Sympathy for a Jew-Hater
An Austrian court today sentenced David Irving to three years in prison for "denying" the Holocaust. Perverse! No doubt all the publicity that has attended Irving's trial has fanned the embers of anti-Semitism 'round the world and given his book (and theories) a jump in sales and influence.
I'm neither free-speech absolutist nor, G-d forbid, anti-Semite (I LOVE the Jews, one in particular)-- but I think this sentence is disproportionate and self-defeating. Thoughts?
posted by Pooja @ 4:17 PM
1 Comments:
agreed, it is ridiculous - he pleaded guilty, reversed his opinions and admitted he was wrong and accecpted the existence of the gas chambers and still was given a harsh punishment. There must be tons of rapists who have pled guilty, shown remorse and not been incarcerated for three years. where's the sense in that? On the other hand there is a srtong right-wing neo nazi movement in Austria and thus on the grounds of public interest the sentence may have been justified. It may make him a martyr but it also may send out strong messages to racists there.
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