Moroccans fight back with #BornHere campaign
The man has been the quarry of many news and social media rampages for the last week, and it's not over yet as the very nationals Geert Wilders seems to have something against are retaliating, with anger but also humor. First on the campaign trail for the PVV for municipal council elections in The Hague, and then again at the election results gathering, Geert Wilders has expressed the opinion about Moroccans, publicly, and without shame. First saying that The Hague is a city that wants to vote for less problems, and fewer Moroccans, and then continuing with the promise that fewer Moroccans in the city would be arranged. This has led to fierce reactions.
Both inside and outside the country, comparisons to Hitler have been flying around. Several organizations have said they would report Wilders to the police. On Wednesday, in the Haags Grand Café De Tijd, Wilders asked his partisans if they want more or fewer Moroccans in the city. They chanted back "fewer fewer fewer." To this, the PVV-leader made the promise: "We will arrange that" topping off his discriminatory pie with a satisfied smile.
Via Twitter, anonymous as well as identified persons roared their terrible roars. #Wilders and #Marokkanen were trending topics. Below, some tweets from well-known Dutch people: "Wilders is a racist asshole, and the entire situation makes me think of the Second World War. Why am I not allowed to also say that?", journalist Jelle Brandt Corstius tweeted. Actor Thijs Römer wrote: "Volkert, where are you when your country needs you?" referencing Volkert van der Graaf who murdered politico Pim Fortuyn (who also had a critical view of Islam) in 2003. The Tweet caused some shock. A little later, Römer wrote: "I want to refer you to the last scene of 06/05 of Van Gogh. Of course I hope that history won't repeat itself." Wilders has retweeted Römer's first tweet.
Goal-keeper for Sparta, Khalid Sinouh, tweeted a picture of the report he filed against Wilders, with the caption: "Don't talk, do." Writer Saskia Noort tweeted: "I'm ashamed of our country. How far we let Wilders come." "What would have happened if a politico in A'dam had yelled: 'Do you want more or fewer Jews in this city?" ex-crime journalist Peter R. de Vries wrote. Writer Özcan Akyol tweeted: "And even worse and more terrible than Geert Wilders, a narcisistic populist, is the asshole public that sheepishly shouted: 'Fewer. Fewer.' Brr."
Prime Minister Mark Rutte took immediate distance from the comments. "What he said tonight, gave me a bad taste in my mouth", Rutte said at the election evening of the VVD in Breda. The PVV "went a step further again", he said. Aissa Zanzen, president of the Dutch Moroccan Cooperation Bond (SMN), as well as National Moroccan Council will file a report of complaint against Wilders, Zanzen announced Thursday morning. These organizations are not alone in their will to bring some form of justice to Wilders. On Facebook, groups such as 'Meer Marokkanen' (More Moroccans) and 'Ik doe aangifte tegen Wilders' (I'm filing a report against Wilders) are continually receiving more likes. At the time of writing, it is almost 3,000 for the former, and almost 28,000 for the latter. "Dear Moroccan friends. Please go report Wilders tomorrow. This is getting really ridiculous. 2 million people nation-wide look at this guy as their leader and you as a danger. @ the rest.... Silently watching = accessary? Step by step we're coming very close to the forbidden comparison...", the first post reads. "Discrimination is forbidden by law in the Netherlands. In article 1 of the constitution it states that everyone in the Netherlands has the right to equal treatment. Incitement to hatred and discrimination is also punishable. Communicate your complaint today", they tell their followers. They place a link to the online report forum discriminatie.nl
Many Dutch people are also taking a medicative humorous attitude going into the fray. Many Dutch Moroccans Tweeted photos of themselves with the hashtag #BornHere. In the meme, they picture themselves with their Dutch passports, with overlaying text reading: "Mocro's be like, born here."
None of this backlash seems to deter the hardcore Wilders fans, though. On his facebook page, his partisans still react positively to his comments. "SUPER THIS EXPRESSION GO GEERT GO, RUTTE AND COMRADES MAKE ME SICK" one passionate supporter hollered. It received 105 likes.
