‘The emancipatory movements that advocate equal rights and inclusion have my support. What worries me are the currents that point to the opposite: exclusion. ‘ On Monday evening, Yesilgöz (VVD) expressed his concern about some serious threats he sees to the democratic constitutional state in remarkably harsh terms. He did it at the Rode Hoed in Amsterdam during HJ Schoo’s annual conference on the weekly EW (previously Other). Wokism in particular, “a movement from the United States”, has received the greatest weight.
The minister defined this movement as: ‘People who feel they can determine which information or opinions are correct and which are incorrect. Or what is painful and not painful. Who is good and who is not. Who with the excuse of inclusion only cares about exclusion. By deleting everything they don’t like. Subjects, views and opinions are declared non-negotiable. ‘
Yesilgöz stressed the importance of freedom of expression, freedom of the press and academic freedom. “It is a dangerous misconception that there is such a thing as the right not to be hurt.” According to her, wokism leads to self-censorship: ‘Avoid hassle. Not to attract fire. To keep your job. Not to be deleted. ‘ And: “Wokism promotes intolerance, while tolerance is the very core of the democratic constitutional state”.
Personal experience
As a child, Yesilgöz fled Turkey with her parents after the military coup in 1980. She called it “the fall of a democratic constitutional state”, which defined her life and convinced her that the state of right is “priceless”.
A second movement he warned against is that of the “systematic feeding of mistrust and anti-government sentiment”. He denounced the propagators of conspiracy theories and fake news. ‘There are selective purchases in scientific publications, teachers are threatened if their school boards are not satisfactory, attacks on police officers are condoned and encouraged. Even hospitals now have security. ‘
The minister said it is unwise to think that threatening statements can be swept away again and therefore should not receive any attention. “It won’t go away at all and the stinking lard is also seeping into the House of Representatives.” She explicitly turned against the parliamentarians Wybren van Haga (Van Haga group, former VVD) and Thierry Baudet (Forum for Democracy). “The dog whistle has now been replaced with a full wind band.”
Role of social media
In this context, Yesilgöz also stressed the role of social media, where the rules of conduct of normal life seem not to be applicable. And the heads of social media companies like Facebook don’t feel responsible for that. In fact, it has become a very profitable business model. ‘
He warned that major social media companies should take accountability transparently. “If they don’t, we’ll have to hold them accountable. Protecting freedom of expression is very different from allowing the emergence of a parallel world in which intimidation, instigation and threats have no consequences ».
Government and citizens
According to Yesilgöz, “joint action” by the government and citizens is needed to resist the pressure on the democratic constitutional state. “The government and residents should go to couples therapy.” He also frankly admitted that the government itself has made “a number of serious mistakes” in recent years. ‘Is it fair to expect people to stand up for the rule of law if the rule of law itself has failed them? The most important examples of recent years are the Groningen recovery operation and the story of the benefits. ‘
The minister also considered the physical threat to the democratic constitutional state stemming from organized drug crime, which has become increasingly deeply embedded in society. ‘The warnings and concerns of the people who have seen this happen have not been addressed structurally or jointly. My party was also at the top. Despite all our efforts: we could and should have gone further in addressing this serious form of crime. ‘
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