Can I cancel this 2016 and get a new one?

[selenak]

The world is a scary, scary place right now. By which I'm not referring to the orange menace, though the fact that he got this far and continues to spread his poison is horrible. But frankly, what scares me more is how in so many countries, including my own, so called mainstream politicians are adopting the vocabulary of right wing thugs while said thugs are on the rise. UKIP is pretty much superfluous in Britain right now since the current Tory P.M. puts scorn on the term "citizen of the world" in an almost literal quote from the 1930s Nazi papers (I'm painfully aware of Godwin's law, believe me, but she truly did - and that was a pretty famous quote at that), and wants to "shame" British firms employing foreigners by publishing lists, Orban in Hungary has just destroyed the last independent paper, comes fresh from a xenophobic campain that would feel right at home in the 30s and, just to show he wants to emulate his buddy Putin in everything, dishes out insults at LGTB people in his spare moments (asking Hungarians whether they want a family with mother and father or "people who can't tell whether they are men or women"). Poland is ruled by similar right wing nuttery, and like Hungary, it was elected by popular vote. In France, you have Marine Le Pen and the National Front who to me is more frightening than Drumpf because she could truly become President the way it looks right now. As for my own country: see above: re: mainstream conservatives falling over themselves trying to emulate the AFD thugs. Two weeks or so ago the general secretary of the CSU said that his nightmare was "a football playing altar boy from Senegal" because "we'll never be rid of him". (See: he didn't even use the "non working, Islamic menace" type of cliché. Instead, he conjured a completely integrated asylum seeker.) If you believe he had to step down or that there were in any way negative consequences for him from within his own party, think again. On October 3rd, holiday of German unity, our chancellor and president were in Dresden precisely because Dresden has become such a hottub for right extremists, as a counter gesture. There were hundreds of people screaming the Nazi word "Volksverräter" (people's traitor) at them. The Saxonian police wished them (the demonstrators) "a successful day".

All of this, far more than Drumpf by himself (who makes me throw up), makes me live in a constant state of dread.

Briefly on non-rl news, which are a welcome distraction: Yuletide assignment: that was fast! Not something I've done before, not what I expected, but not a problem, either, I can do it, and will enjoy doing it (which is why I had offered the fandom in question to begin with).

Comments

[fallingtowers]

I'd also like to apply for a cancellation of 2016, please. Next to AfD, I too am scared the most of LePen. If she wins the presidential election, she might also hold a referendum on her country's EU membership -- and in the current climate, that might even stand a chance. But the duo Germany-France has always been the driving force behind the European Union. I honestly think that if one of them falls, the entire EU no longer stands a chance and that'll be the end of the Europe our generation has grown up with. If I had any kind of professional qualifications that are actually useful abroad and/or a lot of money, I'd seriously consider emigrating to Canada or New Zealand right now. (Not that these countries are perfect places, but that's how afraid for Europe's future I'm feeling.)

[selenak]

Yes, same here, and I so agree re: Germany-France and Europe. If France falls, so do we all.

To think, for most of my life the "what would I have done?" question always was something I thought I could never ask myself in honesty because I was living in too different a world...

[lilacsigil]

It is terrifying - the One Nation party (last heard of in the 90s railing against Asian people) is back with four Senate seats and now railing against Muslim people. Apparently Asian people weren't so bad? Europe is in a worse position, definitely, but I can't help feeling we're all going the same way.

[selenak]

Yes, same here. It's as if the entire planet has decided to do fascism Once More With Feeling.

[ratcreature]

At least in Poland the protest to defend the tiny vestige of their abortion rights was successful, wasn't it?

And I read that the police wishing demonstrators success might have been some descalation training gone awry. However, considering the reports of police also displaying extreme right-wing publications in the windows of their squad cars as sign of support at these demonstrations, it seems police support is widespread and not just isolated cases. So the more likely anbd depressing explanation really is that that ideology has become so unremarkable among police that it doesn't even occur to officers anymore that showing sympathies could result in disciplinary sanction because it breaks the rule that they must be politically neutral while on duty. I mean, not that police with right wing sympathies are a new phenomenon, but at least they used to hide their Neonazi paraphernalia not display it...

[selenak]

Fight re: abortion in Poland, true, that was a bit of good news in the quagmire of bad news. But for how much longer will even this hold, given there is practically no independent justice system left?

I mean, not that police with right wing sympathies are a new phenomenon, but at least they used to hide their Neonazi paraphernalia not display it...

No kidding, yes. If I were a non-white person in Saxonia, I would not trust the police to protect me. At all. And yes, right wing sympathies are a thing with cops everywhere and have been since eons, but not to this extent. (Also I have to praise the Munich police DOESN'T behave in this way, not during the OEZ shooting a few months ago and not in general. Also they have a few social media talents in their PR team, admittedly - the tweets during the Octoberfest were genius, for example - which engineered them a lot of good will, but it's not just words, but also their actions. Proving that you can be a cop in volatile situations today and still behave in a responsible manner.

[ratcreature]

Here in Hamburg the police unfortunately has problems. I mean, it's been a while since they had a major scandal (like in the 1990s with the violence, sexual assault and fake executions inflicted on people, primarily black men, in custody and all that), but they still do racial profiling and black people are stopped constantly as presumed "African drug dealers" etc.

Like, not once in my life have I've been stopped by police when walking somewhere and asked for ID, not even in their declared drug dealing "hot spots", but when walking in these areas you frequently see young black men being stopped and asked for ID and such. I guess on the upside at least they (rarely) end up dead but still, police definitely stop by skin color and not just "suspicious behavior" or such. Of course that's been going on for a long time, but you notice it even more now with the black community having grown over the last years. I mean, other non-white people also have to deal with racist ID checks, but it seems to hit black people hardest. And of course representation in the police force is abysmal if you compare to population, even though they at least seem to try to mitigate that with diversity recruiting posters, campaigns and such.

[selenak]

...and this day we woke up to the news that Al-Bakr "committed suicide in his cell". While under suicide watch, according to his lawyer.

[ratcreature]

Yeah, looks like the security forces will have some answering to do. Though it seems a lot has gone wrong way before that. Like that the guy apparently traveled back and forth from Germany to Syria more than once? Or at least stayed in officially in Turkey for months. How did that even work?

[laurashapiro]

It is terrifying to realize that this is happening all over Europe as well as the US. I wish I knew how to stop it.

[selenak]

So say we all, though sadly "we" don't, which is the problem. Gah.

[muccamukk]

Colombia just rejected their peace treaty too. Which I don't actually have strong feelings about as I don't know the issue well, but I do feel strongly that listening to polls is basically poison. All polls projected the referendum accepting:rejecting the treaty 2:1, and voter turn out was low.

[selenak]

Polls: yes indeed, see also: Brexit.

[raincitygirl]

Well, when you put it that way, Trump seems like less of a problem than he did five minutes ago. But now there are all these other problems I'm thinking about!

[selenak]

I'm honestly scared of the future right now.

[wee_warrior]

You'd think having gone through this crap once was enough, but no, apparently we need an encore.

Mars sounds better and better...