10 January 2015

Together we will punish the killer. Our punishment will be more generosity, more tolerance and more democracy.

(Fabian Strang, mayor of Oslo after the 2011 Norway attacks.)

If you share my belief that an open society, a democratic open society is the only alternative to any murderous ideology, you must accept how vulnerable an open society is - simply because it is open and messy and multi cultural and mixed and complicated. Let us remain open, diverse and generous, let us refuse to polarise, to dish out blame or separate the world into us and them, let us stay subversive, irrational and above all, gentle.

3 comments:

Rouchswalwe said...

Ja. Gentleness takes immense strength. May we be strong now.

am said...

Yes. This is what I wanted to say but did not know how to say. Thank you, Sabine.

Anonymous said...

Subversive and gentle. This I will remember.