I defy anybody to refer to this guy as a chickenhawk:
A Danish pizzeria owner who refused to sell pizzas to Germans or Frenchmen because of their governments’ stance on the war in Iraq is to go to prison.
An appeal court upheld the conviction yesterday of Niels-Aage Bjerre for discrimination and his fine of £500. He said he would refuse to pay and will instead spend eight days in jail.
“I will not pay the fine but I’ll do the time instead,” said Bjerre. “It is a matter of principle.”
Now, speaking personally, I regard the boycotting of individuals as rather unfair and petty. Having said that, Mr.Bjerre should not be prosecuted for doing so.
Mind you, I bet if look the word ‘defiant’ up in the dictionary you’ll find this guy’s photograph underneath.
He said yesterday that both the courts and those who had reported him to the authorities were “traitors”.
“The judges have chosen to support those who do not support the official Danish position on the war against Iraq.”
His boycott would end only “if the governments of France and Germany change their attitude toward the United States and support Washington wholeheartedly,” he added.
He’s not just a restaurateur, he’s a neo-restaurateur.
My danish is a little out of date, but I don’t remember any slang words for testicles use in an equivalence for bravery or principled behavior.
If a reader from DK doesn’t correct my assertion, I hope the Danes do come up with a new slang term in this genre. I could get the ball rolling…
Han har nosser (he has balls).
Too bad he can’t deliver to the United States! OTOH, how much to Fex Ex a pizza from Denmark?
What is a “chickenhawk”? Anything like a sparrowhawk? The other day some thread or other got into a discussion of Brits’ alleged misuse of US slang, specifically “trailer park trash” – a colourful if weird expression I’d barely heard of, let alone was ever tempted to employ…
Re the Danish gentleman, just wait for The Sun or The Mail to pick it up. But good luck to him.
Is there a place to send this world patriot or his family some aid? I’m not familiar with international monetary transactions, but for a man like this, I can learn.
Bill Dooley
Reno, NV
We get the news that he has been sent to jail but why. What was the offense? Surely a businessman has the right to not serve those he chooses? How can such a thing happen?
Some French and Germans complained to the Danish authorities. (This is in the remote spot of Faroe, BTW.) He was found guilty of “discrimination”. He had to sell his little pizzeria to pay because of a drop in business and vandalism to his shop front, but he is starting a new business selling – you guessed it! – frozen pizzas on the internet. You will be able to click on icons for Danish, English, French and German. If a customer clicks on French or German, a little sign will come up that says: No pizzas for you. This is for real. His name’s Aage Bjerre.
Clearly the Danish courts don’t recognise the right of a proprietor to serve whoever they please, and refuse service to whoever they please, and leave the consequences of that to the market.
It IS petty, though – and using a nation’s citizens as a proxy target instead of the government which made the policy decisions sounds, um, suspiciously like a tactic used by terrorists.
Neo???
Hi David,
Call me an old Feckwit, if you will, but because of this splendid piece, I’ve just figured out what the hell all those ‘Italian Gangster’ adverts were about for Cahoot.
D’oh! 🙂
According to Pizza Marketplace:
PizzaMarketplace.com. Who knew? Isn’t capitalism wonderful?
The story proves that being a libertarian defender of free speech and property rights means you sometimes have to defend some pretty unpleasant folk. This Danish guy is entitled to sell his pizzas to whom he wants, however irrational and daft his views.
In a free market, of course, more enlightened Danish pizza retailers will be able to snaffle up the custom of the folk spurned by racist/xenophobic businessmen.
Ah, I love the way the Germans and French become a “race” when it is desirable to protect them. Presumably, they would very much be “not-a-race” if they tried to, say, rank the Germanness or Frenchness of their citizens based on physical characteristics.
Language is so very…fluid these days.
I came across his address a while back, and saved it:
Mr. Aage Bjerre
Aage’s Pizza
Valdemarsves 14
6720 Nordby
Fanoe, Denmark
I think that the case is particularly outrageous in view of the way Americans are often denied service in France.
By the way, the “Fanoe” spelling is correct, not to be confused with “Faroe”.
Steven Chapman: “…using a nation’s citizens as a proxy target instead of the government which made the policy decisions sounds, um, suspiciously like a tactic used by terrorists.”
Yup, filling a toddler with shrapnel = declining to sell a guy a pizza. No difference.
Y’know, when I first started reading Samizdata many months ago, I thought the folks here were pretty smart. The more I read this site, especially the comments, the more I’m starting to think libertarians are a useless, hopeless bunch of goofballs.
This is Pepperoni’s idea of dialogue? Eat your heart out, Socrates. (More alien slang: what the f**k is a “goofball” – a baseball term, perhaps?)
The right of a proprietor to sell to/serve whomever he wants is not recognized here in the US either.
Try refusing to seat customers of a certain race or gender in your restaurant and see how long you last.
Whether you agree with that sort of thing or not is immaterial – I am talking about the right to do it, not whether or not it should be done.
Tony H
Chickenhawk – an ardent militarist who never served in the military. Particularly those who actively avoided it. In N. America there is are raptors commonly known as a “chicken hawks” as they feast on poultry. (and an old cartoon/comic).
Trailer Park Trash: perjorative for habitues of “Trailer Parks” which started life as temporary loci for traveling moblie homes (caravans?) and have evolved into low cost non-mobile suburban housing developments. In mid-America they are known as Tornado Magnets for their habit of being in the way of high winds.
Goofball: 1. a clown, village idiot, dolt, or
2. A barbiturate or tranquilizer pill, especially when taken for nonmedical purposes
(As to baseball, there are fastballs, curveballs, knuckleballs, screwballs, forkballs, palmballs, sinkers and lots of goofballs)
Scott — “neo-restaurateur” — you know, like neo-conservative.
Just to be sure you understand, that was a sarcastic stab at the way liberals characterize conservatives, whether they are new to the persuasion or not.
Chickenhawk is also a slang term for homosexual pedophiles. It is no accident that the peaceniks and quagmiristas chose this particular term to slur their opponents.
So where is the internet pizza website?
Steve Chapman,
“Clearly the Danish courts don’t recognise the right of a proprietor to serve whoever they please, and refuse service to whoever they please, and leave the consequences of that to the market”
In this case Danish justice has firmly stated that racism & xenophobia have no place in Denmark. Not to mention populist brainwashing.
Non, M. Bjerre n’a pas de couilles au cul; pas plus qu’un cerveau dans son crâne.
Your defending this atrociously hysterical xenophobe is pure delight. That was at least one European shouting his adoration of US unilateralism.
I looked for it, Erik, but couldn’t find any mention in Google news. Probably not beyond the planning stages, then.
“Et Kodiak est toujours un fât.”
(And Kodiak is still a pedantic fathead)
I’m no fan of bigots, but the French persons who wanted to buy “pizza” in Denmark cannot be serious. Personally I would bar them from eating in my restaurant on the grounds that they lack class, taste or manners. Complaining to the state about such a petty issue is both crass and undignified.
Kodiak is welcome to align himself with such pauv’mecs.
As for Germans ordering pizza in Denmark… is this some Teutonic ‘rebel’ thing? I like the idea of German tourists in Danish pizza shops for some reason.
Antoine Clarke,
Et Antoine Clarke est toujours fâché avec l’orthographe: pas d’accent circonflexe sur le “a” de “fat”.
(And Antoine Clarke is still angry with spelling: no circumflex accent for “a” in “fat”)
As for the fate of Mr Bjerre, he doesn’t deserve to serve a prison sentence:
1/ although his serious offence must be vigourously punished, he’s just a pathetic, sad twerp
2/ there’s no reason to send him to jail & have his relatives & employees run the risk of losing their jobs
3/ he needs to be granted no further undue victim status.
OK he doesn’t want to pay the fine demanded by the Danish State… In addition to the bad publicity already made to his restaurant, a good distraint on his bank account would certainly be a better punishment than being sent to gaol.
Well, the Dane is not the first one. Prior to war this came through on BBC (sorry, it is in Russian, like Samizdat should be :)) http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/special_report/bbcrussian/2002_07/newsid_2907000/2907525.stm
I am translating the relevant parts,
<translation>
…Entering cafe “Alenka” I was met by a poster explaining the citizens of the Unites States and Great Britain will not be served. Specifically, entrance is forbidden to George Bush and Tony Blair. I was let in specifically in order to explain why this place is so against the war in Iraq…
</translation>
Eventually the owner backed down somewhat and agreed to serve US and UK citizens, but not GWB, Blair, Rumsfield or Condoleeza Rice. The place in question is located in Taganrog which is on the south of Russia (1300 miles south of Moscow)