When an otherwise theoretical debate on a political topic suddenly becomes very personal: Politicians in the Upper Austrian state parliament illustrated the topic of “hate on the Internet” with their own experiences of hate speech and hate speech. There are also rape fantasies and death threats.
On the lectern in the state parliament, you can’t literally read all the hate you get – it would just be unbearable, said Green MP Anne-Sophie Bauer. What she says is enough anyway: “You little green bitch. Why don’t you take a whore asylum seeker…” – and then, as Bauer puts it, the sender (!) acts out several sexual assault fantasies, “which I am currently can’t present”. Her second example of a man: “Get raped and say it was a group of Austrians. I would certainly wish that for you.” It’s actually amazing how factual the Green politician comes across in this speech, purely from the outside. “It’s quite annoying when you get news like this. It’s also pretty awful,” she says, but: “And I’ll be honest, nobody has to and shouldn’t accept that.” But she also says, “that these aren’t the worst things that come in.” That even goes as far as actual threats of rape or death.
There is room for improvement in implementation
How do you defend yourself against something like that, especially as a normal citizen or a young person or even a child? Are the legal options sufficient? This is exactly what this state parliament debate was about on Thursday (April 20, 2023), when a resolution to the federal government for more effective protection against hate online was on the agenda. First of all: the law may be sufficient, but there is still room for improvement when it comes to enforcement. But for now, back to the hatred of politicians.
The specialists need to be “upgraded”.
Because FPÖ MP Michael Gruber goes to the lectern in the chamber of the state parliament and sends back the following quotes: “A face like the Tour de France: three weeks to get in.”, “Hopefully, the intensive care units will disabled.”, “Like an excess of cancer. Hopefully it will be surgically removed soon.” Gruber: “Indispensable examples on the internet, about the deputy governor Manfred Haimbuchner. Top class and of course fought with all force!” The FPÖ MP (and state party secretary of the Upper Austrian Freedom Party) believes, on the one hand, that those affected by such hate messages should of course be entitled to their rights, but on the other hand, he points out that in the virtual space these things have already would assume where individual combat would no longer suffice, and therefore the specialists would have to be “upgraded” for this.
Source: Krone
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