There’s a pretty little village of 5,000 on the Serbo-Hungarian border, called Ásotthalom- a two-hour drive from Budapest. It is run by Toroczkai Laszlo, the mayor- also vice-president of JOBBIK, a xenophobic nationalist party.
Last summer, he created a civilian patrol whose main brief was to capture migrants near the village. Ásotthalom’s patrol is legal with regards to Hungarian law, and the men have the right to carry guns so long as they don’t fire them.
Recently, Laszlo has brought some laws into effect which may not be strictly legal; banning the wearing of Muslim dress like the hijab and the call to prayer and also outlaws public displays of affection by gay people, and banning the building of mosques.
We are now aware that The Knights Templar International has been advertising homes in Asotthalom on its Facebook page.
So, perhaps not the ideal holiday destination.
Smell The Coffee 
February 12, 2017 at 1:31 am
Wow
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June 14, 2017 at 10:31 pm
I swear, this is proof positive that when the midlife crisis hits, it hits hard. Have you seen the video where he and his minions are patrolling the border? I say patrolling, it’s more a case of them joyriding (I’m guessing here) around the area. You know, like Real Men do. 🙄
The Hungarian version of “It takes all kinds of people to make a world,” translates as, “God’s animal garden is indeed very big.” Totally fits. While there is a lot of right wing rhetoric, most people keep it in check. I’m not defending anyone, just saying there might be some hope after all. Because most people, racist as they are, think he’s extreme.
Funny thing is, back in the ’90s, there were all the racial slurs “because people didn’t know any better.” Which is no excuse. But if you were from another country, it was interesting and that was it. Then it started little by little, it seemed. Witnessed a punk turn white supremacist (still getting my head around that one). The anti-Semitism and anti-Roma sentiments started getting even stronger. And now we’re where we are. 🙄
On the other hand, it’s so ingrained in people. They don’t even perceive racial slurs as wrong. Even people who are not racist will use them. I also grew up in the States, and my godfather was born in 1949 in Alabama, so he saw everything firsthand. I mean, I’ll call myself Frog for fun, because some friends started it, when they found out I was also French, but that’s it. Explained about racial slurs to a kid, and he switched it to, “the chocolate guy,” in Hungarian.
Didn’t mean to write an entire novel here, but this halfwit (again, I’m being kind, since it’s not my blog, and I don’t know how you feel about swearing, and I swear like a fish wife) really ticks me off.
Glad you posted it though. You know what? I’d love to put him and some ISIS idiots in a cage and have them fight it out.
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June 14, 2017 at 11:02 pm
Wow! You blessed me with an entire original blog post! Good. When I used to visit Hungary, kid pointed at me once and said ‘neger ‘ to his mum. I was so shocked- but I was 12 then- my brother hustled me away before I opened my mouth! That image is perfect- Isis and the racists💪🏾
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June 14, 2017 at 11:07 pm
Yeah! And the “excuse” is always, “but we always said it like that.” I swear I had to ask my classmates what that word was when I first heard it. And the kid probably meant you were the first black person / kid he’d seen, but that’s no excuse. Older brothers rock!
Well, I’m not sure about blessed, but glad you like it. 🙂
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June 14, 2017 at 11:13 pm
👍🏽
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