Michael Schmidt-Salomon had already commented on the anti-singer protest in Germany before his departure for Greece, where he discussed his book "Keine Macht den Doofen", which was popular with the Greek left. After his return from Athens, the philosopher and spokesman of the Giordano Bruno Stiftung once more added to his criticism, which was unusually severe against the left-wing supporters of the protest.

This Thursday morning, Schmidt-Salomon told the Humanistischer Pressedienst (hpd - Humanistic Press Service) that he was particularly shocked by the left-wing anti-Singer statements that reached him in Athens: "Unfortunately, just as in the 1990s, the left was deceived by the propaganda of Christian fundamentalist 'pro-life activists' and allowed itself to be taken in by extremely right-wing interest groups. Apparently many leftists are not aware that the distinction made by Peter Singer between human persons and non-personal human life is necessary to legitimise the impunity of abortion. If one abandons the distinction between the personal interests of the mother and the non-personal interests of the embryo or fetus, then every abortion would have to be classified as 'murder'. This is precisely the central concern of those groups that initiated the anti-Singer protest a few decades ago. They were not and still are not primarily concerned with improving the living conditions of disabled or seriously ill people (a goal which Peter Singer is known to support!), but with the preservation of the Christian image of man as well as with the political effort to prohibit any form of abortion and euthanasia (against which Singer's philosophy is resolutely directed).

According to Schmidt-Salomon, it is easy to see at what the religious string pullers of the anti-Singer protest actually aim, if you read the latest announcements of the Catholic News Agency or if you take a look at the corresponding commentary of the conservative Christian journalist Alexander Kissler in the "Cicero" magazine: "Behind the anti-Singer protest lies an undifferentiated, religious position that tries to undermine human rights of self-determination with reference to the alleged 'holiness of life'. Agreement to such a retrograde attitude should normally only be expected in the right spectrum of the CSU (Christian Social Union in Bavaria, TN) or in the Partei der bibeltreueuen Christen (Party of Bible-abiding Christians, TN). In fact, however, a frightening number of leftists and Greens have fallen for the propaganda of the 'Marsch-fürs-Leben' (pro-life, TN) activists, so that here in Germany - unlike in other parts of the world - the genuinely right-wing anti-Singer movement is getting a seemingly 'progressive' image. It is truly shameful that leftists support such reactionary positions and have learned so little from the debates of recent years that they do not even suspect what kind of right-wing attitude they support through their anti-Singer protest. Apparently, a few quotes roughly taken out of context are enough to trigger an intellectual short-circuit in some leftists that suddenly stops any form of critical reflection. If I had not already written in 'Keine Macht den Doofen' some time ago about the particularly virulent phenomenon of ' Schwarmdummheit' (swarm stupidity, TN) in the political spectrum, I would have discovered this topic through the events of last week."

Those who support the ban on abortion and euthanasia actually have valid reasons for protesting against Peter Singer, since Singer, as a philosopher, has provided the most rational justifications for individual self-determination rights, Schmidt-Salomon said: "Everyone else does not have to follow Singer's arguments in every respect, of course. But they should really consider thrice whether they want to act as mere puppets of the Christian 'pro-life' movement, which, in its despicable propaganda, does not even shy away from smearing a left-liberal secular Jew, who lost three of his grandparents in German concentration camps, with Nazi comparisons - driven by the hope of finally silencing him once and for all through such defamations."
 

Addendum:

On this subject, please also read the reason why Michael Schmidt-Salomon cancelled his participation in the ceremony for Peter Singer.