter of elementary decency. There is no need to insult a whole
group of people just to make a point.

 RB> and fear of what rampaging muslims with the backing of people like
 RB> Assad and the Mullahs in Iran could do if seriously angered.

I have much more fear for the country that has the largest military in the
world.

 RB> And even without them, there are plenty of "newly converted" around
 RB> who are even more radical than born muslims and would dearly love to
 RB> throw a bomb at the "unbelievers" (you, me).

That'the sentiment Wilders is trying to exploit. It is irrational. The chance
of me getting killed in a terrorist attack is dwarfed by the chance of me
braking my neck by falling from the stairs in my own house. Or in a traffic
accident. Or to be hit by lightning.

This terrorist threat is greatly exaggerated by people with an agenda.

 RB> At any rate, denying a problem has only rarely solved it.

Inflating a problem beyiond reason also never solved it.

 RB>>> Particularly when they deal with muslims, who are not known for
 RB>>> their even tempers and reasonable dispositions.

 MV>> There you go again...

 RB> ... seeing things as they are instead of putting on my rose-colored
 RB> sunglasses to view a perfect world.

Nobody claimed we live in a perfect world. But you are letting yourself be
driven by irrational fears. Ad it is people like Wilders who attempt to exploit
that fear. I am not falling for it and you shouldn't either.

 MV>> You are painting with FAR tto wide a brush. Blaming an entire
 MV>> group for the actions of a few extremist...

 RB> The only problem is that most terrorists nowadays _are_ muslims,

o, that is not the _only_ problem. There are much more pressing problems and
much more serious threats for western civilisation than (muslim) terrorism.

 RB> although certainly not all muslims are terrorists. It pays to note the
 RB> difference.

Not only are not all muslims terrorist, The terrorist are a VERY SMALL
minority.

 RB> We certainly don't have a problem with Christian terrorists, but it
 RB> would be foolish to deny that muslims are the core of most present
 RB> terrorist groups.

These terrorists get far too much attention. Remenber their goal is not to kill
as many as they can, but to disrupt society by instigating FEAR. Stop fiving
them so much attention and refuse to be caught in the fear trap and they will
lose their hold on society.

 RB> That doesn't mean that we should expel all muslims, but only that
 RB> muslim extremists have no place in our society and should not be
 RB> allowed to spew their hatred and intolerance,

But it is all right for Wilders to preach hate and intolerance?


Cheers, Michiel

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