It is not a question of whether Europride will take place and whether there will be arrests and violence on Saturday. The real question is: what is the next step? Abortion ban? Abolishing the theory of evolution in schools? It is obvious that there is enough political will in Serbia to do so. All it takes is for the faithful to do the walk.
Since Aleksandar Vulin (Interior Minister) cannot act in any other way than objectively, he banned the Europride parade and the pro-family values procession. Why ban the former? Because the latter want to beat them up. Why ban the latter? Because he (Vulin) achieved their main objective and they no longer have any reason to wander around Belgrade. “Fair and square” on his part.
Waving Russian and church flags, the faithful showed the hateful West that tolerance, human rights, the rule of law, humanism and empathy do not live here. Under the current regime, there is only room for hatred and obscurantism in Serbia. They are applauded by Russia, Hungary and the like-minded which is not at all surprising knowing that it is getting dark in the Balkans again.
There is nothing that makes nationalists and right-wingers happier than the ban on freedom. They are in permanent holy war against individual differences, every other nationality and skin colour, lifestyle, opinion, sexual orientation…If something excites them, it is the terror of the majority over the minority; if they enjoy something, it is the violence of the strong against the weak; if something satisfies them, it is the delight when ‘we’ despise and persecute them.
A typical nationalist and right-winger is afraid to live in freedom. They hide this fear behind a perverse understanding of national belonging, religion, tradition, lifestyle… They feel eternally threatened and insulted. This is not surprising when their world is sterilised by humanity and held together solely by hatred of others and of people who are different. It is the substitute for an inferiority complex and acceptance of the herd mentality.
This is where we understand the ‘Great Leader’: it is he who legalises the most basic of instincts and frustrations, thus acquiring ‘authority’, and maintains it with prohibitions, divisions, fears, demagoguery, making enemies and going on witch hunts. There is not even a millimetre of free space for different opinions, tolerance, criticism and common sense. You know who thinks and decides about everything. Only in such an environment – where the social hierarchy is established in relation to the leader – do our right-wingers and nationalists feel at peace; there will always be someone weaker than them to blame for everything.
Therefore, dear readers, it is not a question of whether Europride will take place and whether there will be arrests and violence on Saturday. The real question is: what is the next step? Abortion ban? Abolishing the theory of evolution in schools? It is obvious that there is enough political will in Serbia to do so. All it takes is for the faithful to do the walk. Banning Europride is just the first step.
By Filip Švarm
Editor of Vreme magazine
(Vreme, 16.09.2022)
https://www.vreme.com/kolumna/aleksandar-vulin-u-litijaskom-dzihadu-smrkavanje-na-balkanu/
Photo credits: Rade Prelić/Tanjug
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