Several readers take me to task for not substantiating the suggestion that Geert Wilders is, as I put it, a “boor and a bigot”. This, apparently, is a “shoddy tactic” and absent any substantiating evidence I should “withdraw the comment” and, asks Francis, is Wilders “really worse than your average Socialist”? Wilhelm, meanwhile, wonders if I’m taking my cues from what I saw on “the lefty BBC
and Channel 4 news?” This last notion would, I think, surprise long-time readers.
The answer is that Wilders is not a poster-boy for free speech, largely because he would seek to deny that right – not privilege, right – to those whom he disapproves of himself. People who advocate banning books are poorly positioned to declare themselves champions of freedom of expression and should not be considered such.
That said, I think the government has handled this case appallingly.
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