A single mother is a target of online calls for her execution by an activist of a pro-Russian party, whose small, but aggressive membership is participating in the nationalist protests organized by the party of the Family (VMRO-DPMNE). This example is not isolated, but rather just a drop in the ocean of the black campaign that has become part of our lives and of the political culture of Macedonia’s society. Calls for execution of individuals, their public discrediting and slandering are the main contents of the ugly and violent campaign that is being led by the radicals in the country.
It has been said long ago that it is high time to sanction hate speech and calls for violence and war. Unsuccessfully. Settling scores with nationalists on the social networks is not a solution; it only contributes to further dispersion of the infection, instead. The police, prosecutor’s office and the courts are the responsible institutions with competencies, knowledge and capacity, but also with legal obligations towards the citizens – to protect them from the obscene and violent frenzy on the internet and on the streets.
The inspirers and organizers are known, they are the same ones from the time of the criminal regime of the Family. They are not even hiding, but consider hate speech as a “patriotic” obligation. That is why it is not difficult for the institutions to find them, and collecting evidence for this type of crime is not complicated. The new government was lenient with them, and it even promoted some of them, letting them continue suck public money and troll for the needs of the party that now obstructs integration processes.
Aside from it being ugly and extremely unpleasant, while it infuses young users on the Internet with hate and vulgarity, hate speech leads to real violence. The call for execution of a single mother in a small municipality is a threat to the security and life of a woman and her child. What needs to happen so institutions would start working?
The radicalization on the Internet has spilled onto the streets long ago. The “patriots” have been beating people throughout the country for a long time and have gotten away with it without being punished or with minimal punishments. Their actions on the streets are directly related with the campaigns and hate speech. The campaign, on the other hand, is part of the action of the political parties and their leaders who use nationalist rhetoric and often hate speech.
The links are obvious. The campaign of hate and violence serves for blackmailing and saving criminals and for defending foreign (Russian), not Macedonian interests. Why aren’t they sanctioned? Because of political correctness, an attempt to foster political culture and dialogue that leads nowhere? Or is it about incapability? Or both?
The disgusting trolls and bullies obviously feel protected, not only from the indifference of the institutions, but also from the political correctness of the majority that seems ever more silent and disappointed lately. When someone criticizes the haters with a slightly ruder vocabulary, they immediately start squealing, acting as injured and offended. In absence of an institutional reaction, everything can be expected, but that is exactly what they wish for. That is why wisdom and tact are necessary, but also forthrightness, in order to stand in the way of these pests that are spreading a dangerous infection in society.
Photo: Janko Bachev, leader of a pro-Russian party, waving a Russian flag on a police APC, June, 2018. By: Jana Popovska/kolektif.mk
Translated from Macedonian by: Natasha Cvetkovska
