This week I watched an interview with a German lady who recalled life in the Third Reich. Kristallnacht was a discomfiting surprise to her but by that time the general mood was so rabidly Nazi that opposition didn't feel feasible. I wondered how right she was about that, if protest may be rather more effective if made far earlier. I was thus pleased to see how much of the Dutch electorate voted for candidates other than Geert Wilders: perhaps that is indeed some significant protest sufficiently early.
I recently suggested that in society at large one should expect to occasionally hear unpleasant and bothersome things. Maybe that view must entail some of the constructive engagement that I had mentioned, lest odious views gain currency through going unchallenged.
