Fascism in Bulgaria has taken deep roots. And it has taken them for a long time. That is why they are deep. Let us not fool ourselves with stories about tolerance and how we alone saved the Jews during World War II. We are not alone, nor is the whole story so bright and holy, nor does this moment in our history give us any reason to close our eyes to what is happening around us.
We should not rely on the simple conclusion that Russian fascism is at the root of the Plovdiv brutal murder. Yes, the influence of Russian fascism and the highly intense Russian cultural war against European (or, if you will, Christian) values play their serious, captivating and inciting role.
And yes, American fascist influences also reach our lands. And Western European winds also fan the fascist aggression in our country.
But looking for fault in others and saying that the Plovdiv atrocities are the result of external evil forces is just a way to shake off our own guilt.
I came across my article from 16 years ago, prompted by the emergence of a Facebook group entitled “Castrate the Gypsies First, and Then the Stray Dogs“. At that time, some of the Plovdiv murderers had not yet been born. I wouldn't be surprised if some of their parents were members of the playful group that cheerfully talked about soap, lampshades and other solutions to the issue of the nation's cleanliness.
The amazing thing (at the time) was that the group had 20,000 members, was growing extremely quickly, and its members didn't hide who they were. On the contrary, they were proud of themselves and their wonderful families, could be easily identified by addresses and telephone numbers, and were mostly young representatives of the rapidly growing Bulgarian middle class. Yes, the very class that, according to some extremely naive politicians, was supposed to guarantee democracy in Bulgaria.
We managed to block the group, but others like it immediately appeared. The reaction of the authorities was: “Well, internet nonsense, it can't be anything serious.“ Nothing, the law says something completely different.
Bulgarian intolerance and suspicion, our tendency to harass the other and the different when they are weak, and not to trust them when they are not, and not to dare to oppose them if they are strong, are a fertile environment for organized hatred and aggression.
Institutional negligence is a blessed climate for the rapid growth of groups like “Blood and Honor“ and “Youth Against the System“.
Nationalistic ideologization and the religious closedness of the church are a favorable breeze for teenage sadism, wearing the hood of justified retribution. And in the end, we witness abuses that all of us, who have allowed them in one way or another, are horrified by.