Just like most of the world I have often overlooked the actions of my motherland, Poland. From its controversial ‘Holocaust Law’, which makes it criminal to reference Poland’s guilt in the Nazi regime, to the extensive level of racism that resides within the hearts of many Polish natives. Stupidly, I always hoped that Polish people would move beyond their ignorance and dated beliefs, but as we continue into 2020 it seems as though Poland is moving back in time.
Most countries in the European Union and elsewhere are moving towards a more progressive future, where human rights aren’t violated, but not Poland. Since the start of the Polish presidential election on June 28th and even before that, the now current president, Andrzej Duda, or Andrzej Dupa, as those with sense may call him (Dupa is bum in Polish), has built his whole presidential campaign on his hatred for the LGBTQ community. He has handcrafted a hostile environment for anyone who isn’t heterosexual or as he says wants a “natural family.” During his campaign, he compared what he calls ‘LGBTQ ideology’ to Communism, and led to 100 Polish municipalities declaring themselves “LGBT-free zones.” The president’s outlandish remarks and anti-LGBTQ have been echoed by many Polish residents, not only the elderly but also the very violent and prominent population of Polish skinheads. Much of Poland has begun to not only oppress the LGBTQ community into hiding but also vilify their sheer existence by comparing them to peadophiles.
The annual ‘Rainbow Map’ produced by ILGA-Europe, a Brussels-based NGO that advocates for the rights of LGBT people, has ranked Poland as the worst country in Europe for the LGBTQ community.
While the president focuses all his energy on condemning a community built on love, due to his idiocy and addiction to toxic masculinity, he seems to forget that the world continues to go on, and his country continues to crumble. Homelessness rates in Poland, for example, haven’t improved in years, a report by Feansta found that 25% of the homeless population has been sleeping rough for 10+ years with no sign of government support. Yet the president seems to think his key priority is ensuring his children aren’t allowed to educate themselves about the vast spectrum that is gender and sexuality.
Now, this is not the first time Poland has shown how truly hateful it can be, and it probably won’t be the last. Since leaving Poland, I have been able to look back and acknowledge the monstrous volume of racism that lives and breathes there. Even now in the 21st century if you visit a town just off of Wroclaw, one of the popular tourist destinations in Poland, you are bound to find a freshly spray-painted swastika or ‘KKK’. The issue is that the ongoing acts of racism in Poland are not carried out solely by the older generations, this is not just the outcome of dated values, but a combination of pact mentality and lack of interference. Polish people have developed this sense of, Polish people vs. the rest of the world, and allowed themselves to live in their own microcosm inside of the EU, where they can do as they please. Around 94% of the Polish population is ethnically Polish, not only does the country lack diversity but also, therefore, access to other cultures to be able to educate themselves.
However, none of these things is an excuse to be racist. Yes, we are all products of our environment but in this day and age, we have more than enough ability to control our environments. The internet and other resources provide us with knowledge at the fingertips, so it seems as though the only reason the homophobic, racist, and sexist portion of Poland dwells into their ideologies because of some form of unresolved hate and anger. An anger that I never understood, you see, the holocaust and the slave trade are two barbaric events in history, which entail the oppression of others based upon their genetic heritage, meaning that back in the day many Polish people were also victims to subjugation and hatred. So my question is, why would you ever wish to project that same hatred you longed to get away from?
I hate to have to say this about a country I love dearly and spent my childhood years in, still Poland unlike the rest of the world is moving backward. The laws, the lifestyle choices, the culture are all undergoing a lapse in time and I can only hope that a miracle happens, considering this is just the start of Duda’s 5-year reign of hell.
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