It wasn't really a surprise that Europeans would react better to Ukrainian refugees

[conuly]

But I gotta say, I'm a little bit surprised to hear them admit it aloud, without even pausing to consider what they're really saying.

(Not shocking: Non-European students and refugees already in Ukraine, now fleeing or fleeing again, are having troubles at the border. Because of course they are.)

Comments

[gwydion]

The treatment of the African students trying to flee is infuriating, and it's not like their treatment of the Afghan refugees can be forgotten.

[conuly]

Or forgiven.

[sabotabby]

Ever.

[kaffy_r]

Yeah, I've been watching that whole situation with no surprise.

[conuly]

"But now these people are blond!"

Like, all those assholes can fuck off and seriously reconsider everything they've ever believed over their lives.

[pauamma]

It went downhill very fast from the first warning sign I'm aware of (Feb 25, Bulgaria's prime minister, see https://twitter.com/TihomirSabchev/status/1497264454236610563), to pundits everywhere in Europe bemoaning it was happening to "people who look like us - sooooo unfair" to Poland border police blocking African refugees from entering and IIRC assaulting them in the process. I haven't kept track of goings-on in other European countries, but France (where I live, and where, for context, the Overton window and gov't stance have both shifted significantly toward right-wing authoritarianism in the past 1.5 to 2 years), I don't think any such reckoning will happen anytime soon. If ever.

[conuly]

It's not just in Europe, but I've been noting an increasing shift towards right-wing authoritarianism everywhere for at least the past decade. Trump was a highly visible example of that, but he's far from alone.

[kaffy_r]

Indeed. I try to hope that it's a worldwide convulsion of humanity's worst impulses, in response to the slow (too slow, of course) worldwide motion towards progress, equality and equity, and that the convulsion will end. But I can't keep that belief much anymore. And even if it's true in the long run, in the short run people will still suffer and die because of those worst impulses.

That's a truly awkward paragraph; I hope it isn't too unclear.

Not going to go away peacefully, if at all

[pauamma]

Modi, the BJP, and the RSS are already at the "openly organizing, training, and deploying Sturmabteilung with impunity" stage and have been for over 2 years. See https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/20/hindu-supremacists-nationalism-tearing-india-apart-modi-bjp-rss-jnu-attacks, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/2/india-christians-church-hindu-groups-bjp-conversion, https://cruxnow.com/church-in-asia/2021/12/hindu-nationalists-attack-catholic-school-in-india, https://theshillongtimes.com/2021/12/06/archbishop-church-leaders-condemn-attacks-on-christians-in-karnataka/.

Re: Not going to go away peacefully, if at all

[kaffy_r]

Yeah; I've been watching Modi with angry nervousness ever since he came to power. And he hasn't proven me wrong in the least. Sadly.

[oloriel]

It's absolutely disgusting. Not surprising, unfortunately, but shocking that they aren't even subtle about it. If they tried to cover it up, at least that would suggest some shame.

[conuly]

Or at least, idk, self-awareness?

[oloriel]

IDK, they do seem to be self-aware. They just aren't aware that their attitude is inappropriate.

[schneefink]

Same. Like, I thought most would at least try to be a little more subtle about it.

[conuly]

Like, pretend not to be bigots at least!

[readerjane]

Not surprising, but so discouraging.

‘Cause I started seeing stories about all the help being rallied for the refugees, and thought, “Are we actually evolving?” And then it turned out, it was help for the white refugees.