Posted by /|EMKO BACKO on July 13, 2000 at 16:52:51:
In Reply to: Re: /|EMKIBCKA BATPA posted by Yanko on July 13, 2000 at 13:28:18:
: : WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
: Looks like you totally missed the sarcasm in Joe's words :-) Don't worry, I often have difficulty understanding him, too.
Actually, it was my words which were misunderstood. So what else is new?
: : The Slovak, Czech, Polish, Romainan, Hungarian, Croatian, and Serbian governments all recognize Rusyns as a national minority.
: Whereas in Ukraine we are (part of) the national majority, and I (as well as most of my fellow CITIZENS) prefer it to stay that way, despite what some Americans may wish.
If Ukraine actually has the liberal minorities policy it claims, you might be better off as a national minority than as just a peon ordinary citizen.
After all, Rusyns in Hungary have cultural autonomy in two villages & several districts of Budapest, and special representation in parliament! And there's probably barely 5000 of them... think what Rusyns in Ukraine could have -- if only the government would lift their "know-nothings" policy and acknowledge them at all. Dare to dream...
: : BTW the Varhola family (Warhol's) call themselves Rusyn.
: They may call themselves whatever they wish. I would rather call them Americans, though.
Jealously protecting your "Rusynness" now, are we? By your criteria, I suppose that rather than 1 million or so Ukrainians in the USA, there are merely a few tens of thousands, tops. The rest are citizens, so they cease to be Ukrainians.
: : Oh yea, there is a summit that takes place that decides on who the Rusyns really are. It is called the World Congress of Rusyns.
: Oh, yea, I don't remember voting for my representative in that "world congress". So they can probably decide on who their members are, not who Rusyns are.
Rusyns don't have the right to decide who they are? Nobody is talking about forcing any Rusyns to identify themselves as such to their governments. Too bad Radjans'ka Ukrajina couldn't say the same about their ostensibly "Ukrainian" populace of Podkarpatska Rus'.