Monday, May 22, 2006
Eeeuuugh!
Just been over at 'Comment is Free' at the Graun. It never ceases to amaze me just how many very very right wing people post in the comments boxes there. Bunting's latest on Turkish membership of the EU seems to have attracted some really unpleasant types. Many of the arguments against Turkish membership seem to revolve around the half-articulated racist fantasy of dark muslim hordes waiting to sweep across Christendom. It centres on the idea that Turks are 'non-European' and this argument is backed up by reference to Europe's 'racial heritage' (ancient Germanic tribes, Goths and so on) as opposed to those sinister dark tribes from which the Turks sprang. Sounds rather familiar - no mention of the 'Aryan race' of course, but we're in that territory. Seems to be underpinned by mad, romantic, racist fantasies of blonde haired Christian warriors holding off the Ottoman hordes. The Lord of the Rings has a lot to answer for.
There are, of course, obligatory references to threatened floods of immigrants, to the propensity for Turkish people 'to have very large families' (gasp) and to Eastern foreigners desperate to sponge off Western Europe. One commenter seeking to argue with them is asked 'do you like doner kebabs?' Nasty stuff. Why does the Guardian attract such people? Surely the Daily Express has a suitable webspace for them?
There are, of course, obligatory references to threatened floods of immigrants, to the propensity for Turkish people 'to have very large families' (gasp) and to Eastern foreigners desperate to sponge off Western Europe. One commenter seeking to argue with them is asked 'do you like doner kebabs?' Nasty stuff. Why does the Guardian attract such people? Surely the Daily Express has a suitable webspace for them?
