Mar 23, 2007

Hungary hates Piresians; who doesn't?

Hungarians are growing increasingly xenophobic -- even towards non-existing peoples -- a study by a sociology institute shows. According to the survey, ethnic groups that have settled in Hungary since then, such as Chinese, Arabs, Russians and Romanians, are especially unwelcome. What surprised sociologists and the media alike is Hungarians' strong opposition to the presence in their country of "Piresians", a fictitious ethnic group created by the Tarki institute to test xenophobia. "Piresians get the best jobs, and their goal is to occupy everything here and push Hungarians away. In the meantime, they pretend they don't exist, as if they had been invented," left-wing daily Népszabadság wrote in a mockery of average Hungarian attitudes. "How do you recognise them?" goes on the daily. "You can be sure he is a Piresian if he gets a parking place before you, if he gets the job you wanted, or if he gets state aid before you do."

The fictitious group had been included in past surveys; only this year researchers concluded that opposition to their 'presence' in Hungary grew from 59 percent last year to 68 percent this year.

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37064

1 comment:

blizzard said...

Bizarre that a non existing minority is so hated?

Reminds me of a comic interview of Americans to questions about Canada.

The interviewer asked the passers by on the street what they thought of different 'Canadian Facts,' which were obviously false.

Nonetheless, Americans answered the questions as if the information the questioner was proposing was true.

Such questions as: "You know the Prime Minister of Canada is Napoleon Bonaparte, do you believe the dictatorship under Napoleon is a good thing for Canada?"

America subjects, believing the prime minister of Canada was indeed Napoleon answered: 'of course dictatorship for Canadians under Bonaparte was a bad thing.'

The false facts in the interviews were hilarious. It showed how ignorant Americans were about Canada.

It made for great Comic Entertainment.

However, the ignorance of Hungarians regarding the fictional Piresians isn't so funny. Actually it's quite frightening.

When my family left Hungary, I was quite young. But I do remember the hateful intolerance of Hungarians, even as a young boy.

This is not the way a country can prosper. Intolerance leads to the usual place: persecution for many, murder of some, and paranoia and poverty for the whole country