RUTHFULLY YOURS

For those not familiar with PEGIDA, or for those who want to learn more, here’s a bit of background:

PEGIDA provides a structure for citizens to come together to celebrate national pride and to express opposition to Merkel’s suicidal open door immigration policy that has allowed in throngs of Muslims from Islamic countries – a policy that is destroying Germany in unthinkable ways.

If you’ve ever seen a video of a PEGIDA march, you’ll notice young and old, healthy and infirmed, day or night, in all kinds of weather, patriotic Germans show up and wind their way through the streets. Some carry flags while others hold signs. There is often an eerie silence, though occasionally a chant breaks out or you can hear the national anthem being sung. (See here, here, here, here, here, and here for a sample of videos from a few of their marches.)

The size of the demonstrations is often large, with numbers reaching into the tens of thousands. Beginning in October, the group organized weekly marches in Dresden and other cities primarily located in the eastern part of Germany (which is likely no coincidence given the region’s history and people’s first-hand knowledge of life under totalitarian rule).

But the core values embraced by PEGIDA are spreading beyond the eastern part of Germany. A recent study cited at the Gatestone Institute showed increasing numbers of Germans coming around to the hard truth about Islam and its incompatibility with Western culture. Another poll noted in an article at Deutsche Welle showed that nearly 30% of German’s believe PEGIDA’s marches are justified and that 13% of them would attend a PEGIDA march if one were held in their hometown. (And, yes, these numbers are still absurdly low in light of the madness that is unfolding, but the numbers represent a shift toward reality. One can only hope Germans will continue to wake up, though it remains unclear if it is already too late.)

In addition to increasing support across Germany, as noted at the outset of the blog, PEGIDA’s reach is now expanding into other European countries as their base of support grows. Gates of Vienna notes that “PEGIDA is in Austria, Czechia, Poland, Hungary, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland and Great Britain. The movement has good connections from Vlaams Belang, through the French Front National, the British EU-hostile UKIP and the nationalist parties of Eastern Europe, to the Italian Lega Nord.”

Reporting on the upcoming mass demonstrations, Deutsche Welle reports:

Germany’s anti-immigration movement Pegida has signed a declaration with like-minded groups from 14 European countries, agreeing on joint protests in February. The associations warn of “Islam conquering Europe.” (snip)

The anti-immigration groups from different EU states have agreed on international protests on February 6, dubbed the “Day of the European Patriots.” The protests are to be held in Pegida’s stronghold of Dresden as well as in Prague, Warsaw and other European cities. (snip)

The representatives of the far-right movements signed a joint “Prague declaration,” warning that the “history of Western civilization could soon come to an end through Islam conquering Europe.”

As you might imagine, PEGIDA is controversial as the left tries to paint them as neo-Nazis (they’re not) and dangerous right wingers (as if it’s dangerous to love your country and want to protect it from ruin). It’s also common for peaceful marches to be infiltrated by people who start trouble in order to taint PEGIDA’s reputation. The German government is, of course, staunchly against them and it is typical to see police out in force at their demonstrations – more police than Germany appears able (or willing) to muster to protect its citizens from such horrors as mass rape.

So far, despite the opposition, PEGIDA is not only persevering, but winning over more and more Europeans. Perhaps too slowly, too late, and too little.

I hope not. And pray.

May God bless every patriot. May February 6^th be a day when a sea of Europeans takes to the streets. May they be safe, be heard, and be effective.

Cheering them on from across the pond, as they say. We watch, wait, wonder, and worry. Is this our future? (Answer: If there is not a dramatic and immediate course correction, then yes. It is.)