Posted on 05/12/2002 9:02:44 AM PDT by Happygal
There is a more sinister side to anti-globalisation, says Eilis O'Hanlon
AS THE full-time conscience of liberal Ireland, Fintan O'Toole will no doubt be surprised to discover that he has something in common with French National Front leader Jean Marie Le Pen; but neither man seemed distraught at the brutal murder last week of the maverick Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn.
For Le Pen, it was Fortuyn's open homosexuality which seemed to breed indifference to his fate at the hands of a lone gunman in Hilversum; for O'Toole, it was Fortuyn's views on immigration and culture. Standing in for Eamon Dunphy on Today FM's Last Word show, the Irish Times columnist even used the murder as the opportunity for some light banter with his guests.
Told that Pim Fortuyn loved animals, for example, O'Toole quipped: "Fascists tend to love animals."
"Hitler loved them too," agreed his Irish Times colleague Lara Marlowe. "He did indeed," chuckled O'Toole.
Fascist is an easy accusation to lob about, especially when the person at whom it is lobbed is conveniently dead. But is it really fascism to be concerned, as Fortuyn was, at the threat posed by militant Islam to the civil liberties and social tolerances on which modern Europe has been founded? Does that really merit posthumous comparisons with Hitler?
O'Toole would not have treated the murder of a left wing European leader by a right wing activist with such sardonic detachment, but he is not alone in refusing to allow the death of Fortuyn to affect his outlook on the world. Martin Jacques, formerly of Marxism Today, even chose last week to write in the Guardian: "Not since the 1930s has the threat of racism and fascism been so great in the west."
"We are now entering a new Dark Age," Jacques remarked with doomy absolutism. "Europe is sliding into a new abyss."
What he meant, naturally, was the rise of right wing European parties such as Le Pen's and, according to the lazy journalistic juxtaposition, Fortuyn's. The idea that there may be other forces at work in Europe equally as sinister, equally as dangerous, did not appear to trouble him one little bit.
So it always goes. The rise of right wing protest is always regarded as a sign that the end of civilisation is on hand; the rise of left wing protest is regarded as a sign of nothing more alarming than youthful idealism. Wrongheaded perhaps in its purism, but essentially harmless. Healthy even, for should the young not be angry and engaged and politically concerned?
That is why Globalise Resistance, the anti-capitalist organisation which came to prominence following the Bank Holiday trouble in Dublin, has been getting such an easy press helped, beyond even Globalise Resistance's wildest hopes, by the astonishing breakdown in garda discipline on the day.
The protesters have been allowed to portray themselves as mere idealists, innocent dreamers of a bucolic vision of the world as it should be; but "ach, they mean well" is only the cover under which such anarchist and Trostskyist groups like to operate, just as crying "peace" and "justice" is the cover under which the pro-Palestinian protesters further their campaign to isolate, undermine and ultimately destroy Israel.
The anti-globalists happily leap onto movements such as Reclaim the Streets because they know it strikes a chord with weary ordinary people who, if they knew the truth about the sort of solutions and alliances which Globalise Resistance and its allies favour and foster, would run faster than a student at the sight of a guard without his ID number.
And they were certainly helped last week by the repeated references to indymedia.ie, the organisation which supplied the TV pictures, as "an independent newsorganisation".
Even Naomi Klein, high priestess of the anti-globalisation movement, has warned against the poisonous libels and incitements which the indymedia network, under the cover of non-censorship of contributors, is willing to allow on its pages.
These include the allegations, presented as fact, that the phone calls from passengers on supposedly non-existent Muslim hijackers for what happened; and equally offensive reports that Arab suicide bombings against innocent Israelis are actually car bombings carried out by Israeli secret servicesto make the Palestinians look bad.
Irish people may feel profoundly uncomfortable with the pictures of gardai over-reacting to last Monday's protests, but they would surely have even less sympathy for the anti-globalisers if they were allowed to hear exactly what sort of poisonous permanent revolution fantasies they are nurturing.
Allowing them to portray themselves as mere misty-eyed idealists serves no-one's interest but their own.
Irish ping :-)JH2- I think there is more here than just something for us of Irish descent to ponder. How about a megaping?
Well I don't believe in police brutality, but at the end of the day these coppers are armed with batons. I'd have hated to hear the collective whine if they had been armed! :-)
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess these two weren't employed for their intense, intellectual capabilities.
I've never had much time for O'Toole. But the ``intelligensia'' round these parts put him up on an iconic pedestal. I'm glad the likes of Eilis O'Hanlon can see right through him.
When it comes to Le Pen, accusations without direct quotes are never needed.</appropriate tag>
My local zookeeper loves animals too -- what a fascist... giggle, silly freeping giggle.
I think it's a very valid commentary. And when I as an Irish girl, comes on this site and ses European bashing all the time. (Hey, I'm Irish, but I'm also European). I like to show that we are not all non-washing sheeple followers. :-)
It's a good article. In my opinion anyway.
So it always goes. The rise of right wing protest is always regarded as a sign that the end of civilisation is on hand; the rise of left wing protest is regarded as a sign of nothing more alarming than youthful idealism. Wrongheaded perhaps in its purism, but essentially harmless. Healthy even, for should the young not be angry and engaged and politically concerned?
The young should be gainfully employed, engaged and politically concerned. Unfortunately, that's not often the case with leftists in Ireland and elsewhere.
The "right" (conservatives) are not used to "rising up," so when they do, leaders are so overwhelmed we hear shouts that the sky is falling.
It is well for those of us who have kids out on their own (and sometimes too busy working to even watch TV) to remember that they need to be prodded to pay attention and be engaged in what is happening in the world -- I've been working on mine in extra earnest since 9/11 -- their childrens' world is at stake.
(As far as Israel is concerned)
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