An inconvenient day for respect

Our prime-minister, in a reaction on Geert Wilders’ film, Fitna:

Muslims, Christians and people of other convictions can easily live together in peace. The problem is not religion, but misuse of religion to sow hatred and intolerance. That is why we are calling for respect for everyone’s deepest convictions.

This year, Dodenherdenking (May 4th, the annual remembrance of all Dutch casualties during World War 2) falls on Sunday. Almost all ceremonies include two minutes of silence. Reason enough for Staphorst, a city in our very own Bible Belt, to move the whole damn thing to the 3rd. Mayor Joop Alssema explains their reasons:

We willen zoveel mogelijk mensen bij de plechtigheid betrekken en mensen vanwege de zondagsrust niet voor het hoofd stoten

They move it a day, in order not to inconvenience those who want to observe the sabbath. In their own heretical way (Let’s be honest here: declaring the sunday a day of rest was nothing but an PR-stunt anno 321 AD).

For some people, who take their moral guidance from some old book, observing two minutes of silence to remember the victims of World War 2 is too much to ask on a Sunday. And according to our prime-minister, I have to respect that.

How about a nice cup of shut the fuck up and some respect for those who died instead?