Not Worried, but Definitely Concerned
My daughter is spending the semester in Budapest, Hungary. She's been having a wonderful time, and boldly experiencing everything from porcelain to Transylvania. If you're interested, visit her blog, Hungary Heart. Everything has been going wonderfully.
Until tonight, on her way home from dinner, she encountered mobs of excited people. Right-wingers are rioting and clashing with the police. Tomorrow is the 51st anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution. Let's hope things calm down instead of escalate.
I'm not really worried - she's a smart kid, and part of a well-run, responsible program. And, while I'm concerned, I'm happy she's over there, seeing everything - even this.
(Update: I chatted with her this morning, and she's studying at a friend's apartment further away from the center of the action. Her own apartment is in the heart of everything. She's more concerned about her History midtown than she is about the riots, though she might stay away from her apartment for the day.)
posted by Dan at 10/22/2007 07:30:00 PM
13 Comments:
i bet you're praying for her.
Dan -
Not being snarky, but, having read the linked story re: the protests, how do you conclude that the protesters are "right-wingers?"
I see nothing to indicate the political inclinations of the protesters.
Fill me in . . .
And - more importantly, all the best to your daughter.
Not surprisingly, AM, Dan has probably read more about the situation than the one article. The protesters are "violent far-right protesters" according to the BBC, "far-right protesters" according to the International Herald Tribune, and even Faux News calls them a "far-right group"".
"Google News" is a wonderful tool for those who want to know a little bit about what's going on in the world.
The articles are suspiciously quiet, though, about whether the protesters agree with Sam Graves that children should not receive medical coverage. I doubt that they are that far to the right.
It sounds like she will be okay - she seems sensible (staying away from her apt. for a while) and directed (worried about her mid-terms), two attributes that DON'T go hand-in-hand with meandering into the middle of a protest. My bet is she keeps her distance until it's all over.
Dan, good to hear your daughter is both level-headed and safe. I am sure the former trait is solid, so I will be confident that the latter condition will remain static.
In response to "ME" local press reports confirm that that the rioters were aligned with the political right, in particular the Fedesz and the MIÉP parties.
Victor Orban took the formerly liberal Fedesz party to the center-right after he assumed Fedesz Party leadership in 1994. His political style has been called "populist conservative" When Fedesz held power between 1998 and 2002, it advocated cutting taxes and funding for the social safety net. But there is a darker side to the Orban political coalition.
To obtain power, Orban has allied his party with the Far-Right MIÉP, which was founded in 1993. The MIÉP is based nationalism and anti- Semitic rallying cries. Generally, the Fedesz sits back and allows the MIEP to do the dirty work, benefits from the rabble-rousing against the elected Socialist party, but denies association with the anti-semitic rhetoric.
Personally I believe that the international community should not allow Orban get away with this "reformer" charade, when he is benefiting from the thuggery of group of neo-fascist shock troops but claiming to have clean hands. It happens far too often in politics all over the world.
If Orban or his cronies return to power I hope that the international community applies sanctions based on his allies' use of anti-semitic politics.
Thank you, Boring, for the informative comment. I do have the best commenters in the known universe. It is astounding the variety of knowledge and opinion that shows up on this blog. Thank you.
I guess I must be a "right-winger". That must be the term placed on those that do their best to prevent socialism.
I can still remember a time when both Democrats and Republicans expressed disdain for socialism. Then again, I remember a time when students that lost were the losers, not just the team with a different trophy.
Don’t get me wrong. The concept of socialism is great, but the loss of individual enterprise is unacceptable. Socialism is as close to slavery as you can get, without being called a slave. The biggest difference being that in socialism they convince the masses that the government knows what is best for them.
I hope your daughter remains safe. Her writings indicate that she is a pretty smart cookie. I'm sure that she'll use her head.
I don't like violence, right or left wing. The important thing is that your daughter is safe. I think you raised her with enough street smarts to stay out of the way of harm.
WB - I don't like rightwingers' politics generally, but I don't care if it's Stephen Colbert or Hillary Clinton throwing petrol bombs in my daughter's neighborhood - I don't like them.
Dan...
If your concern is truly with your daughter's neighborhood, maybe you should state that in your article. You merely state that your daughter encountered "excited people" on her way home. You didn't state that the riots where taking place in her neighborhood. How is the reader supposed to know that she apparently ate dinner in her neighborhood and that the riots were taking place in her neighborhood?
Face it! You wanted to make a political statement. That's why you didn't just call them rioters, as most people, whose real concern lies with their daughter, would do.
Does a parent that is really concerned for their daughter's safety care whether or not the rioters are left or right winged?
WB -
. . .
. . .
Wow. BBC, Fox, International Herald Tribune, Gone Mild . . .
Oh, never mind.
For the rest of you that have emailed or commented, it looks like things have calmed down nicely, and Ali is fine.
Dan, don't worry about Whistleblower. From what I've seen on other blogs, WB is likely to be a Graves/Roe sockpuppet, anyway. Since you have gained a little bit of prestige and influence in the local blogosphere, the M.O. is to try to tear down your credibility by picking at any nits that can be found. I mean, really, who else would make the comments in response to the non-political posts you made about your daughter and microbrews? WB is not a real person; he/she is a thinly veiled smear attempt, right out of the right-wing playbook.
At least she isn't at a college in So Cal, she could be on fire.
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