After receiving a 30-day suspension for wearing a Nazi armband, a cabbie has decided to speak out about his suspension and profess his belief in national socialism. In the interview with WCBS, Gabriel Diaz claims that Hitler’s record is distorted, that Nazism is not a racist ideology, that he is not an anti-Semite and denies the Holocaust, among other things.
Basically, he defends Hitler, engages in Holocaust denial, makes clear to the reasonable person that he is an anti-Semite, homophobe, Islamophobe and really anti-anything else that is not Christian (he talks, at one point about Muslims respecting our “Christian heritage”). To him, evidence does not matter because he is so wrapped up in his hateful ideology that he does not care about the impact upon others caused by his predecessors in those beliefs and caused by others that hold that belief today.
Yes, he does have First Amendment rights to hold these beliefs and the government cannot incarcerate him for them, but the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission is well within its rights to set a dress code for cabbies and well within its rights to suspend him.
Some quotes follow below.
On Hitler and National Socialism:
We’ve been told lies about Hitler. We’ve told lies about National Socialism.
On what made him believe that Hitler was not a bad guy:
Independent websites that taught us the other side of Hitler.
On the Holocaust:
I don’t want to talk about what had allegedly happened over there. I have no comment on that. I have no comment on that at this point.
On anti-Semitism and his opinion of Jews:
There’s anti-Semitism because they [Jews] want you to believe there’s anti-Semitism… I don’t hate Jews. I’m critical of them, but I don’t hate them.
On apologizing:
It pains me to apologize… If I have to apologize, then a homosexual should have to apologize for being homosexual and being open and gay [unintelligible attempt at flamboyance in bad attempt to imitate caricature of homosexuality]
On homosexuality:
Aren’t a lot of people upset because homosexuals run around freely with their gay flag and their speedos and dressed like this and saying ‘I’m proud to be gay? [Editor’s note: He does some really bad acting and demonstrating while saying all this]
On Muslims:
If they want to suspend me for wearing a Nazi armband, why don’t they suspend a Muslim for wearing a turban? … If I’m not supposed to be mixing business with pleasure, then a Muslim’s not supposed to be wearing his turban while driving.
On the role of government when it comes to the races:
Letting them to live amongst their own kind
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