Film Director Theo Van Gogh Murdered

[method77]

Dutch film director, columnist and writer Theo Van Gogh came to a tragic end. He was killed by the fire of an armed assailant today in Amsterdam.

The 47-year-old director, descendant of the great painter and creator of many controversial films, received threats against his life after his last film, a short critique on Islam entitled Submission.

The police has already arrested a man said to be the assailant. The news literally came out of the blue for the Dutch capital. The Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, referring to the sudden loss of the "champion in freedom of expression", as he described Van Gogh, called on the people not to jump to hasty conclusions.

However, the Dutch deputy minister responsible for European affairs, Atso Nikolai, compared the murder to that of politician Pim Fortuyn, two years ago. Beatrice, Queen of the Netherlands, released a statement declaring herself to be "shocked and amazed" at the incident

ERT online

A great loss for the Netherlands. May he rest in peace

[Kooperman]

Another "champion in freedom of expression" silenced by religious extremists. It's happening all over the world, not necessarily through murders alone. In the US those people are silenced politically by the government, losing their voice when the media is too terrified of government reprisals to give exposure to those ideas of freedom.

[slum_goddess]

unbelievable to me that this happened in holland. last night we watched the public gathering in amsterdam, something starting at 10,000 people (i think way more).

RIP Theo Van Gogh.

[megabitch]

This is why I did not show up here, I was too bussy on Dutch forums.

Theo van Gogh was more than you know.

He was a man who offended, hurted en shocked people. I a very bad way!

He opened his mouth way too far, hated the jews and the moslims as well, he called al moslims goat-fuckers and that was even one of the kindest things he said.

One of his jokes was: it smells like caramel today I think they burn the jews with diabetes.....

I personally think that freedom of speech is too valuable to treat it this way, I think that it still gives you no right to offend people or to hurt them.

I think that it takes a lot of responsability to handle that freedom.

Of course I do NOT approve of this killing! But this man has only himself to blame.

And thanks to what has happened, my country now is turning in to a country in which people stand up against one another. It freightens me very much.

[Ken]

And thanks to what has happened, my country now is turning in to a country in which people stand up against one another. It freightens me very much.

But at least they stand. The foundation of freedom is to stand and declare it.

You may not agree with Van Gogh’s words and actions, but it's important to recognize that him being murdered for such is a silencing of expression and freedom through medieval force.

[megabitch]

Yes, I know.

But there are a lot of white people now who do not blame the murderer, they blame the whole islam and the whole Maroc community.

THAT is what makes me scared! It's 1938 all over again!!!!

Everybody seems to hate one another - this happening makes the controverses more pointy, more nasty and it reduces the chances for integration!

And please, do not forget, we DO have freedom of speech but we also have laws against discrimination. The things TvG said made him GUILTY against that law!

(again I do not know the right words - please try to understand what I mean..)

In this - in MY country - nobody seems to care wheather you live by the laws or not. No-one ever accused TVG of discrimination, not in a way that he had to go to court anyway. In this (my) country everyone thinks that it all must be possible!

I mean - if you say what he said ON THE STEET - you get punnished, and when you say it on TV - people either laugh of turn to another station.....

Now you see what that brings!

Somebody compared it with teasing a Pitbull.......

You do not do that when your mind is healty because you KNOW that once it will bite you.

TvG did something far more dangarous, he could have known he got killed, because there are idiots in EVERY group of people.

And a lot of dutch people forget that TvG was killed by ONE idiot, not by the Maroc people and not by the whole Islam community!