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Originally Posted by Pie
So sue him for slander/libel. Charge him with inciting a riot. Disturbing the peace. Public menace or whatever. The fact that Irving's a class A-1 dickhead is not being debated -- just the state's response to it. It's still an awkward situation for Americans to contimplate.
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Well, first of all, American's need to contemplate that there are nations other than their own, and that these nations sometimes have perfectly valid reasons for enacting certain laws. The late dov to the contrary, many people in Germany and Austria didn't understand the full extent of the horror of the holocaust when it was going on. Auschwitz and its satellite camps were built in Poland. The village that had originally been on the same site was torn down and the villagers chased off by the Nazi's. There was a large no-man's zone surrounding each camp. Poles were actually the first to be imprisoned there. Any Pole who brought up what was going on would quickly find himself within the camp's confines.
Today's governments of Austria and Germany have taken a very hard line against those who state the holocaust never happened. I don't see what is so awkward to contemplate about that.
In addition, I can walk around here in the US, and , so can you, stating the holocaust never happened and the Austrians are not going to order my extradiction for trial. What Irving did was to go over to Europe, attend skinhead rallies in Austria where he made his statements and engage in a broadly publicized civil suit in Great Britain about the matter.
Now if you or I go to a foreign country, break its laws, and are photographed by the national media while doing so, nether one of us deserves to have a single tear shed on our behalf. Neither does Irving.