I was shocked to hear that the controversial Dutch MP was turned away from Britain at Heathrow airport. The government has again tangled itself in knots over free speech and political correctness, inadvertantly giving the man who compared Islam with Nazism a lot of free publicity.
On the phone to the BBC whilst the drama unfolded at Heathrow, Mr. Wilders argued correctly that he was an elected parliamentarian - people may not agree with his views but they would be invited to challenge them in the forum of free speech. I've made this point over and over again - like Mill said, 'the truth' will only ever be revealed when those with objectionable views are allowed to speak their mind. If you keep them bottled up, ignorance reigns. Wilders was not going to be touring Rusholme or Tower Hamlets - in that case, Jacqui Smith's claim that his visit would have damaged race relations - would be accurate. Rather, he was going to be addresseing a group of peers in the House of Lords.
Under these circumstances, I'm sure that the very able and astute debaters of the 'Other Place' would have been able to tear his message of hatred to sheds - just as Nick Griffin was left smarting when he was invited to address the Oxford University debating society.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I couldn't agree more.
Well said.
Post a Comment