Intolerance
2010-08-19
PM Petr Nečas's new adviser for human rights and foreign affairs,
Roman Joch, is a member of two minorities (he's Slovak and
Jewish), but he's against giving special treatment to minority
groups. This, together with his strict conservative views on such
topics as feminism, homosexuality and selective immigration,
has made him a target of leftist activists and has caused the
media to treat him with hostility. Should he be condemned as
being xenophobic, racist and homophobic simply because he
espouses traditional values? Don't we all have our natural
preferences and prejudices? Was PM Jan Fischer a racist for
surrounding himself with other Jews? Are members of the pink
mafia in Prague ODS heterophobic for sticking together?
Probably not. In today's politically correct world, a person like
Joch can't possibly win, but at least he'll provoke some
interesting debate about where the limits to intolerance are.
[Czech Republic xenophobia homophobia heterophobia racism]
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