Roma and Far-Right in the News

[nitesongofafish]

I report this because it is a slice of the new Europe, where struggle continues between state and citizenry over the definition of "criminals" and the right to determine who is a criminal. Note: Roma and Romani are two preferred terms for "Gypsies" (which is a common term they view as insulting

Comments

[zsof]

This disturbs me greatly. The persecution of the Roma has been so common for generations. Hopefully soon Europeans will stop viewing them as non-entities and respect their rights.

Sounds mightily similar to the early treatment of African-Americans here in America. (LOVE their music, let them work for us, but don't you dare try to pretend you are a full-fledged member of society!)

Interesting to note that my great-grandfather and grandfather would cringe when any of us talked of Gypsies and wondering if we had Gypsy blood. We would quickly be told that we are TRUE Magyar and had no Romani blood. The disgust was very obvious.

[nitesongofafish]

It distrubs me too. My first thought was, "Since we got rid of all the Jews, we need someone else to beat on, desperately." But that's too simplistic, and invites treating this as "their" (Hungarians') problem. The psychology at work here is universal: (1) Marginalize "others" because they're different, (2) Identify the "others" as the source of your problems (because those problems come from somewhere outside, right?) (3) Beat up on the "others" to (as you believe) get rid of your problems, and to justify your own identity as the vigilant good guy/hero, and to reinforce their identity as criminals deserving of a beating. (4) And if anyone from your people notice the absense of "justice" in the process, marginalize them too, because they're different (see step 1).