> Are the Europeans insane?

I don't think so. If they were, it would actually be better: one can have sympathy for insanity, and at least isolate it, if not treat it.

Instead, it's extreme insecurity combined with limitless regard for infallible authority. The thought that the hoi polloi might write or say things that are beyond scrutiny is intolerable. That's the insecurity part. And all intolerable things must be criminalized, because in Europe, laws infallibly fix everything. That's the authority part.

That's not insanity. That's just how you behave when you imagine it is your mandate to perfect the world and indulge hubris sufficient to believe you have the wisdom to do so.