"to prevent abuse"

Submitted by myth (Germany), Feb 16, 2010 at 12:41

Paul, the Dutch law restricting free speech unfortunately does protect groups from individuals. That is the constellation and it is unbalanced. It is undemocratic in the sense that the group that is no democratic representation of anybody is stronger than the individual prosecuted. On top it is criminal law which means that the state represented by the prosecution is on the group's side. Clearly Wilders is the man threatened. What it should protect, if anything, by legal means is democracy. Germany has a constitutional atricle that allows for denying rights and prosecution if you act against the democratic idea of the state. The background is of course the legal seizure of power by Hitler's party promoting the fall of democracy right from the start and only enter the democratic arena to abolish it.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".