Well, we now have, sadly, a new name to add to the rather limited list of famous Norwegians. Perhaps, I should say infamous Norwegians; but there is no doubt that Anders Behring Breivik's name will go into the record books for the fulfilment of a deed that will live with other horrors in the annals of infamy. He killed about 70 people last Friday with a bomb and a gun. There are many questions being asked about why it happened and politicians across Europe and the rest of the world have expressed their deep sympathy for the friends and families of those killed. Also, they have announced their intentions of looking at security in their own countries. But in condemning Breivik and expressing sympathy — no doubt honestly intended — they are just going through the motions. They say what they have to say and then they carry on as before. They do this through a mixture of arrogance, complacency, ignorance, incompetence and through a complete inability of politicians across Europe to understand the concerns of ordinary people. Anders Breivik cannot be considered as an ordinary person. Ordinary persons do not decide that they have to execute large numbers of other people but the concerns expressed in Breivik's manefesto should not just be dismissed. Anders Breivik is clearly, an intelligent man and he has produced a 1500 page manifesto that sets out his beliefs "2083 A European Declaration of Independence". It is a rambling document — at 1500 pages this could hardly be avoided — that has obviously taken some considerable time to compile. He has been nurturing his grievances for at least 10 years until finally he snapped and in his disturbed mind he concluded that he had to act. But why kill so many innocent young people? It seems to be just that to him they were representative of the political classes of the future who would follow the unacceptable pathways that were destroying his country's character. It is easy to dismiss him as just another nutter — albeit a nutter with a gun. But that would be dangerous complacency. The fact is that there are men like Anders Breivik in every country in Europe — and in the USA — and we should be shocked not only by what he has done but by the fact that it has nor happened somewhere before. Clearly, the extreme demonstration of his feelings must be condemned; no political creed can demand and justify such slaughter. But, perhaps such things have happened before. Several members of extremist organisations have gone on the rampage in the past; but here the difference is that the perpetrator has set out his political creed for all to judge before he went out to put his tortured beliefs into operation. Like Adolph Hitler sitting in prison composing Mein Kampf, Anders Breivik has spent years collecting evidence and writing down the basis for his beliefs, prime among which is a conviction that Islam is a pernicious evil that must be destroyed. In many ways this manifesto is like Mein Kampf. Hitler wanted initially to call his book "Four & A Half Years of Struggle Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice" but he was persuaded that Mein Kampf was rather more memorable. Hitler's lies, stupidity and cowardice are a denunciation of the failings of politicians after World War I and his belief that many of the problems of Germany were caused by Jews. In the same way, Breivik believes that governments - as well as others - have failed in Europe in the years since World War II. They have collectively operated a creed of political correctness, of Marxist ideology, of spineless liberalism, of multiculturalism, have abandoned Christianity and have failed to control the immigration that has led to the Islamification of society - not just in Norway but across Europe. Whether the politicians like it or not, I believe that many people in Europe hold similar views.
Britain has suffered from mass immigration particularly since 1997. Many of these immigrants have religious beliefs that are alien to us and nothing has been done to integrate them into our society. This immigration continues, even after our Prime Minister has promised change and has said publicly that multiculturalism has failed. We have laws that make racial discrimination an offence but the laws are applied entirely for the benefit of minorities. We have Muslim youths so alienated against our society that even as they are British citizens they demonstrate on the streets against our soldiers returning from doing their duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. We know already that some of these alienated youths even go on to carry out bombings, having been trained to kill in camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They are watched by security services but still more Muslims are allowed into the country — some with extremist anti-Western views that are already known. We have particular problems because we had an Empire and many citizens of former colonies wish to come to England. Norway had no such empire and Anders Brievik considers this an added reason why Norway should not have to suffer Islamification. He is concerned also at the decline in moral standards over the last 50 or 60 years; the increases in muggings and robberies; the increased use of drugs; the acceptance of homosexuality; the acceptance of easy access to pornography.
Anders Brievik is a Christian with beliefs close to fundamentalists and this inevitably confuses his arguments. He has ideas that can be argued but his rambling exposition of his manifesto suggests the tortured mind that has probably resulted from years of feeling impotent, unable to halt what he sees as the destruction of Nordic society.
I have little time for any organised religions. Everywhere they are like cancers in society. Christians and Muslims have argued and fought for a thousand years and the medieval nonsense of their religious dogmas ignites conflict. They can't even agree amongst themselves. Catholics and Protestants have justified slaughter in the name of their brand of Christianity. Even now there are walls still dividing Protestant from Catholic in Northern Ireland and people are killed in the name of religion. Is there any sense in perpetuating a friction that dates back to William of Orange who died more than 300 years ago? The Church of England seems to be run from another planet as they argue about women bishops and gay priests while the structure collapses around them and the Archbishop of Canterbury becomes more and more like a retired old social worker.
Like everyone, I express my sympathy for all who have lost family and friends last Friday in Norway. I cannot support the conclusions and consequences of Anders Brievik but I understand the frustrations. I am proud to be British but also I am ashamed at the way that our country has been allowed to decline. Our industries are almost all dead; bankers rob the people of their hard earned cash while they wallow in obscene wealth; the government wants a resurrection of our manufacturing base but does little to support manufacturers and un-regulated immigration gives three out of every four new jobs to foreigners.
Anders Breivik may be declared insane but it is easy to understand what drove him to that state.
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