The Mannheim Attacks Reveal Europe’s Impotence
6th June 2024
Every year, I have to write a version of this article because events like this never seem to stop. Every year, our political leaders promise to do something. And every year, it gets worse. For the past two weeks, it has been the turn of Germany. Next week — who knows?
Last Friday, at about 11:30am, a 25-year-old Afghan went on a knife spree at a rally in Mannheim. He stabbed Michael Stürzenberger, the convener of the rally, along with a policeman and four others, before a second policeman shot him. Two days later, the officer succumbed to his wounds.
We still don’t know everything about the incident. What we do know, though, is that it is a deeply sad — and obvious — metaphor for the way Western countries function. People protest Islamic violence. The press smears them. Islamists attack. The state tries to subdue the protestors. The Islamists continue attacking. Rinse and repeat.