Budapest pride: no news is good news

Commenting on last weekend’s relatively incident-free gay pride parade in Budapest, Véleményvezér contends that most Hungarians have got used to the public presence of homosexuals, while gays, on the other hand, have also understood that they should not be unnecessarily provocative.

This year the Budapest Pride, which in the past often culminated in violent clashes between gay and homophobic protesters, ended without serious atrocities. Only a handful of radical right-wing activists (including a Jobbik party MP) tried to disturb the peaceful walk of thousands celebrating their right to be different, but the massive police presence prevented any conflicts between the two groups of demonstrators.

“Most Hungarians do not have strong feelings towards gay parades, which suggests that such events have become part of Hungarian public life,” Véleményvezér writes.

The centrist opinion site contends that today only a few homophobic radicals believe that homosexuals should be denied equal rights. Although discrimination is still present to some extent, it is not higher in Hungary than in other Western European countries.

The opinion blogger adds that increasing tolerance towards homosexuality is to a large extent the result of a change in the attitude of the paraders. This year there were no gays provoking the public by dressing up as priests – and thus the intolerant homophobic radicals were seen as an aggressive and outrageous minority, Véleményvezér remarks.

Tags: homophobia, Jobbik