Anti-fascism

Just before an election in one of the most democratic societies on this earth, a candidate was physically attacked:

Forum MP Freek Jansen who was with Baudet at the time told the Telegraaf the pro-Russia party leader was bleeding from the head after the attack. The attacker, who was arrested, shouted something about being “done with fascism”, Jansen said.

In Amsterdam, large protests broke out against the elections — in the name of stopping fascism, of course. And not surprisingly, the “anti-fascist” demonstration turned to chanting for the elimination of Jews.

In multiple real life conversations, I’ve heard the sentiment that “this is why we shouldn’t let stupid people vote”.

The irony that’s not lost on me, is that I almost certainly would have voted for the left-wing coalition, had I been able to vote in this election. But I feel increasingly less comfortable in these circles.

It seems that fewer and fewer of those on the left believe in classical democracy and liberalism. Instead, there’s a deep yearning for a left-wing authoritarian movement.

The beautiful part of Dutch democracy is that even with a right-wing party winning a serious mandate, they can’t govern without coming to the center, moderating their policies, and working with others who have vastly different views.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from this, the huge number of unassimilated and partially assimilated immigrants is really pissing off a lot of people. I’m part of that problem.

Thankfully, I can do something about that. I’ve been putting off anything beyond speaking rudimentary Dutch for too long. I haven’t been involved with much in the actual community. Time for that to change.