Rightwing extremism surging in Europe, US

Over at the SPREEBLICK blog, Frédéric doesn't like what he sees in Europe:

Österreich wird vom Europarat für Rassismus gerügt, in den Niederlanden wirbt Geert Wilders Bevölkerungsgruppen an, die „an sich nicht das klassische Rechtsaußen-Potential ausmachen: Frauen, Arbeiter, Homosexuelle, Juden und Wertekonservative„. Rassismus ist Alltag in italienischen Stadien. In Frankreich plädieren Konservative dafür, mit dem rechtsextremen Front National zusammenzuarbeiten. In Europa nimmt die politische Einflussnahme rechtsextremer Parteien massiv zu, in Ungarn sind Rechtsradikale zur drittstärksten Partei geworden, in Rumänien etabliert sich der Antisemitismus. In Frankreich versucht Sarkozy, sich durch die Abschiebung von Sinti und Roma als law and order-Politiker und starker Mann zu gerieren, eine Taktik, mit der er langfristig den sozialen Frieden begraben wird. Außerdem will er nichtfranzösischstämmige Straftäter im Zweifelsfall abschieben lassen und wirbt für die Etablierung eines Zweiklassenstrafrechts

(Austria is criticized by the Council of Europe for racism, in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders is attracting groups that are not normally associated with right-wing potential: women, workers, homosexuals, Jews and social conservatives. Racism is an everyday occurrence in Italian stadiums. In France, conservatives advocate to work with the far-right Front National. In Europe, the political influence of right-wing parties has increased dramatically,  right-wing radicals in Hungary have become the third strongest party, in Romania,  anti-Semitism is firmly entrenched. In France, Sarkozy is using the deportation of Sinti and Roma to burnish his image as a law and order politician and strong man, a tactic which long-term will destroy social harmony. He also wants to deport criminals who are not of French origin, and promotes the establishment of a two-tier criminal justice.)

Yes, things look bad in Europe but what about the United States?

America is becoming increasingly Islamophobic and Muslims are being assaulted because of their religion. The Republican Party has been hijacked by right-wing extremists, and GOP politicians have called for dismantling the US Constitution as well as the Civil Rights act.  The Tea Party "movement", which is at its core a white nationalist movement, is making a mockery of Martin Luther King's legacy. RIght-wing pundits call for ending the separation of church and state, which has contributed to America's strength historically. And a leading contender for the presidency in 2012 is a semi-literate politician who quit her job as governor mid-term. 

Ich mache mir (auch) Sorgen...

Comments

[Zyme]

Try not to be so pessimistic - interesting times are ahead of us :)

[hattie]

Send 'em ALL back where they came from. Send Beck back to Germany!

[David]

"interesting times are ahead of us"

Zyme -

Sounds like the old Chinese curse:

"May you live in interesting times."