These are the two keys as to why the law exists in Austria, and why various laws of this sort exist around Europe. There are still people alive who witnessed the Holocaust, who were part of it. It is a European triumph that those dark events were totally rejected. You don't see, for instance, the same sort of recognition in Russia for what happened during Stalin's purges, or in China for the purges during the Cultural Revolution. Yet no one denies these events happened. Holocaust denial was never a matter of historical debate, it was a rallying point for old Nazis and their sympathizers to try to make a comeback.
I agree in general about freedom of speech safeguards, but one could argue that this behavior amounts to a hate crime and an incitement to violence. In the US, certain forms of speech are illegal if they amount to hate crimes or an incitement to violence, and Holocaust denial goes under the same category, IMHO. > 2. The Holocaust is still a raw, open wound in the psyche of europe > and it being disclaimed as a historic event is both an insult to > Europe as well as the victims of it. > 3. No one goes out and says that the slave trade never happened. No > one goes out and says the Crusades never happend. The only ones going > out to say the Holocaust never happened are those who are looking to > use the statement to attack a single group: Jews. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:198588 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
