In Brussels – Protests Bad – Teddy Bears and Vigils Good

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets yesterday, descending on the Brussels stock exchange building – the site at which wreaths and flowers are laid and candles are lit in tribute to the victims of last Tuesdays terrorist bombings in Belgium. The protesters evidently disobeyed a directive by authorities to postpone all “solidarity” marches.

 

The approximately 450 protesters are being classified by every media outlet as far right-wing and witnesses reported they saw some of them giving Nazi salutes. I’ve watched some of the video available and I didn’t see any salutes, but there may have been. I saw a lot of hands up, but no salutes.

 

As an aside, may I add that characterizing someone as far-right and Nazi is a bit ridiculous. After all, Hitler was the head of the Nazi Party, the National SOCIALIST German Workers’ Party – not exactly right wing.

 

Anyway, authorities didn’t take too kindly to the protest and sprang into action. In full riot gear, they drove the protesters away from the site of the tribute and into the street. There, they opened up water cannons on them and lobbed tear gas into the crowd.

 

Business Insider reports that the protesters were “shouting slogans vehemently denouncing the Islamic State which claimed responsibility for the attacks in which 31 people were killed and scores injured.” Banners such as “United against Islamic State,” were also seen. Some were even heard shouting “this is our home!” Oh the Horror!

 

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel condemned the demonstrations. “It is highly inappropriate that protesters have disrupted the peaceful reflection at the Bourse (stock exchange). I strongly condemn these disturbances,” he said. The mayor ofBrussels, Yvan Mayeur said, “I am appalled at what has happened, to see that such scoundrels come here to provoke people at their place of homage.”

 

These protesters may very well be as they are portrayed by the media – nationalist hate groups – and if they are, no one should defend them. But I also understand the utter and helpless frustration some citizens of European countries are feeling as their leaders have allowed a full scale incursion of Muslims into their countries – only then to see attack after attack by the very people the political class invited in.

 

This is the type of backlash spineless politically correct liberals should expect when they push their own citizens beyond the breaking point. But really, this was just a protest. It was not a riot. Yet the authorities are more concerned about the potential disruption of what Michelle Malkin astutely describes as “docile Westerners, busy shedding cartoon tears and doodling broken hearts on social media.”

 

Raheem Kassam writes: “Teddy bears, tears, candles, cartoons, murals, mosaics, flowers, flags, projections, hashtags, balloons, wreaths, lights, vigils, scarves, and more. These are the best solutions the Western world seems to come up with every few months when we are slammed by another Islamist terrorist attack. We are our own sickness.” And they are said to be doing it all in the name of “solidarity.”

 

Yet “standing in solidarity” with someone now means that you observe the situation, change your Facebook profile picture accordingly, pat yourself on the back and chant “peace – no war.”

 

And somehow this is supposed to make things all better. Kassam adds that “teddy bears are the new resolve. They symbolize everything we have become in response to our way of life being threatened, and our people being slaughtered on our streets: inanimate, squishy, and full of crap.” 

Expect these clashes between authorities and fed-up citizens to continue to escalate as the people witness their leaders appear to condemn the protesters more vigorously than the terrorists, while also heaping praise on the sniveling weaklings of the teddy bear/candlelight vigil set.

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