.... Islamist terrorist fanatics and the west’s ascendant populist right are now working in tandem. They are feeding off each other. They are interdependent. Their fortunes rise with each other. This morning Nigel Farage tweeted: “Terrible news from Berlin but no surprise. Events like these will be the Merkel legacy.” What kind of contemptible individual mixes horror with vindication?
.... Here is the danger of what now beckons. More Islamist terrorist attacks will come. The populist xenophobic right will continue to surge, and it will capitalise on the atrocities. Hatred against Muslims – and demands for collective punishment – will grow. Civil liberties will be rolled back. Those on the left who oppose racism and support compassion for refugees will increasingly be regarded as the enemy within.
Democracy will be chipped away. The west will continue its inexorable decline, not because of the threat of “Islamisation”, but partly because of political consequences arising from the fear of Muslims and foreigners. Picture how Donald Trump will respond after the first major terrorist attack.
If, in a century’s time, historians ask why the west fell into a spiral of decline, the answer will not be that we were overrun by fanatics, but that we succumbed to their wishes. [Owen Jones, 1502 comments]
[TOP RATED COMMENT 1221 votes] "What kind of contemptible individual mixes horror with vindication?"
What kind of journalist conflates being right with being wrong?
Many, many people warned of the dangers of allowing an uncontrolled flow of so-called refugees from zones filled with radicalised fighters and terrorists. Those people were right, and being right doesn't make them wrong.
[2ND 983] "Those on the left who oppose racism and support compassion for refugees will increasingly be regarded as the enemy within."
Nope, those who cry "racism" whenever foreign policy or immigration is discussed, and who agitate constantly for open borders without any thought of the consequences, these will be regarded as the enemy within. Fortunately their grasp on our public discourse is finally beginning to weaken.
[3RD 945] "Don’t let our response to
Ah, like clockwork. Good to know the Guardian has kept this template from Paris.
Yet, the article is still without substance on what should be done. What a shame.
[4TH 893] An article long on moaning but short on suggestions.
[5TH 813] So tell us Mr Jones, what should we do? Every attempt at counter-radicalisation is attacked as discriminatory, every attempt at enhanced intelligence and surveillance is attacked as provocative or unfair.....so we'll all just holds hands and sing kumbaya shall we? And pretend that a blind refusal to acknowledge the problems with Islamist violence and refusal to support reformers and moderates has not led us to this disastrous scenario? [Guardian Cif] Read more
