> I don't like the Muslim-bashing, but really - people shouldn't be
> killed for their speech.
Van Gogh was of the habit of referring to Muslims as "geiteneukers" (goat-fuckers) and did so on TV.
Did he deserve to be stabbed to death because of this? No, of course not.
Did he make any meaningful contribution to the very sticky immigration/integration debate here with these kinds of juvenile taunts? No. He wasn't some kind of Lenny Bruce figure pushing the boundaries of acceptable discourse; he was, at such moments, a boorish, attention-seeking buffoon. (People that knew him say that at other times he had many positive qualities as well.)
I hope I am not digging myself into a corner here; it is just that I resist the (simplistic) portrayal of Van Gogh and Hirsi Ali as martyrs of free speech. The reality is more complex than that.
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Colin Brace
Amsterdam