Topolanek's reverse racism
2010-03-29
Of all the stereotypes that have been hurled at Jews over the
years, blinking under pressure isn't one that normally comes to
mind. In fact, it's hard to think of a single good Jewish joke that
relies on such a stereotype for the punch line. Yet PM Jan Fischer
took great offense when Mirek Topolánek suggested that there
is a link between Fischer's caving in under pressure and his
religion. Topolánek has now gone on the counteroffensive. All
he actually wanted to say, he told Právo, is that Fischer is a bad,
weak prime minister. According to Topolánek, Fischer abused
the situation in the media to label him anti-Semitic and
homophobic (because of a related comment about Transport
Minister Gustav Slamečka). If Topolánek is a racist, it's a sort-of
reverse racism: He said that Fischer doesn't fit the positive
stereotypes sometimes associated with Jews. In other words, a
Jew should normally make a better PM.
[Czech Republic homosexual Jewish homophobia]
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