Deadly Change-of-Heart: Difference between revisions

 

== Real Life ==

* Sabino Arana Goiri (1865-1903) was a Spanish writer, philosopher, and political activist of Basque descent. It was he who founded the Partido Nacionalista Vasco (PNV), which was the first political party to strive toward an independent nation-state for the Basque people. He also harbored an obsessive loathing for any Iberian peoples who were ''not'' Basque, condemning them in his nationalistic tracts and arguing against intermarrying with them to such a degree that his attitude bordered on racism. (It should be pointed out that this was the 1890s, [[Values Dissonance|when racism was not only socially acceptable but also considered rational and scientific]]; and anyway, most of Arana Goiri's opponents shared similar attitudes.) Arana Goiri eventually began to moderate his extremist views, de-emphasizing race and stating that home rule for Basques within the Spanish nation-state would be an acceptable alternative. Unfortunately, he died before he could convince most of his followers to similarly adjust their attitudes, and the PNV (or at least a militant wing of it) remained radicalized down to the present day. It is largely for this reason that Basques are often thought of (at least by other Spaniards) as terrorist bombers, rather than the peaceful, churchgoing farm folk they always have been and still are. When a bombing occurred in Madrid in 2004, Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar even hinted that the plot might have been orchestrated by ETA (a major Basque terrorist organization) rather than by the true suspect, Al-Qaeda. Many Spaniards, including non-Basques, conceded that that was wrong, and it's widely credited for Anzar's party being defeated in the national elections 3 days later.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

[[Category:Esoteric Trope Names]]