[lit-ideas] Re: Denying the Holocaust
- From: Carol Kirschenbaum <carolkir@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2006 15:18:02 -0800
>>RP: Holocaust Denier Gets Three Years
>
> What do people think about this? Should Irving be in jail?
>
ck: Paul, I figured nobody was talking about it here because the sentence is
too over-the-top for any reaction other than an "oy vey" towards Austria.
Ten years is more than was handed to many Nuremberg-convicted Nazi war
criminals. The whole idea of freedom of speech being a criminal offense is
pretty whacked, imo, whether the words or ideas are attacked by Bush, by
Islamists, or by the Austrian court. Irving had been in a lawsuit over his
views with an American writer a few years ago. He lost, he paid a bundle in
damages, and that should have been that. But I'm ignorant about Austrian
law.
Could it be that Austrians, with their particular history, may not
understand the difference between freedom of speech, even that which may
incite violent actions, and criminal actions?
I wonder what Germans think of this sentence. Anyone?
Carol
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