As much as I bash the United States, I'm not playing nice in the sandbox if I give Austria a free pass on something horrible that has taken place there. And horrible it is.
A representative of the new right wing government recently elected into power in Austria stated that he wanted Jews who wanted to buy Kosher meat to register with the government to be able to do so. Yes, this was actually said - and to give Austria some credit, the conservative Austrian People's Party shot this idea down - and quickly, perhaps realizing what a PR nightmare would ensue and also due to Austria's rise to some position of power in the EU due to it's stances on migrants/immigration.
I have to say that I don't care for the anti-Semitism..........and that fact that back in the day I would have been a candidate for a free train ride to my extermination at one of the camps. This is just insane - could someone actually believe that in this age of social media (used as much in the Homeland as it is in the US - I can say this from having visited Austria back in 2015 and having stayed with family and actually interacted with Austrians not paid to be polite to me in a tourist setting) that such would not be downloaded at the speed of lightning? This politician is just as dense as many US police are in thinking that he was immune to social media......proof positive that it's not only US Police that have this cognitive lack, or rather the emotional maturity to both realize and accept that the playing field has changed and so has the balance of power to some degree.
I have to say that I am chilled to the bone that an Austrian national would actually say something like this in public, especially a politician. Nice mountains, great scenery, social welfare that Americans can only bitterly dream of as in America human life is not worth similar - wonderful required paid time off, an extra month's pay every year as a Christmas bonus - not a bad deal at all but it does come with some darkness. I'm not playing nice in the sandbox if I don't post this. I even took the Austrian flag down in the living room and put up a Mexican flag instead as I'm so disheartened by this statement. Rob