A celebration of Polish independence from imperial rule earlier this month took a dark turn as a mass of people marched under red torches in a display of far-right solidarity (like really far right) that is becoming more and more common in the European country. The marchers, mostly men and almost entirely (if not entirely) white, held banners including the phrases "clean blood" and "pray for an Islamic holocaust" as well as multiple slogans and symbols associated with Nazis and neo-Nazis, as Poland has recently become a hotbed of extreme anti-immigrant and anti-Islam sentiment with a rise in extremist far- or alt-right political parties that have historical ties to the Nazi party. The Polish government defended the march and refused to condone its participants, though many were not even Polish citizens but instead European extremists looking for camaraderie.
This is pretty serious both due to its scale and content; you just can't defend a group calling for a second holocaust, that's honestly horrific. This relates in American history to the organization of white supremacists both as private citizens and government officials (governors, mayors, FBI directors) in massive collectives such as the KKK and other hate groups in order to protest black rights in the US between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement (mostly the period immediately following Reconstruction). The ideologies of the two groups (polish and american white supremacists) are pretty much identical once you replace non-white people with non-christian or non-European people, so lets hope these similar groups face similar hardships in continuing their injustice as white nationalists did after the Civil Rights Movement (though their presence and impact on modern life is very real even it the extent of said presence is up to debate).
(Side note: nothing against Christianity or right-wing politics, it just happens to be the far extremes of these two subjects that are present in Poland. The views expressed by these extremists are not representative of the entirety or even majority of either group)
It's honestly horrific to hear news like this. Not only did the march occur which is horrible in of itself, the Polish government defended it. You would think that it would be easy to just condemn attacks on racial and religious groups but the Polish government says otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThis march was a horrific act and should not have been done. The way that this much racism is still occurring is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteIn events like this there really isn’t a good way to spin it. Horrible acts like this have been happening more and more recently on a small scale, but it’s a warning sign to me when it shows up in an event this big. The government support isn’t going to help all that much either.
ReplyDeleteDue to the rising (more like emerging from their holes) alt right, actions like this are seen more and more, which only makes their actions and beliefs appear to be more excepted in our society and in government as Poland exemplifies.
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