Controversial Dutch Filmmaker Theo van Gogh killed

[germanos]

Originally posted by Sprayber
I don't know anything about this guy. Was he a really popular film maker or someone that most people loved to hate. What I'm trying to get at is, will there be a great outpouring of emotion or is he someone only fringe people and activists will mourn

Well, that's quite difficult to say.

Van Gogh was a guy who just loved to provoke. Preferably by throwing insults at his opponents.
Or maybe I should say: he loved to throw insults around in order to pick a fight with an individual or a group. It's really hard to tell what came first.
Provocation was his trade, that much is sure.

As I tried to convey, now many of his opponents mourn publicly about his murder. I think that in fact they only pay lip-service.

You wouldn't want to get into a fight with van Gogh. He would do anything to just kill any debate by throwing around insults.
There is a certain circle of people who hail this as the summit of 'free speach'. I beg to differ.


His films should be separated from the colums he wrote. He is hailed an excellent film maker, and probably this is true. His films were not political statements, AFAIK.
But the colums he wrote is where the controversy is from.
He wrote colums for about every wekkly magazine you can think of, and usually he would leave the magizine with a fight.

In the end he turned to the internet, and started his own site ( http://www.theovangogh.nl/ [/url] I think) to vent his diatribes.

edit: inserted hthe right webadress. It obviously has little content now. Nice pic though.

[Locutus]

Originally posted by Sprayber
I don't know anything about this guy. Was he a really popular film maker or someone that most people loved to hate. What I'm trying to get at is, will there be a great outpouring of emotion or is he someone only fringe people and activists will mourn

Kinda hard to tell at this point. The fact that he was brutully murdered alone could be reason for great public outcry and great emotional outpouring, this has happened a number of times in the past, even with non-famous people. Brutal murders (or murders of any kind for that matter) are still a rarity in this country, fortunately.

The fact that it seemed to have been a political assassination only makes it more likely that there will be an outcry over this, not (just) because of the person involved, but more because the motive is political: noone should ever have to fear for their safety to speak their mind in a free country. Yet, if we count a failed attempted murder on a prominent minister of our current government, this will have been the third such incident in 3 years (and before anyone asks, no muslims were involved in that failed attempt either, the perpetrator there was just a 'regular' loony)...

[Al B. Sure!]

any relation to Vincent van Gogh?

[Dinner]

laurentius: I haven't seen to much structual racism in my neck of the woods; hiden or other wise.

[laurentius]

Originally posted by Albert Speer
yeah but deride him or something...

Deride me for what? I dont enjoy saying these things, I know it makes me look horrible to some people. Its just that I'm genuinely concerned that few idiot muslims pave the way for future muslim hate and xenophobia in Europe. Thats why we should do something about these radical islamists before things get out of hand. IE people start to burn muslim stores etc.

[Sprayber]

Thanks fellas. Hopefully they can determine if the killer was the only one involved or not and quash any outbreak of violence.

[Al B. Sure!]

Its just that I'm genuinely concerned that few idiot muslims pave the way for future muslim hate and xenophobia in Europe. Thats why we should do something about these radical islamists before things get out of hand. IE people start to burn muslim stores etc.

10 minutes ago you favoured shooting people...

[our_man]

yall europeans are so blatantly racist...

Making a bit of a generalization there Speer?

Take a look at Locutus' post: he quite clearly states that it could be anyone. I too believe that we can't jump to conclusions in this situation. They're a lot of wackos out there that could do something like this, not just Islamic terrorists. Just look at who assassinated Pim Fortuyn.

BTW do you know what group I first suspected when the Madrid bombing occurred? It wasn't Osama and his allah queerboy friends (disproving your entire racism angle), it was homegrown terrorist scum ETA. But it turned out I was wrong there though, huh?

Albert Speer

[Al B. Sure!]

our_man:

why didn't you say...

Laurentius

????

why didn't you?

[Al B. Sure!]

are yall just going temporarily brain-dead when you get to Laurentius' posts?

[laurentius]

Originally posted by Albert Speer


10 minutes ago you favoured shooting people...

Actually I'm still in favour of that. The men who preach hate in the koran shools and mosques should be shot or locked away forever. People like the leader of Ansar al-islam living in Norway.

and btw, my room mate is a muslim and we are good friends.

[germanos]

he perpetrator, who´s said to have stuck a pamphlet to Mr van Gogh's chest, was reportedly shot in the leg in an exchange of gunfire with a motorcycle policeman

Pressconference right now.

The above is confirmed. Nothing on the content of the note though.

[Al B. Sure!]

and btw, my room mate is a muslim and we are good friends.

ah yes... the "I even have [insert group here] friends!" arguement...

[Locutus]

Originally posted by Albert Speer
any relation to Vincent van Gogh?

This Theo Van Gogh was the grand-grandson of the Theo Van Gogh who was the brother of Vincent.

Originally posted by Oerdin
What films did this guy make? Are any of them in English or are they only in Dutch?

Most of this movies were in Dutch and very much aimed at a Dutch audience. A few have been released on the international market (presumably subtitled or dubbed), see http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0324660/ (the films with English AKA titles are available in English (duh))

[laurentius]

Originally posted by Albert Speer


ah yes... the "I even have [insert group here] friends!" arguement...

What?