| Source: palmbeachpost.com |
A Sports Illustrated article spurred a debate over the nationalist tendencies of Novak Djokovic, the best tennis player in the world. An admittedly uninformed writer opened the floor for various fans and bloggers to voice their opinion on Djokovic's purported and frowned upon nationalism and of course, a hate-spewing Albanian chimed in with her piece on how Novak has a hidden and dangerous Serb nationalist agenda that he projects globally. There have been responses, both on this woman's blog and in the writer's mailbox. Anyway, I'll offer you mine here (I posted it on her blog). I chose not to go and refute her "historical" analysis because she obviously is not a historian, not even an amateur one, but to center my argument around her intolerance and disrespect for different points of view and her hypocrisy that is astounding.
I don't blame you, Monika. You are just another Albanian rooting for your own. As an apparent Albanian nationalist, you are within your rights to further the agenda of Greater Albania. I don't blame you for feeling what the majority of your people feel, in Albania, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro or Greece: you want to see all Albanians united in one state regardless of how much suffering the Greater Albania Project of the League of Prizren, or as Koco Danaj calls it, "Natural Albania," ends up inflicting on non-Albanians or Albanians that do not support the process. You are not going to deny that you are an Albanian nationalist, right? I mean, we would have an argument if you did, and I would have a blast after what you've said above. The whole Illyrian concoction, historically and even linguistically unfounded, the "blood and soil" rhetoric of who occupied the land first two thousand years ago, the falsification of information - all of this makes you easy to argue against, but I won't because I respect you as an Albanian nationalist. One thing I do not respect: Why don't you treat Novak Djokovic with respect and let him be a Serb nationalist? I'm not saying the kid is because any objective review of his statements shows an apolitical person, a genuine moderate. Any objective eye will see that, but I don't expect objectivity from an Albanian nationalist. Anyway, if Novak is a Serb nationalist and he does further Serbian causes publicly and to the enormous audience he gained by magnificently playing his sport, what is wrong with that? What right do you have to talk about Kosovo - you are not even from there - and Novak Djokovic, who is actually from there - his father was born there and Novak spent summers there with his grandparents - does not? Novak Djokovic is from Kosovo, Kosovo is his, and he's got all the right to say so to the Spiegel, the Australian Open audience or whomever he feels like saying it to. It makes him a better person because he shows he cares about his own. It makes him a better champion because it gives him an additional dimension of a man knowing he stands for something holier than the white of Wimbledon.
Yes, might makes right - that's how the Albanians made it to be the majority in Kosovo and Metohia. Yes, the might of NATO bombs cleared the way for Albanians to gloat over their ownership of the land. Yes, if Novak Djokovic wants to a Serb nationalist and be proud to represent Serbia with pride, he's mighty enough a tennis player to do it. If he stops being a champion tomorrow Serbs will love him as their champion nevertheless because he never shied away from being a proud Serb and saying that his Kosovo is Serbia.
As a person apparently proud to be Albanian and as you are, I'm sure, proud of John and Jim Belushi, Tie Domi and such Albanian greats, why can't you live and deal with the fact that a Serb is a champion and he's proud to be a Serb and that he loves his Kosovo?
3 comments:
he is a nationalist, so proud of his people, i think he is ill. I can clearly see why they are trouble in that crazy country.
I agree, it's nothing bad to be patriot,.. but he is not patriot, he is clear nationalist as you can read and watch by his political behaviors.
Yeah, he is nationalist and good to be demonised as long as you consider him "dangerous" to reception of your views among ignorants.
Obviously you don't find it fitting that someone well known disturbs your propaganda efforts.
Like peace nobel prize winner said once for Greeks applies to many nations and people who doesn't dance to westerners tune
"The Greek people are anarchic and difficult to tame. For this reason we must strike deep into their cultural roots: Perhaps then we can force them to conform. I mean, of course, to strike at their language, their religion, their cultural and historical reserves, so that we can neutralize their ability to develop, to distinguish themselves, or to prevail; thereby removing them as an obstacle to our strategically vital plans in the Balkans, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East."
Loving and gentle. Sometimes is good to know when you should open your mouth and when you should shut up, you hypocrites.
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