Saturday at the Pride: the two sides of the fence

Saturday was a special day. Together with more than 2000 people we marched for Budapest’s “Gay Dignity”. Remembering last year’s violent events and Jobbik’s political statement to do everything possible to stop the March, we expected another riot.

Friday was the first day of fall in Hungary with thunderstorms, wind and low temperatures. We waited for rain on Saturday also. But the weather and the March didn’t follow the predictable script. During the Pride, Andrassy utca looked awfully quiet, no locals to cheer on the sides. In front of the Opera there was one middle-aged woman dancing in support: she was applauded and cheered by the crowd. From some windows you could see other people watching. That was from our side of the fence. As some observed, Budapest Pride became mainly a TV event in terms of reaching audiences outside the event.

On the other side of the fence, like 100 meters away, extreme right-wing rioters were trying to get in but police did a great job in protecting the marchers. Concerning protesters, the only ones we have seen at the Pride were at the Hosok Tere entrance: two groups of skinheads surrounded by cops. They didn’t get in.

Otherwise, from our side the rioters were absent: we didn’t hear them, we didn’t see them and we could enjoy a very peaceful, cheerful, happy event.
Because they couldn’t get closer to throw stones, eggs, tomatoes and Molotov cocktails like last year, the protesters came with a plan B: a crowd of 500 neo-Nazis and skinheads went wild in Budapest's Jewish district. Riot police used tear gas and baton charges against the loud and violent xenophobic group. Police made more than 30 arrests. These people were using dangerous weapons and I heard that two guys with army knives were stopped earlier to enter the Pride. More details of this not-going-to-the-city-for-nothing adventure:

The rioters invaded the heart of the traditional Jewish Ghetto District, started a small fire, tore down signs and shouted threatening anti-Semitic vitriol. The attacks were witnessed by families of foreign Jews visiting the district for the current Budapest Jewish Cultural Festival.

One British tourist trying to argue with the rioters at the edge of the ghetto had to be rescued by police when he was verbally abused and physically assaulted by a gang of 20 attackers. A policeman who tried to break up a confrontation not far from there was knocked to the ground and kicked, as was a woman displaying a Gay Pride T-shirt while standing alone at a tram stop.

(from JTA)

Because how else can you solve a failed homophobic attack if not by an old-fashioned anti-Semitic rampage somewhere close to the Synagogue? These anti-Pride protesters come with a pretty coherent political discourse with their actions: hate all of them. I guess that last year old women hitting marchers with their big Bibles were in a different hate group than these guys...

Another interesting crowd that I actually saw on my way home from Blaha Luija Ter was made of Swedish football supporters. They were in town with their team and because they couldn't enjoy the Budapest tourist attractions, everything being closed in the center with the big fence that was protecting us, they decided to manifest their anger in a very particular way: they joined the extreme-right protesters in their homophobic attack on the March.... Another coherent activity for a day: start getting drunk in the morning, attack together with friendly locals the LGBT crowd or at least try to get in over the fence, get some tear gas from riot police, drink some more, go to the stadium and support your team in the cheerful hooligan style, yell some more and then get back home with your low-cost flight. Full extreme touristic program for a day.

I am still wondering what would have been without that huge fence in between. Will we need a bigger fence next year?

photos by Szandra Gonzales