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I'm Hungarian. Complaining is our national sport. So allow me.

I was born behind the iron curtain. In 1989 it seemed that we were going to be free and it really looked like freedom was forward and repression was backward and the world moved ever forward and eventually all of us would be free.

And now I get to see, from the inside, the West sliding backwards into fascism.

You don't know where you are going, but I do. It's painful to watch you harming yourselves like this.

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in reply to szakib

If it was just us, I'd say we as a species would be okay, pendulums and such.

It's that we're gonna do our best to take everyone with us, irrevocably, that really twists the knife.

in reply to szakib

I lived in Hungary from 2001 to 2003. Quite a different Orbán time. These days in both of our countries are heartbreaking.
in reply to szakib

unfortunately, as someone who grew up with apartheid, I know what you mean

szakib reshared this.

in reply to szakib

Thank you for your sympathy. I wish I could fix it.
in reply to szakib

I feel your despair. I left Hungary in 2012 and the last few months really felt like I am living in a constant déja vu. The pattern is the same. First the schock, then the wishful thinking that eventually the electorate will realize that the populists cannot deliver (spoiler alert: they won't), the opposition will be busy with some symbolic rearguard action for a while and then slowly but surely the apathy kicks in.

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in reply to szakib

I visited Hungary at the turn of the century and fell in love with the country and its people. Since then, I watched the rise of Fidesz, Orbán, and repression with alarm and sadness. You have been the canary and the miners are not listening.

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in reply to 🇺🇦 Myke

@mykhaylo What exactly do you expect this one expat in Finland to do about Orban other than vote against him every four years?
in reply to szakib

what isn’t clear? Write in Hungarian, convincing people to act. Write in English, trying to convince people that at least some Hungarians are sane.
in reply to 🇺🇦 Myke

@mykhaylo I'm not very good at writing, but I do support independent / investigative journalism in Hungary with my money. They do it better.
in reply to szakib

that is also action. As long as you’re not passive it’s ok with me. I just saw this from Budapest today.
in reply to szakib

and please. Do you really believe elections decide anything in Hungaria? Come on.
in reply to 🇺🇦 Myke

@mykhaylo No I don't believe that elections in Hungary are fair. They are not yet Russian-level fake, but very far from fair.
in reply to 🇺🇦 Myke

@mykhaylo
Hey, pressuring a random person to do stuff is unlikely to be helpful.

It would be better to tell us what you are doing, to give those of us that are able, inspiration or motivation.

Not everyone is able to take direct action. For some people it's to unsafe.

in reply to 🇺🇦 Myke

@mykhaylo no need to be rude. Or demand how another person conducts themselves about international matters.
in reply to Anatol

@dngrs @mykhaylo I understand where this came from and I decided to engage in good faith. Orban has been an enemy of many, but he's been especially hostile to Ukraine and a traitor to both the NATO and the EU.

We gain nothing by fighting each other. ✊

in reply to szakib

I'm an American. Trust me, I know exactly where my country is going! I just don't know what to do about it.
in reply to Dean F.

@soulexpress To me it seems that a peaceful end to this is no longer possible. The die is already cast. These people will not willingly relinquish their power.
in reply to szakib

@soulexpress given that the military machine of the United States is unbelievably well-equipped and well-trained, and the same is true of the NSA that reads every word any of us says, that means we're probably fucked for the next 40-50 years. A long period equivalent to Franco's reign. unless these idiots make the mistake of declaring war on China.
in reply to szakib

I lived in Budapest 1993-94. There was hope in the air and I loved being there, getting to experience it. Thank you for reminding us what can happen if we do not pay attention. Complacency is a threat to democracy, no matter how deep rooted we think the system in our country is. There is nothing that cannot be taken away.

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in reply to EevaXTiina

The nineties and the first half of the oughties were an amazing time to be there (and be young).
This entry was edited (1 week ago)
in reply to EevaXTiina

@EevaXTiina I was in BP in 2002-2003, and again for some months in 2005. It was, indeed, a great time to be there. It felt like there was a blossoming of art, creativity, and possibility. Watching as freedoms and the social fabric continue to deteriorate has been heartbreaking.
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Mark Burton
@humanhorseshoes
That would be tough on the many people, in Budapest particularly, some of whom I've just spent time with, who are actively and creatively struggling and building alternatives.
in reply to Mark Burton

@markhburton @humanhorseshoes Yes, but they could have had an actual revolution in 1989. They didn't. They could have opened the communist archives and purged the people of the old system from public functions like the rest of Eastern Europe. They didn't. They could have protested against Orban en masse with pitchforks and torches every day in the last 15 years. They didn't. Instead, they mostly vote for him.
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szakib
@humanhorseshoes @markhburton There was a bit of pussyfooting at first, and Merkel looking aside in exchange for Big Auto's interests in HU. Then they had to keep their own rules of due process and long deadlines. But it happened for the first time a few weeks ago that HU permamently lost about a billion EUR and this will continue. The weakening of the HU economy might topple Orban's power in 2026.
in reply to szakib

Low five from a lengyel, we've slid by very close in the last elections. 75% of people showed up at the voting booths, the next ones won't be great, lots of people are disillusioned with how the current government is behaving :/

Now observing what's going on in DE and they have no idea even though the eastern ones should know better. Then again they also were the area that was allowed to keep their 100 year old traditions.

in reply to szakib

As Czech, I don't like where this is going. Babiš, Fico, Orbán, Trump - they all want the same - power without any opossition.

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in reply to szakib

Alles geht vorüber Alles geht vorbei, auch Viktor Orban und seine Partei. 😉
in reply to Cohalian

@Cohalian All things are transient, but we don't always have the time to wait for them to be gone.