"But moreover, I'm a friend of truth."
Yeah, State controlled "truth". With friends like this, who needs enemies.
I don't believe in a government (i.e. socicist) agency being the judge of what the truth is.
The Truth doen't need a vangurard of bullyboys to reveal it.
Just defenders willing to stand up and counter such idiocies as Irving promotes.
You only cheapen the virtue of truth with such heavy handed tactics.
Much like the Nazis would use to enforce their version of "Truth" of which Mr. Irving is a big fan of.
"He wasn't arrested here, so no freedom of speech violated."
You have a Very LIMITED view of freedom. The Holocaust didn't happen here. Does that make it any less of a crime?
Completely illogical.
Twenty years? Why not the death penalty for "thought crimes".
Hitler and Goebbels would be soooooo proud of you and the Austrians today.
The Hitlers and the Gobbels of the world would not have been able to get as far as they did had people stood up for truth at the time. Now, likely out of societal guilt for what DID happen, the Austrians have laws to see that the holocaust doesn't happen again. Google recent polls asking Americans whether or not the holocaust happened. You might be surprised at what the Truth needs to have itself revealed. "vanguard of bullyboys"? Gosh, that's some writing.
Here in my country, I wouldn't be in favor of locking Irving up, but I'm also not in favor of telling the Austrians to live by our Constitution. They can freely decide that for themselves, as if I had anything to say about how they run their country! If they don't like people lying about the holocaust, it's their right to 'splain that to them. If you don't like that, don't go there. If you think it's ok to say the holocaust didn't happen, then we're done talking.
But we Americans do have the first Amendment and you can say whatever you feel like saying, regardless of how ignorant it might be. You don't have the right to be heard, but I support your first amendment right to freely express yourself. Just don't be surprised if someone takes offense and violates your pursuit of happiness.
Here in Atlanta we recently had a real criminal sentenced to only 30 years for murdering a mother and her two-year old child...shot the child in the head and then burned both of them in the trunk of their car. Two of the twelve jurors (both "minorities") would not vote for the death penalty. Now we have a man with no criminal record facing 20 years in prison for an opinion. What has Western Civilizian come to. The sad and pathetic fact is that here on a "conservative" web site folks are supporting the "thought crime" arrest. George Orwell is loving this stuff.