In the thousand-year-old Christian Hungary, there are those who are happy about the vandalism on the mountain near Nagykovácsi. While some of the residents are collecting money to rebuild the burned cross, someone is "very disturbed by this violent Christian symbol being displayed everywhere" and would rather put a rainbow flag on the Nagy-Szénás peak.
Vandals set fire to the wooden cross erected a few years ago in Nagy-Szénás, near Nagykovácsi, Pest county. All this on August 20, the day of the founding of the state. The burning of the cross erected years ago on the 550-meter high peak, which is also part of the Blue Tour, provoked serious emotions among the inhabitants of the village.
while some people immediately started a collection to replace the iconic cross as soon as possible, the liberal side of the settlement is almost happy that some people made a campfire of the symbol that had been set on fire.
Emőke Kósa, who ran for mayor in the last local government election as an independent but with the support of the entire left-liberal opposition, but failed, tried to argue on her social media page that in the field of nature conservation, with a degree in Europe, you can't just set up a cross. Kósa wrote, "besides the indignant comments, many people joined the idea of a local resident to re-erect the cross with a public donation, maybe put a few benches around it, etc.
I would like to point out that this is not the way to set up such an object.
First of all, the involvement of a strictly protected, unique natural area in Hungary is a primary consideration, which is decided by professionals first and not by the population". The representative supported by the opposition notes that the problem is not with the cross itself, but with the fact that it is necessary to act carefully in relation to its placement.
"And this also means that we have to reach a community consensus regarding the selection of the location as well," he added.
The cross, which is also the symbol of Nagy-Szénás, was set on fire on August 20. Source: Facebook
By the way, the cross was erected in 2019 in memory of a journalist by his friends, Nagy-Szénás was sometimes a favorite place of their colleague, he often went there, he liked to relax there. In recent years, the cross has provided an uplifting sight to many hikers, as it reached the sky at the top, and the locals did not object to it either.
Until now,
because by burning the cross, several people got bloodshot to say that such a symbol has no place either on Nagy-Szénás or anywhere else.
The arguments for and against appeared on social media, and the debate has now completely degenerated.
"I wonder what it would be like if, instead of the cross, there was, say, a big rainbow flag, or a totem pole, or a stupa. Maybe a statue. (…)
Personally, I am very disturbed by the display of this violent Christian symbol everywhere, it does not agree with my views, for example.
I am enraged by the violent expression of those people who want a cross there as if nothing else is good for it, a cross must be forced on everyone and those who are not interested in it just because it is their view, let's say it, their belief or whatever you want to call it."
said a local resident. To which one commenter wrote in response:
"The cross is not primarily a religious symbol, but rather a symbol of our past and perhaps our common future, normality, European cultural belonging, under the shadow of which all ideologies and views can fit, the cross cannot be set up and used as a symbol against others."
For me, it is unacceptable that a cross is cut up and set on fire. Maybe they fried bacon on it too... I don't agree that a cross - or any religious symbol - would be directed against someone and offend sensibilities. I do not agree that a cross harms a nature reserve. (But of course we will obtain the necessary permits.)
- Tamás Menczer, Nagykovácsi's parliamentary representative, reacted to what happened. He made it clear that if it was up to him, he would do everything to build a new cross in the place of the burnt cross.
Hungarian Nation
