You can hear people screaming
A horror in Molenbeek yesterday:
Shocking footage has emerged of a woman being mown down by a car in the Brussels district of Molenbeek during a far-right rally. Police later arrested the driver, who is said to be a local man.
In the footage, a white Audi A1 that had broken through a police roadblock hits the woman, who appears to be wearing a black Muslim headscarf, while she is crossing the road. She rolls across the bonnet of the vehicle and falls onto the floor, while the vehicle speeds down the street.
The woman suffered multiple fractures and head injuries.
Police arrested two suspected far-right activists carrying Molotov cocktails and weapons in the district of Saturday, as they struggled to close down an anti-Islam protest that had been banned by authorities, reported RBTF. Minor clashes between police and local youths were also reported. Anti-fascist protesters were also arrested in the city’s Place de la Bourse.
The fascists are rubbing their hands with glee.
There’s something about fascists that makes them feel like they can get away with whatever violence they want as soon as they feel like sufficient people verbally support their views. Trump’s supporters, this driver.
Freedom of speech is important, and yet, I can see why many countries feel hate speech needs to be limited– it seems like it is too easy for it to become action.
Had Belgian authorities mustered the courage to tackle hate speech 15 or 20 years ago, the events of March 22nd would never have occurred.
Molenbeek is just chock full of hate speech, hate speech calling for mass murder.
But supine Belgian authorities don’t have the resources and manpower to tackle that.
However, they’ve plenty of resources, balls and manpower when it comes to containing free speech and the reactions to mass murder.
Running some innocent person over is an abominable crime.
Shouting ‘Belgium is my home’…not so much.
Unconfirmed news reports now available suggest the ‘fascist’ might be a drunk driver called Mohammed.
Yeah it turns out that both occupants of the car were Muslim, and that both were drunk and stoned.
Redouane B. et Mohamed B.
http://www.lacapitale.be/1528611/article/2016-04-03/les-deux-hommes-qui-ont-percute-une-femme-a-molenbeek-places-sous-mandat-d-arret
I didn’t call the driver a fascist, you know. I said the fascists are rubbing their hands with glee – my point being that whoever drove the car that crashed into the woman, it’s an event that will please the fascists. Fascists love violence and they especially love violence against defenseless people. They also love rage and hostility and turmoil.
Here’s a source in English for the arrest:
http://www.expatica.com/be/news/Flanders-Two-charged-after-hit-and-run-in-Molenbeek_627486.html
Fair enough, Ophelia.
I probably didn’t read your last sentence as carefully as I should have, but my comment was more a response to Samantha Vimes’ first paragraph unequivocally linking the incident to fascists. I should have made that clear.
No problem, Dave – and it’s good to have the additional information about the arrest.