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Cheap courage


Written by Mariann Őry for Magyar Hírlap.

Free courage. In the past few days, that was one of the words that could be heard from the reasonable part of Germans in the rainbow debate. This apt expression is used to refer to situations in which someone takes a “courageous” position without fear of any risks or negative consequences. The hysteria that coats Germany in rainbow colors falls exactly into this category - large corporations, newspapers, politicians and celebrities shoulder to shoulder with the do-gooders.

Of course, it is more than just harmless do-gooders, because those who only claim positive symbols (rainbow) and terms (tolerance) are arrogant and instructive, and their feeling of superiority knows no bounds.

Politicians rail against UEFA [Union of European Football Associations] as if its refusal to illuminate the stadium in rainbow colors would weaken its aggressive lobbying. The decision of the association is a sign of reason, because it is clear to everyone that this was not about promoting tolerance, but about provocation and pressure.

Profit is profit
This is real free courage, because it doesn't take bravery to stand up for something that people - regardless of whether they want it or not - are already imposed on by almost the entire political elite, large corporations and the media.

Speaking of large corporations: their hypocrisy has been making fun of the Internet for weeks. They have bathed their profile pictures in rainbow colors on social media, but only in countries where homosexuality is not punishable by prison. As a company you are also active in the countries where this is the case, but hey: profit is profit. And this is all about profile pictures. For many, this may be the highest level of activism, but for a large corporation it is rather a humble tool.

At this point one must mention the question that was rightly raised in some German media: Did Manuel Neuer also wear his rainbow armband in Qatar at the Bayern Munich training camp - after all, the the airline's country, which punishes homosexuality with imprisonment, happens to be its sponsor.

Hatred disguised as love and tolerance
We Hungarians don't believe that the Germans have all gone mad. But there is astonishing peer pressure, and those who do not join the hysteria become a leper. The Saarland Prime Minister wanted to put himself at the head of the others and therefore proudly announced that he had thrown Viktor Orban's Christmas greeting card in the wastebasket. Perhaps in one of his better moments he will be ashamed of his behavior.

Those who distributed thousands of rainbow flags in Munich before the European Championship match against Hungary really hoped that they could provoke the Hungarians into some kind of behavior. They didn't even bother to pretend that their criticism was directed against the Hungarian government. Their hatred - which they call love and tolerance - affected the whole country.

In truth, those who attack Hungary under the banner of the rainbow this time are bothered by the fact that the conservative government there is successful with its sovereign course, is showing impressive economic growth and persistently refusing to bow down - whatever the zeitgeist.

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