From a Worldview so infinitesimally tiny it's gotta pinch
not toooolerating violent tantrums now = racism
We were a liberal and tolerant people until the 1990s, when we suddenly awoke to find that for the first time in our history we had a significant minority group living among us. Confronted with the terrifying novelty of being a multicultural country, Denmark took a step not merely to the right but to the far right. Now, politicians of most stripes have embraced ignorance.
...Denmark has embarked on a self-declared crusade to tell others how to live.
The prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, is quoted as saying: “Freedom of speech should be used to provoke and criticise political or religious authoritarians.” [uh, yeah. e-C]
...An MEP, Mogens Camre, declared: “It is 2005 and there is no reason whatsoever to respect foolish superstition in any form.” [uh, huh? e-C]
...the founder of the ultra-rightwing Danish People’s party, Pia Kjærsgaard, felt emboldened to say that in order to qualify for citizenship, immigrants must not only master the Danish language but be examined on their respect for Danish society and its values. The words “Danish values” are repeated reverentially, as if all Danes possess a single mindset opposed to that held by Muslims. Kjærsgaard tells her countrymen the issue is not one of cartoons, but concerns rather a titanic struggle of values between totalitarian, dogmatic Islamic regimes and the freedom and liberty beloved of western democracies. [uh, yeah. e-C]
An odd feeling to see someone point to an apple and describe it as a Toyota....
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