sun 13 jun 2010 15:29:55 — witte de withstraat
'nature is with me on this point'
here's what i just wrote to a young correspondent who told me she likes geert wilders because she doesn't want more muslims in europe.
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fair enough.
it just sounds incongruous, coming from someone who once took offense when a dutchman told her "we don't need any more bulgarians here".
i think you're saying NL should have more restrictive immigration policies, but that those policies should only be directed against arabic people. not against you.
keep in mind that the other people who like geert wilders are the ones who want NL to return to being only dutch, turn back the clock, no foreigners.
if you were to say "i don't want to live in an islamic land" or "i don't like religious extremism" then lots of people would agree with you, including me. many people everywhere would like religion to leave them alone.
the difference with wilders is that he is singling out one kind of people for discrimination. by definition that is racism.
therefore, people who really do support wilders just need to get comfortable, philosophically, with being racists.
(i'm distinguishing those who 'really do support' him from those who just casually used their vote to create a shock wave, but do not really believe with him.)
as you know, i'm a racist too. i'm just not comfortable with it. my racism is a disease, which i can try to cure in myself just by paying more attention to reality.
in my heart of hearts, i believe very devoutly that human migration is the reason why humans have survived at all. therefore migration is always necessary, must always be free, and may never be restricted.
i consequently believe that nations are against the law. guarded borders are like slavery: they must always be rejected, no matter what. and if you look around, you'll see that nature is with me on this point. that's why birds don't have passports.
but i believe just as devoutly that we must never lie down before those who would oppress us in the name of religion, nation or tribe. we must always stand up for our individuality. if a horde of religious believers of any persuasion come and try to force me to be like them, i must resist.
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