A far-right writer in France was apparently so upset about the legalization of same-sex marriage in that country that he decided to kill himself — at the altar at the Notre Dame cathedral, for crying out loud. And this was after saying that he thought people needed to take dramatic action to stop the progress he feared so much.
A far-right writer and activist shot himself dead in front of the altar of Paris’s famed Notre Dame Cathedral on Tuesday, shortly after calling for “spectacular” action to protect France’s identity.
Police and his publisher confirmed the man’s identity as Dominique Venner, 78, a long-time essayist and activist linked with France’s far-right and nationalist groups…
In a final essay on his website Tuesday, he railed against France’s adoption of a law legalising gay marriage and adoption, urging activists to take measures to protect “French and European identities”.
In a possible reference to his suicide, Venner wrote: “There will certainly need to be new, spectacular, symbolic gestures to shake off the sleepiness… and re-awaken the memories of our origins.”
So there you go. But guess what? It isn’t going to stop all the things you don’t like from happening. Freedom and equality doesn’t reverse itself just because some bigoted nutball decides to off himself. Nor do I think we should cheer about this. It’s tragic. But his dramatic suicide do anything to change the reality that he opposed human rights and equality.