Antonella Baccaro (photo by Carlo Furgeri Gilbert).
c‘is an “elephant in the room” in the discussion about the utterances of General Roberto Vannacci, collected in a book, The world in reversewhich deny the rights of minorities.
1) The statements put together by the writer are the summary of the common feeling of many Italianswhich however only emerges in discussions in which one is sure of not being judged.
2) Remove the dogmas of “political correctness”which progressive culture has been able to impose, seems to be part of the unverbalized program of many conservative governments that are gaining power.
The two aspects are not without connection. There is a convergence between the vision of what is called “the belly of the country” and the new culture that those who now come to power would like to impose.
The danger is that the move imposed from above will find acceptance from below, in a vortex of ideas that could set us back by decades. Because, let’s face it, “political correctness” can be afforded by the richest societiesthose in which those who have more beat themselves up to remove their feelings of guilt, recognizing, at least in words, the rights of others.
Everything goes well until this “concession” turns into a cost. When this happens, in times of crisis, respecting those rights is considered a luxury.
Let’s take environmental protection, which is certainly not a minority right, but which appears so because it is supported by a part of society that is accused of being unproductive. Two years of the pandemic were enough for it to take a backseat to the need to restart the economy. And the rights of migrants? A burden for a company who already face the specter of poverty.
“You are not normal,” says Vannacci to homosexuals. So the idea of a minority demanding rights that are not theirs returns.
But, above all, it takes something away from someone, such as women who would like to work, generating a demand for employment that remains unanswered and creating a cost for caring for children left at home. The world in reverse. Precisely. You are absolutely right about the title, dear general.
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