Why opposing immigration is not about 'whiteness'



If the Ku Klux Klan’s continued existence in the United States is unsettling, its emergence in Ireland is almost surreal. Yet here we are in a time when reality is much stranger than fiction.

Frank L. Silva, a former KKK member, has been actively collaborating with anti-establishment groups in Ireland, sparking media outrage and widespread head-scratching. Silva’s history shows how the Klan has evolved from its post-Civil War roots to modern offshoots. The dark irony here is impossible to overlook.

Irish immigrants were depicted in political cartoons as brutish, animalistic figures, often described as 'negroes turned inside out.'

You see, the Klan’s ties to Irish identity and the very concept of “whiteness” go way back.

The fighting Irish

The 19th century saw waves of Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Famine only to find themselves vilified upon arrival in America. The Ku Klux Klan, with its roots deeply entwined with anti-Catholic sentiment, exploited this wave of Irish immigration to fuel fear and division. Irish Catholics were portrayed as a threat to Protestant values and, by extension, to the American people.

If there’s one thing the Irish love — beside drinking, dancing, cursing, joking, and singing — it’s a good fight. Recognizing the threat, they met it head-on, fists raised.

One striking example of Irish defiance was the Notre Dame student uprising of 1924. When a Klan rally was held near their campus, Irish Catholic students stood their ground, showing strength in the face of real danger.

"But weren’t the Irish 'white'?" some of today's crusading anti-racists may ask. "Wasn’t the Klan all about preserving and promoting “white supremacy”?

This is where a little history lesson is in order.

White privilege?

In 19th-century America, Irish immigrants were not considered “white” in the same sense as Anglo-Saxon Protestants. They were perceived as racially inferior due to a mix of religious, cultural, and economic biases.

Arriving destitute and in droves, Irish immigrants were seen as competition for low-wage jobs in rapidly urbanizing cities. Their willingness to work for less fueled native workers' resentment and economic anxiety — sound familiar?

Religious tension deepened these divisions. In a country founded on Protestant ideals, Irish Catholics were viewed as agents of the Vatican, a foreign power. This suspicion, stoked by groups such as the Know-Nothing Party, painted Irish Catholics as potential saboteurs of American democracy — loyal not to the United States but to Rome. The notion that the Irish could undermine governance gained traction in certain circles, giving weight to the Klan’s anti-Irish campaigns.

The animosity, while harsh, had roots in primal instincts — tribalism. A group of newcomers with strange accents and unfamiliar customs seemed wholly different. From an evolutionary standpoint, the suspicion made complete sense. Welcoming a complete stranger into your home with open arms is, at best, unwise. At worst, it can be disastrous.

However, the backlash against the Irish was extreme and largely detached from reality. Cultural narratives and pseudoscientific theories added fuel to the fire. Irish immigrants were depicted in political cartoons as brutish, animalistic figures, often described as “negroes turned inside out.”

This comparison underscored their perceived moral and intellectual inferiority, supporting the belief that they threatened societal stability. Books like "Comparative Physiognomy" perpetuated these stereotypes, further entrenching the racialization of the Irish and positioning them below the dominant white Protestant identity.

Franklin’s foresight

Earlier this year, the brilliant Steve Sailer revisited Benjamin Franklin’s essay “Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind,” a polemic opposing the influx of German immigrants into Pennsylvania. Franklin worried that these newcomers would resist assimilation into English-speaking society, potentially reshaping the colony with their own customs and language rather than blending in and strengthening a unified culture. Less melting pot, more splintered silos.

Franklin’s fear was entirely reasonable. Shared skin color was no assurance of shared values or a cohesive society. The threat, as he saw it, was not merely foreign influence but the fracturing of what he considered the cultural fabric of early America.

This notion holds a striking parallel to modern debates. The idea that “white privilege” is a uniform experience ignores the varied and often tumultuous paths of European-descended populations. The Irish’s suffering during the Great Famine, the persecution of Eastern European Jews, or the challenges faced by Southern and Eastern European immigrants all challenge the monolithic narrative of privilege.

The only thread connecting these people was their shared hope for a better life. That’s it. They faced prejudice, economic struggle, and cultural exclusion. “Whiteness” has never been, and will never be, a simple, unified identity. True racism lies in denying this reality.

Franklin’s fears resonate in today’s world. The genuine celebration of diversity — a blend of backgrounds and traditions — has been warped by ideologies that prioritize superficial traits over shared cultural values.

Not that long ago, before the hyper-progressive mind virus took hold, we sought to respect differences while finding stable common ground.

Now, it’s about men in skirts, pronouns, and 700 different genders.

Degeneracy has taken the place of diversity.

EU-inspired erosion

The assumption that shared skin color equates to cultural uniformity is as flawed now as it was in Franklin’s era. This brings us to the larger consequence of global immigration and cultural dilution.

Once unique, robust cultures such as those in Germany and Ireland are now grappling with the consequences of globalization’s unchecked march. Mass immigration, driven by open-border policies and economic interests, has accelerated cultural erosion at an alarming rate.

The very essence of these nations’ identities is being submerged under the weight of Brussels-bred conformity. Franklin’s warning about cultural displacement, voiced over two centuries ago, feels prophetic today. The results of unfettered globalization can be seen in the loss of distinct identities and the rise of tensions that hark back to the very divisions that defined the Irish struggle in America.

The question is, how much will be lost before nations recognize the cost?

The re-election of Donald Trump offers the United States a glimmer of hope. But in Europe, hope is in short supply. In fact, one could argue it vanished years ago.

The Great Replacement is real — and happening to Ireland



The Great Replacement theory is often dismissed as a tinfoil-hat-wearing fever dream, a fringe notion that only the most paranoid could entertain.

Yet in Ireland, it is playing out in real time, driven by policies that explicitly aim to replace the native population with an influx of foreign-born residents.

As an Irishman, I write this with a mixture of anger and absolute sadness. A truly wonderful country full of truly wonderful people is being destroyed, and the elites are enjoying every second of it.

Far from being a wild conspiracy, this demographic transformation is a stated goal of the Ireland 2040 plan, which seeks to integrate massive numbers of migrants into a small island nation, eroding its traditional identity and social fabric. The elites are giving the Irish a glimpse of their future, and it’s nothing short of grim.

Critics, begone!

Irish-born Canadian Stefan Molyneux — long ago unpersoned by the mainstream media for "white supremacy" and other offenses — tried to raise the alarm some five years ago, only to have YouTube promptly ban his video. It still survives in places online, allowing you to take in his calm, careful argument against the initiative ... if you dare.

The rationale provided for the 2040 plan is riddled with fallacies. The supposed inevitability of a growing, diversifying population is nothing more than propaganda. Population growth is portrayed as an unstoppable force, akin to natural phenomena like aging or the changing of the seasons.

In reality, this is a man-made phenomenon, a social construct pretending to be something organic. The Irish government’s claim that by 2040, the island will be home to millions more people, is treated as a foregone conclusion.

But this outcome is far from inevitable. It is the direct consequence of policies that prioritize open borders and mass migration over the preservation of cultural identity and social cohesion. Yes, demographic decline is a concern. But who we're letting in is a far bigger concern. The government seems fixated on issues of quantity; elected leaders should instead be obsessing over the quality of people entering the land they are paid to protect.

Selling a fantasy

The economic argument for mass immigration falls flat under scrutiny. Politicians sell the public on the fantasy that immigrants from the third world will seamlessly integrate, fill labor gaps, and support an aging population. However, this narrative ignores stark differences in academic qualifications, cultural practices, overall work ethic, and the fact that many struggle to speak basic English.

Believing that large numbers of people from regions with vastly different cultural and economic backgrounds will immediately become tax-paying, productive members of society is not only unrealistic but delusional. Moreover, it’s dangerous. It creates a permanent underclass, with associated increases in crime and social unrest.

It’s not about xenophobia or prejudice; it’s about recognizing that nature, evolution, and/or divine design have shaped different groups for different environments, much like how wolves and dogs have adapted to their specific habitats. An Aboriginal would struggle to adapt to life in a modern Western city just as much as an urbanite would fail to thrive in the harsh Australian outback.

Just like the Biden administration, the Irish government uses deceptive language to mask its eagerness to embrace diversity at all costs. When officials speak of social cohesion and sustainability (a term that means everything and absolutely nothing), what they're really endorsing is a future where traditional Irish communities are replaced by multicultural enclaves.

This transformation is being portrayed as something beyond the control of the people, an unavoidable reality of globalization. But history shows that immigration patterns can and have been controlled. Ireland existed for thousands of years without being swamped by third world migration. What has changed is not the inevitability of population growth but the willingness of the government to undermine its own culture in the name of diversity.

Dublin or Durban?

As Molyneux shows, the parallels with Africa serve to illustrate a number of important points. Moving people from the third world to first-world countries is not a solution; it is a transfer of problems from one region to another. The carbon footprint of a Somali arriving in Dublin skyrockets compared to what it would be if they stayed in their native village. The notion that immigration somehow benefits the environment is a clever bait-and-switch. It is a pernicious plan that sacrifices cultural preservation and social stability at the altar of radical egalitarianism.

The Ireland 2040 document is filled with vague bureaucratic platitudes about sustainable growth, environmental management, and community development. Yet, nowhere in its many pages is there a real plan to preserve what makes Ireland unique. Instead, the plan involves diluting the native population and creating a new society in which diversity is celebrated as an end in itself, regardless of the consequences. The influx of foreigners is not just a policy choice; it is a cultural bulldozer, demolishing centuries of history in a matter of decades.

Today, Ireland looks a lot like Africa. Literally. The streets of Dublin resemble the streets of Durban. The people are not being asked whether they want this; they are being told it is happening, whether they like it or not.

The dismissal of concerns about the loss of social cohesion as mere racism reveals the extent to which the discourse has been manipulated. True racism lies in the refusal to acknowledge the legitimate fears of those who see their communities transformed before their eyes. It lies in the sneering disregard for the cultural heritage of a people who fought for their independence, only to find it threatened again, this time not by foreign armies but by native-born lawmakers.

Godless globalism

Ireland does not need to become a multicultural experiment at the behest of an administrative aristocracy more interested in global accolades than in the welfare of its own citizens.

As an Irishman, I write this with a mixture of anger and absolute sadness. A truly wonderful country full of truly wonderful people is being destroyed, and the elites are enjoying every second of it. They’re dismantling what it means to be Irish, all for the approval of the beasts in Brussels, most of whom will will never set foot in the communities they’ve helped destroy.

This is not progress; it’s a betrayal. The Irish spirit — once fierce, unbreakable — is being suffocated under the weight of policies designed to strip it bare. We are not just losing our identity; we are having it stolen from us, and those responsible are laughing as they do it. All the while, the Irish citizens — good, decent people like my mother and father — are left to watch in heartbreak as the country they cherished morphs into something truly horrific.

Monstrous migrants flood Italy, rape children, stab cops



Italy is pondering a new tactic in its war on out-of-control crime: chemical castration for violent sex offenders.

Such bold measures may already be too late, however — as long as the country's civilizational castration continues apace.

Eyewitnesses described a scene of sheer barbarism, recounting how the savage threw the woman to the ground, pummeling her face and head with his fists.

Since taking power two years ago, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has focused on law-and-order policies, creating new offenses and increasing penalties.

She's also made plans to draft legislation that would use androgen-blocking medications to chemically neuter those convicted of sexual violence. The decision signals a response to the rising tide of sexual crimes, many of which have shaken the country to the core in recent years.

These crimes, however, may be symptoms of a deeper problem: Italy's slow dissolution under the pressure of continuous mass immigration.

Children raped

The latest horror (in a long line of horrors) involves the rape of a 10-year-old African girl by a 28-year-old Bangladeshi man at a migrant center in the northern Italian region of Lombardy.

This gruesome crime unfolded at the Hotel Il Cacciatore, a contested site that houses around 20 asylum seekers. According to a report in the Daily Mail, the young girl's mother first became suspicious after she noticed alarming behavioral changes in her daughter. Soon after, medical tests confirmed that the little girl hadn’t just been violated; she was also pregnant with her rapist's child.

The child underwent an abortion. Her life, one imagines, will never be the same. Her innocence, brutally stolen, is something she can never reclaim. The scars — emotional, psychological, and physical — will likely remain with her long after the headlines fade. It’s difficult to read a story like that and not feel a sense of absolute anger and dismay.

Sheer barbarism

This assault is not an isolated incident but part of Italy’s wider unraveling. The country, already struggling under demographic pressure and a surge in migrant arrivals, is now grappling with an increase in violent crimes, from stabbings to sexual assaults.

For many, Italy no longer feels safe, and the nation’s attempts to mend the social fabric with punishments such as chemical castration feel more like a desperate last stand than a viable solution. What was once a proud country is now facing an identity crisis, one defined by fear and instability.

Take the case of a homeless Nigerian migrant, for example, who viciously assaulted an Italian woman in broad daylight during an attempted rape. The attack was so violent that she later died from her injuries in a hospital bed.

Eyewitnesses described a scene of sheer barbarism, recounting how the savage threw the woman to the ground, pummeling her face and head with his fists, possibly wielding a stone or some other blunt object.

Stabbed in the back

More recently, two violent incidents involving migrants rocked Milan, Italy’s financial heart.

In one appalling episode, Christian Di Martino, a 35-year-old police officer, was attacked after confronting a man throwing stones at trains and assaulting a female passenger.

The attacker, a Moroccan national living illegally in Italy with prior convictions, stabbed the officer multiple times in the back. Di Martino was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The North African was charged with attempted murder.

Just days later, another violent confrontation unfolded on the streets. An Egyptian man, recently released from police custody after questioning in connection with a robbery, went on a crazed rampage, vandalizing property and hurling rocks at police when they moved to arrest him.

After failing to subdue the man with a taser, the police were forced to shoot him. Wounded, the criminal was finally able to be taken into custody.

The pattern is undeniable. But even more alarming is the systematic erasure of Italian heritage — and with it, the disappearance of its people.

Arrivederci!

In a few generations, Italy will be barely recognizable. Last year saw a staggering 50% rise in migrant arrivals, primarily from Africa and the Middle East. The shift is more than just numbers — this wave is fundamentally altering the demographic makeup of Italy.

What adds to the disaster is the fact that Italy’s population is aging faster than any other in Europe, with fewer young Italians being born to sustain the nation.

By 2040, the situation could reach a breaking point, as dwindling tax revenue from a shrinking workforce makes it impossible to support an increasingly elderly population. Public finances are set to buckle under the weight of this imbalance; the economy, once one of Europe's most robust, could enter a death spiral.

In truth, Italy has already entered a death spiral, literally and figuratively. The Italy of Roman ruins, Renaissance art, and sun-soaked landscapes finds itself overshadowed by a nation at odds with itself.

The streets of Florence, Milan, Rome, and Venice are filling with new faces, new languages, new “norms,” new threats, and new nightmares.

In just a few decades, the Italy we know and love will have vanished, replaced by a nation full of uncivilized individuals with a penchant for uncivilized behavior.

Spain and Portugal: A chilling glimpse of our borderless future?



The Iberian Peninsula is on fire. Both Portugal and Spain are grappling with a flood of illegal immigration that has ignited political polarization, public unrest, and a surge in nationalist sentiment.

While these movements are often dismissed as "far-right" (whatever that means in 2024), the truth is far more nuanced. They stem from a basic, instinctual drive to protect one’s homeland, culture, and community from absolute chaos.

Spain and Portugal stand on the brink, staring into the abyss. Their leaders, in repeated patterns of recklessness, have opened doors that no one may ever be able to shut.

In Portugal, the rise of the Chega party captures this dramatic shift in public sentiment. Aptly named "Enough!," it reflects the utter disdain for a government that not only failed to regulate migration but actively embraced an open-border agenda. Chega's surge in electoral support is no accident. It makes complete sense. After years of watching their communities transform, grappling with rising crime, and enduring social tensions fueled by uncontrolled immigration, the Portuguese have had enough.

The damage, however, may already be beyond repair.

Colonizers now colonized

Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, now president-elect of the European CouncilHoracio Villalobos/Getty Images

For nearly a decade, Prime Minister António Costa was at the helm, implementing some of the most liberal immigration policies in Europe. From his rise to power in 2015 until his recent ousting, Costa’s government promoted lax registration for foreign workers, even those entering the country illegally, and accelerated pathways to citizenship.

The media hailed it as a progressive stance, but it left the country vulnerable to a massive influx of migrants, particularly from economically disadvantaged nations like Angola. The result was brutal. Within just five years, the immigrant population surged by 70%. By 2022, over 780,000 foreigners were legally residing in Portugal — more than double the number than when Costa first took office.

And this figure only includes the documented population. To put this in perspective, Portugal has a population of roughly 10 million. This mass influx is the equivalent of 26 million foreign nationals flooding into the United States — three times the population of NYC. Let that sink in for a second.

The strain on Portugal is obvious to anyone with a functioning brain. Recent demonstrations in Lisbon, with banners demanding the expulsion of immigrants who commit crimes, reflect a growing sense of fear and resentment among ordinary citizens.

Costa’s government, in its eagerness to appear progressive, failed to anticipate or manage the long-term consequences of its decisions. Now, the social unrest rippling through the country is the direct fallout from these disastrous missteps. Though Costa is gone, the damage from his suicidal policies lingers. In truth, the damage will continue to unravel, likely with tragic consequences, for years to come.

Adiós, España

Across the border in Spain, the situation is even more dire, as immigration reform specialist Michael McManus has observed. In 2023 alone, nearly 57,000 migrants entered Spain illegally — almost double the number from the previous year. The Canary Islands, geographically isolated and economically fragile, have borne the brunt of this surge, with record numbers of boats arriving from West Africa.

North African and sub-Saharan migrants arriving in the Canary Islands last monthEuropa Press News/Getty Images

Spain’s vulnerability, as McManus cautions, lies in its geography. It is separated from Africa by just nine miles of sea at its narrowest point, making it an easy target for human smugglers and traffickers.

The Spanish government's response has been, for lack of a better word, atrocious. The ruling PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) has doubled down on its open-door policy, prioritizing an expansive amnesty program for undocumented immigrants.

It is worth noting that the PSOE has dominated modern democratic Spain longer than any other political party. From 1982 to 1996 under Felipe González, from 2004 to 2011 under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and again since 2018 under Pedro Sánchez, the PSOE has shaped Spain’s trajectory for decades.

In other words, the Spanish people have repeatedly entrusted their future to a party that has presided over — and inarguably accelerated — the country’s gradual decline. The tragic reality is that the electorate, through continued support of the PSOE, bears some complicity in Spain's demise.

As McManus points out, this is not Spain’s first brush with mass amnesty. In 2005, the country granted amnesty to 800,000 illegal migrants following the devastating Madrid terrorist attacks that killed 191 people. Rather than curbing illegal immigration, the amnesty sent a clear message to the world. Specifically, migrants could enter Spain illegally and, if undetected long enough, benefit from future legalization schemes. The result was a surge in illegal crossings. Between 2005 and 2009, over 55,000 undocumented migrants entered one of Europe’s most celebrated countries.

The future looks bleak

Spain and Portugal stand on the brink, staring into the abyss. Their leaders, in repeated patterns of recklessness, have opened doors that no one may ever be able to shut. The demographic tides sweeping across these nations are not just altering their character — they are erasing it. The Iberian Peninsula, once famed for its sun-drenched shores, now lies under an ominous shadow.

What’s unfolding in Portugal and Spain reflects a grim reality gripping Europe at large. This is not the birth of multicultural societies but the slow, agonizing death of nations too blind, too complacent to recognize the mortal danger. Europe's heart beats weaker, and soon, I fear, it may stop altogether.

Battlefield Sweden: ​Nordic utopia ripped apart by warring immigrant gangs



Sweden recently made headlines with a bold proposal: to offer immigrants struggling to assimilate into Swedish society $35,000 to return home.

This so-called remigration check is presented as a win-win solution: Immigrants get financial support to rebuild their lives in their home countries, and Sweden's welfare system avoids the long-term costs of providing ongoing support. But what about the Swedish taxpayers, who are now bearing the financial burden of the mess they never helped create?

A country that once led the world in social progress is now a cautionary tale of what happens when unchecked violence, mass immigration, and political indecision collide.

That the government is willing to try such drastic measures is a telling indication of how bad the problem has gotten.

Imported gangs

Sweden has long been seen as a Nordic utopia — an idyllic nation where people live in perfect harmony, cycling from sauna to cold plunge with smiles plastered across their faces. The image is one of tranquility, of a society built on trust, equality, and peace. A place where life is easy, crime is nonexistent, and the biggest concern might be how many cinnamon buns to indulge in on a Saturday.

But that idyllic image isn’t just crumbling; it’s being blown apart.

Bombs now rip through suburban neighborhoods, leaving homes shattered and citizens terrified. Smoke fills the sky and screams fill the air. Gang members aren’t just fighting for turf; they are targeting each other’s families, launching attacks on the places people once considered safe.

It’s no longer an isolated problem. The mayhem that was once confined to the capital, Stockholm, has spread to other cities, like the once-peaceful Uppsala.

Malmö, a city in southern Sweden, has increasingly found itself at the epicenter of a growing gang violence crisis that mirrors broader concerns across the country. Once known for its rich cultural history and high standard of living, Malmö has seen a dramatic rise in shootings, bombings, and organized crime activity, much of it driven by rival gangs involved in drug trafficking and turf wars.

For a nation that once prided itself on being civilized, peaceful, and orderly, this kind of violence feels like a betrayal of everything Sweden stands for. The nation once celebrated for ABBA and Ikea is now gaining recognition for something far more sinister. And foreigners are mostly to blame.

Sex crime surge

The bombings are just one part of a much darker picture. Sweden is grappling with a rise in violent crime on multiple fronts, including a surge in sexual violence. The rates of rape, aggravated rape, attempted rape, and attempted aggravated rape have skyrocketed in recent years.

In 2012, Sweden recorded around 6,000 cases of rape and related crimes. By 2023, that number had ballooned to 9,300. In a land of a little over 10 million people, that’s quite a number. The increase has been exponential, and it is a sobering reminder of how far the country has fallen from the idyllic, Bernie Sanders-endorsed image it once projected.

Studies clearly show that foreign-born individuals play a significant role in these crimes. The uncomfortable reality is that nothing good has come from the influx of immigrants in recent years. The 2015 immigrant crisis, closely tied to the EU's suicidal open-door policy, saw Sweden admit an unprecedented number of refugees, many of African and Middle Eastern descent.

This decision has been a pivotal factor in the country's ongoing societal upheaval.

A role model's fall

The tragic irony of Sweden’s demise was brought into sharp focus by the recent case of a Syrian refugee — a 15-year-old boy, once celebrated by the Swedish press as a model of successful integration. This boy, who arrived in Sweden during the immigrant crisis, was hailed as a symbol of hope. But that hope turned to horror when he was arrested for attempted murder following a school shooting. In short, the very individual who was supposed to exemplify Sweden’s progress and humanitarian spirit became a symbol of its failures.

Sweden’s public image — the polished vision of an amicable, advanced society — has become a zombie lie, clinging to life even as the truth of its growing violence and unrest becomes undeniable.

A rumbling continent

This is not just about crime; it’s about the collapse of the Sweden that the world thought it knew. A country that once led the world in social progress is now a cautionary tale of what happens when unchecked violence, mass immigration, and political indecision collide.

The fight for Sweden's future has moved from theory to harsh reality as the streets run red with blood. But the conflict is no longer confined within Sweden’s borders — it’s spreading. Copenhagen, just across the Öresund strait from the aforementioned Malmö, has witnessed a sharp surge in gang violence over the summer.

In recent times, Danish authorities have reported three deaths and at least 25 violent incidents or attempts, signaling a dangerous escalation. This wave of cross-border crime has left officials alarmed, with Malmö police officer Glenn Sjögren highlighting the troubling involvement of younger perpetrators.

With the influx of foreigners into Sweden, juvenile gang crime has surged, with internationally connected gangs enlisting minors into their ranks, fueling a crisis that a senior minister recently warned would take at least a decade to fix. These gangs are determined to expand their territory, not only within Sweden but also into neighboring Denmark. Like a virus, the violence spreads.

This crisis is not merely a Swedish (or Danish) problem but a reality of the challenges facing Europe as a whole. Sweden’s unraveling serves as a mirror reflecting the broader European struggles with unchecked immigration and inept leadership.

From Stockholm to Stuttgart, Malmö to Manchester, Europe is grappling with a crisis of unprecedented proportions. Once-stable communities are literally being blown apart by external forces. Repairing this damage won’t be easy. In fact, I fear the destruction may be entirely irreversible. Gangsters are shaping policies, while gangs are shaping societies.

Sweden's latest policy, offering $35,000 to immigrants who have struggled to integrate into Swedish society as an incentive for them to return home, deserves some criticism. This so-called remigration check is presented as a win-win solution: immigrants get financial support to rebuild their lives in their home countries, and Sweden's welfare system avoids the long-term costs of providing ongoing support. But what about the Swedish taxpayers, who are now bearing the financial burden of the mess they never helped create?

Germany's Stasi-style crackdown on free speech



While Americans on the left worry they have a Hitler in their midst, Germany seems to be taking a cue from a more recent leader: East German socialist strongman Erich Honecker.

Honecker maintained his grip on power through fear, coercion, and a vast network of informants, all under the guise of protecting the state. Now, decades later, this mentality has returned but with more sophisticated digital tools and a post-pandemic veneer of legitimacy.

And yet this new thought-crime regime resembles nothing so much as the informant culture that flourished in East Germany under the Stasi, where citizen was pitted against citizen.

There's no better example of this updated secret police playbook than the case of Simon Rosenthal.

Attack of the mutants

A painter and conceptual artist, Rosenthal studied art history, philosophy, and graphic art in Bamberg, Paris, and Dresden.

But it’s the 40-year-old’s defiance against the creeping authoritarianism in Germany that has really put him on the map. As Rosenthal describes the current state of his homeland:

"For me, Germany has changed massively, especially since the start of the Corona policy. Academic freedom, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, the right to privacy, property, and, more and more often, artistic freedom are being taken away from us by politics."

atelier-simon-rosenthal.de

The German citizen has, for years, watched the country he loves morph into an absolute monster.

So it's apt that Rosenthal addresses this transformation with a collection of biting digital collages he calls the "Mutants" series. German authorities don't seem to be fans.

And no wonder. "German Mutant" criticizes the government’s authoritarian handling of the pandemic, directly referencing German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach's infamous statement that "vaccination creates freedom," a chilling echo of Nazi-era rhetoric.

For this, Rosenthal was hit with a €3,250 fine, accused of "incitement to hatred" by the state-funded "hate speech" reporting portal Meldestelle REspect!

Citizen snitch

According to Rosenthal, "New denunciation portals are constantly being created, and people are encouraged to anonymously report others for crap. A large part of society even seems to welcome this and calls it ‘Our Democracy.’"

And yet, this new thought-crime regime resembles nothing so much as the informant culture that flourished in East Germany under the Stasi, where citizen was pitted against citizen. The Berlin Wall may have fallen, but the ghosts of authoritarianism seem to be rising again.

Rosenthal heads to court on October 29. If he loses, he could face financial ruin; even now, it's draining his funds.

"The case also puts a strain on me financially," he notes, "as I have to pay for my lawyer and possibly also the court proceedings and a large fine myself. No legal protection insurance covers this — because when the accusation of ‘incitement to hatred’ is made, the insurance companies assume that one acted intentionally. That's completely crazy."

Democracy in decline

He’s right. It is. On one side, Rosenthal — a lone artist battling for his constitutional rights. On the other, the state, using taxpayer money to crush dissent. If the state wins, the taxpayers gain absolutely nothing. But if it loses, taxpayers foot the bill. This leaves the citizen at a severe disadvantage. This isn’t merely a legal case; it's a reflection of Germany’s democracy in decline.

And Rosenthal's fate could have far-reaching repercussions for all artists in Germany. As he explains, "The state apparently wants to take away a right from me that, after the end of National Socialism, was given an increased status in our constitution precisely to enable artists to counteract undesirable political developments."

If the government succeeds in using Rosenthal’s case to set a precedent, it will not only undermine artistic freedom but also strip citizens of their right to protest and criticize.

As Germany hurtles toward an abyss of authoritarian control, the October 29 trial is shaping up to be far more than a legal proceeding — it could be the death knell for the freedoms that once defined the nation.

If ever there was a moment to pay attention, it’s now.

Political long COVID

The case against Rosenthal also reveals how deeply compromised Germany's political and legal systems have become. As Rosenthal himself points out, “One should not forget that the public prosecutor’s office in Germany reports to the Ministry of Justice — i.e., the government parties — and is therefore not politically independent.” This is crucial. What Rosenthal faces isn’t just legal action; it’s a political case, a targeted attack on anyone who dares challenge the state’s increasingly authoritarian overreach.

Rosenthal's art is about more than just criticism — it's an act of resistance against a government that, in his words, "seems to hate our constitution and therefore the freedom of the individual" (sound familiar, American readers?). The very freedoms enshrined in Germany's post-war constitution are under siege by the same state that should be defending them.

He’s correct to call out the absurdity of the government’s behavior. While a few (not many) European countries have moved on from their pandemic overreach, issuing amnesties and offering apologies, the German government clings to its failed policies.

“If it weren’t the case,” Rosenthal argues, “it would finally stop defending the Corona policy and — like in other European countries — issue a general amnesty, apologize to the citizens for everything they did to them, and then resign as a group.” Instead, the government doubles down, using “petty and spiteful actions” to punish critics like Rosenthal, damaging not only the reputation of the government but the state itself.

Hopeful signs

As Germany continues its descent into a bureaucratic hellscape where artists are fined for challenging the state and prosecutors operate as government pawns, the question is no longer whether the country is heading in the wrong direction. The real question is, how much further will it fall before the people push back?

There are signs that Germans have had enough of this police state 2.0. The conservative Alternative for Germany party has surgedto 19.5%, claiming the second spot in national support. Meanwhile, the far-left coalition government is imploding, barely scraping together 28%. The Christian Democrats lead with 32.5%, while the left-wing BSW flounders at 10%.

Brandenburg’s September 22 election could mark the beginning of the political overhaul Germany desperately needs. And not a moment too soon.