Poles say comedian's remarks are no laughing matter
source: http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/domestic_politics/stephen+fry+aposregretsapos...
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- FreshPlastic
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Fry had said the following to Channel 4 News:
"There has been a history, let's face it, in Poland of a right-wing Catholicism which has been deeply disturbing for those of us who know a little history, and remember which side of the border Auschwitz was on, and know the stories, and know much of the anti-Semitic and homophobic and nationalistic elements in countries like Poland."
The Polish embassy in London was less than amused with Fry's remarks - with their spokesman Robert Szaniawski saying:
"While Mr Fry has every right to express his opinion, be it regarding current political developments or, indeed, historical matters, nonetheless, it should be tempered with some respect for factual accuracy"
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JCollier
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Most Central and Eastern European nations have notably- even today- anti-Semitic, homophobic, racist and xenophobic tendencies. There's more than enough historical and current evidence and media to back that up if needs be.
It's completely socioeconomic- Some of it relates to the fact that life can be very, very hard there, with few jobs, comparatively recent political turmoil and a high level of machismo- combined with the fact that the populace has a noticeably higher percentage of Caucasians than the richer Western European nations, where multiracial immigration has a long history and is far more proliferate.
From Stephen Fry's point of view, I imagine he is expressing regret due to causing offense to anyone- appearing to be on the whole a genuinely nice person- rather than being mistaken in anything he said.
And it's the job of a Consulate to rebuff any negative perception within local media, wherever they are based.
- 2 years ago
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JCollier
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JClem
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Seems strange as Fry is usually so well read up and careful with his words. It makes you wonder whether he was actually stating facts and the embassy just didn't like it?
- 2 years ago
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JClem
