Letter: Reaction mixed in Europe

Friday, Sept. 28, 2001 | 4:25 a.m.

During a 3-minute traffic stop, in a silent memorial for the victims of the massacre in New York and Washington, we parked on Boulevard de France in Antwerp, Belgium.

Trains, buses, cars and bicyclists came to a complete stop to pay respect to those who lost their lives because of religious zealotry.

Jerry Falwell's uttering, via CNN, was like putting salt on fresh wounds and rubbing in the hypocrisy of the extremist. In the Dutch city of Ede, schoolchildren, mostly sons and daughters of guest workers, got their two minutes of infamy by making the headlines in their outburst of joy and elation over the burning of America.

Disturbing was the bias of one Dutch journalist, reporting live from the World Trade Center, who wasted much of his valuable time to take President Bush's demeanor apart. It was like picking kernels of a corn on the cob. Some Dutchmen are known as cheese-heads; this guy had his brain laced with aged Limburger brie.

After returning to The Hague, I paid my respects to the American embassy. The square was lined with countless bouquets of flowers. Over 80 different nationalities lost their lives because of a few zealots. What goes around comes around. Those responsible for the carnage deserve to go to hell and burn for eternity.

God bless the families of the victims and freedom of religion in America.

JAN STORM