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Thursday, March 22, 2007

Hungarians hate Piresans, Europeans hate everybody

A recent poll showed Hungarians want no more Piresans to enter the country. One problem exists with the poll. There is no country of Piresa and therefore no Piresans.

The poll can be taken as a joke but there is deeper meaning behind it. No matter what the group, Europe has a problem with racism and xenophobia. Even though the United States has had its own problems of racial relations, Europe has continuing racial difficulties which far surpass America's.

The original whipping boys of Europe were the Roma and Jews. Racial tensions against these groups has taken two different routes. Hatred towards the Roma is lessoning slowly in Eastern Europe where the Roma have lived for centuries. In Western Europe there is an increasing population of Roma who do day jobs to survive. Some have resorted to begging, crime, and even prostitution. These Roma operate in tourist areas, visible to both foreigner and national, and have given the Roma a reinforced negative stereotype in West European news media.

Jews on the other hand are in a tighter spot. Fascists on the Right have public displays of anti-semitism at rallies and soccer games. Though the main source of anti-semitism in Europe comes from the political Left and Islamists. The issue of Israel/Palestine has been taken to the extreme. Centuries old Jewish cemeteries, synagogues, and modern day businesses are frequently vandalized with Nazi or even Arab symbols. Memorializing the Holocaust in some English cities has become difficult as local Islamist leaders campaign against it. While there is no threat of a second Holocaust, it is frequently said anti-semitism is reaching pre-World War II levels in Europe.

Muslims have also become victims of xenophobia. Many parties on the political Right have become harsh towards Muslim immigrants. LePen's National Front and others have gained some power by tapping into Europeans tired of supporting the welfare of a growing population which has a radically different culture than there own. The fact there have been acts of terrorism committed by immigrant Muslims and non-committal of community leaders has not help curb Islamophobia. Some Muslims have responded to this by setting up their own microstates in European cities. These microstates are now enclaves of Islamism in the Western world. Here, European is dead and "Eurarabia" lives.

Discrimination is a serious which Europe must deal with for several reasons. On the immediate level increasing membership in the European Union is allowing for many new and old minority groups to freely move around the continent. Old Europe is becoming increasingly multicultural whether they want to or not. To not deal with issues like discrimination only invites disaster. More distantly, but still with urgency, is demographics. Traditional Europeans are dying out while immigrants (Muslims mostly) and other ethnic groups continue to grow. If Europeans want their cultural legacy of individual freedoms and progressive rights to survive; then they need to stop ostracizing groups and encourage enculturalization. Some Europeans have gone to the opposite extreme of changing their own ways to that of the immigrants. While some cultural exchange is healthy; to bow down to some demands like Sharia abandons what Europe stands for.

Discrimination is a problem all over the world. Europe is especially impacted and must change or face demographic and cultural obliteration.

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