Philosopher Roger Scruton, who also spoke at a VB event:
As the British conservative philosopher and author Roger Scruton said in a speech in Antwerp last year, the charge of racism and xenophobia in the EU countries “has become the equivalent of a charge of heresy in medieval Europe, of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts, or of ‘deviationism” in the Stalinist state.” However, as Mr. Scruton pointed out, “we have a duty to brave the charge of ‘racism and xenophobia’, and to discuss every aspect of immigration.”
Mr. Scruton made his remarks in a speech to the Vlaams Belang party – a party which has been accused of racism and xenophobia by the Belgian authorities. “There are many people in this country,”Mr. Scruton added, “who believe that I should not talk to you at all, and that by doing so I become tainted with the very charge that has been levelled at you: the charge of racism and xenophobia. By talking about this charge, I hope to deflect it. I am neither racist nor xenophobic; I am in the habit of assuming that the same is true of others, until they have shown evidence to the contrary; and I am glad that a Party exists that is willing to brave this charge, in order to discuss the problem that is in the minds of all ordinary Europeans today.”
Paul Belien takes a cool and sober look at the facts in the latest smear campaign here.
BELIEN:ARE WE ALL NAZIS NOW? Brussels Journal
The Egyptian-born Jewish author Bat Ye’or (a pseudonym meaning “daughter of the Nile”) and her family were expelled from Egypt in the 1950s because they were Jewish. She, too, is worried about the trivialisation of the Holocaust by the left and the far-left for the advancement of its own political aims. When recently she expressed her worries at a public meeting she was insulted and called… a racist. A lawyer who was present says that though Bat Ye’or was treated most disgracefully “few people reacted. People are not ready to fight the new anti-Semitism.” The Europeans did not fight the previous anti-Semitism in the 1930s, and they are not fighting the present one. Europe did not prevent the previous holocaust. It does not seem able to prevent the coming holocaust either. And maybe, paradoxically, feelings of guilt for the horrors of the past are preventing some people from doing so.
As Roger Scruton says it needs courage to brave the charges of racism, xenophobia or neo-Nazism in order to speak out. This courage is what Europe lacks.
[...]
Why do I mention all this today? Last week almost 80 people from 15 European countries, plus sympathizers from the US, Canada and Israel, convened in the European Parliament in Brussels to discuss a common strategy to fight Islamism. This important and historical event, which shows that there still is a fighting spirit among some Europeans, has been criticized by Charles Johnson, the owner of Little Green Footballs, an influential American neo-conservative website, because members of the Vlaams Belang were present. Though the VB did not organize the conference, it provided an important part of the logistics and the security of those attending. Johnson says the VB is a neo-Nazi party. His arguments are:
(1) that the party abstained in the European Parliament from approving the above mentioned Holocaust resolution;
(2) that early this month the party organized a “white supremacist” demonstration;
(3) that Nazi skinheads applaud the party;
(4) that neo-Nazis link to VB videos.Instead of being able to write about last week’s meeting I have been busy answering emails from friends who, because Charles Johnson is such “a respected anti-Jihadist,” fear that they have been fooled by the VB. The issue is hotly debated on American blogs (here is a detailed account for those interested).
There is, however, no beef to Charles Johnson’s allegations. More here
Read it all and weigh the facts. Not the ad hominen attacks, not the innuendo, just the evidence.
Moreover if I might add that Andrew Bostom was SPECIFICALLY requested by the organizers to speak about Antisemitism, AND I included at the end at the of his remarks a specific mention of NAZI Antisemitism in the guise of the annihilationist Johannes von Leers. This concluding section was even entitled, "Islam Uber Alles." Here's Bostom's whole speech at the Counter Jihad Summit in Brussels - read it.
