Zacht Ei - The neocolonialism of Hans van Mierlo

Sunday, November 21, 2004

The neocolonialism of Hans van Mierlo
Mr. Hans van Mierlo, the founder of Dutch centrist party D66, feels that immigration secretary Mrs. Rita Verdonk shouldn't have corrected an imam who refused to shake her hand. Mr. Van Mierlo got about a quarter of an hour on Buitenhof, one of the best news shows on Dutch PBS, to explain his point of view. Never mind the 15 minutes he needed, his argument can be summarized in one line. According to Mr. Van Mierlo, if you think you're a member of a superior culture, you shouldn't take offense at ideas from other cultures which you consider to be old-fashioned. Mr. Van Mierlo, the point is not if we, as members of a so-called superior culture, can handle it. The point is that we are insulting other cultures by allowing them to carry on believing in antiquated ideas about gender roles. I'm even willing to go so far as to consider the so-called 'civilized' and 'sensible' attitudes of Mr. Van Mierlo neocolonial. Why is that? Bear with me for a moment. Let's say that someone from another country tells you the Sun revolves around the Earth. Would you correct him, or just snigger behind his back? Which course of action would show the most respect for the person you're having a conversation with? This culture has, for various economic and social reasons, decided that our civilization is best served when both men and women are no longer distinguished by different kinds of treatment. There's not much debate about that; you could argue that the concept that women and men should be treated equal as this benefits us all, is about as normal amongst well-educated Westerners as the idea of the Earth revolving around the Sun, rather than the other way around. Yet according to Mr. Van Mierlo, we should simply ignore it when somebody with a different view of the world treats a woman according to his antiquated ideas. To me, that amounts to extremely condescending behavior. Mrs. Verdonk is not the kind of woman to take offense when somebody treats her in a way even her greatgrandmother wouldn't have had to endure. She's much too mature for that. The reason she corrected the imam was, quite rightly, because he should be corrected, and because she respected him enough to still think he would benefit from that. If your friends don't have the guts to tell you the truth every now and then, they're not really your friends, they're invertebrates. Not educating our new countrymen on basic tenets of Western civilization has long been considered perfectly acceptable and even 'tolerant'. By acting the way we did (or rather: not acting), we have been depriving them of the opportunity to become full members of our society. When Mr. Van Mierlo corrects Mrs. Verdonk, he isn't making the case for respecting the cultures of immigrants. Whether he intends to or not, he's arguing to hold them back as much as possible. There was a time when such behavior by Western cultures was rife, and most of us generally don't feel proud about that era. It's a good thing not even his own party takes Mr. Van Mierlo too seriously anymore.
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Message to minister of Defence mr. Kamp who critisized the behavior of a young US marine as a "scandal" without even waiting for the results of an invistigation. On top of that I would like to remind him that his favorite US senator (ex presidential candidate) John Kerry got the silver medal for shootingt a fleeing wounded Vietnam youngster in the back. (Confirmed by witnesses and his own biography)

Letter From a Fallujah Marine:

This is one story of many that people normally don't hear, and one that everyone does. This is one most don't hear:

A young Marine and his cover man cautiously enter a room just recently filled with insurgents armed with AK-47's and RPG's. There are three dead, another wailing in pain. The insurgent can be heard saying, "Mister, mister! Diktoor, diktoor (doctor)!"

He is badly wounded, lying in a pool of his own blood. The Marine and his cover man slowly walk toward the injured man, scanning to make sure no enemies come from behind. In a split second, the pressure in the room greatly exceeds that of the outside, and the concussion seems to be felt before the blast is heard. Marines outside rush to the room, and look in horror as the dust gradually settles.

The result is a room filled with the barely recognizable remains of the deceased, caused by an insurgent setting off several pounds of explosives.

The Marines' remains are gathered by teary-eyed comrades, brothers in arms, and shipped home in a box. The families can only mourn over a casket and a picture of their loved one, a life cut short by someone who hid behind a white flag.

But no one hears these stories, except those who have lived to carry remains of a friend, and the families who loved the dead. No one hears this, so no one cares.

This is the story everyone hears:

A young Marine and his fire team cautiously enter a room just recently filled with insurgents armed with AK-47's and RPG's. There are three dead, another wailing in pain. The insurgent can be heard saying, "Mister, mister! Diktoor, diktoor (doctor)!" He is badly wounded.

Suddenly, he pulls from under his bloody clothes a grenade, without the pin. The explosion rocks the room, killing one Marine, wounding the others. The young Marine catches shrapnel in the face.

The next day, same Marine, same type of situation, a different story. The young Marine and his cover man enter a room with two wounded insurgents. One lies on the floor in a puddle of blood, another against the wall. A reporter and his camera survey the wreckage inside, and in the background can be heard the voice of a Marine, "He's moving, he's moving!"

The pop of a rifle is heard, and the insurgent against the wall is now dead. Minutes, hours later, the scene is aired on national television, and the Marine is being held for committing a war crime. Unlawful killing.

And now, another Marine has the possibility of being burned at the stake for protecting the life of his brethren. His family now wrings their hands in grief, tears streaming down their face. Brother, should I have been in your boots, I too would have done the same.

For those of you who don't know, we Marines, Band of Brothers, Jarheads, Leathernecks, etc., do not fight because we think it is right, or think it is wrong. We are here for the man to our left, and the man to our right. We choose to give our lives so that the man or woman next to us can go home and see their husbands, wives, children, friends and families.

For those of you who sit on your couches in front of your television, and choose to condemn this man's actions, I have but one thing to say to you. Get out of your recliner, lace up my boots, pick up a rifle, leave your family behind and join me. See what I've seen, walk where I have walked. To those of you who support us, my sincerest gratitude. You keep us alive.

I am a Marine currently doing his second tour in Iraq. These are my opinions and mine alone. They do not represent those of the Marine Corps or of the US military, or any other.

CanadaCees (ip:24.67.253.203) 21 November 2004 - 18:11 uur

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The neocolonialism of Hans van Mierlo

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