Mohair berets , or "the army of mohair berets" is a common term used in present-day
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
as an
epithetAn epithet is a descriptive word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing, which has become a fixed formula...
against a major section of listeners of the
ultraUltra- is a prefix from Latin that means "beyond."Ultra may also refer to:In politics:* Ultra, the codename for cryptographic intelligence obtained from German signal traffic in World War II....
-Catholic
Radio MaryjaRadio Maryja is a Polish religious, nationalist, conservative, anti-post-communists and pro-life Roman Catholic radio station and media group, describing itself as patriotic. It was founded in Toruń, Poland, on December 9, 1991 and run since its inception by the Redemptorist Tadeusz Rydzyk, often...
. These listeners (mostly women) are religious, usually elderly people of traditionalist views, adhering to the Radio's
charismaThe word charisma refers to a trait found in persons whose personalities are characterized by a personal charm and magnetism , along with innate and powerfully sophisticated abilities of interpersonal communication and persuasion...
tic director
Tadeusz RydzykTadeusz Rydzyk , born May 3, 1945 in Olkusz, Poland, is an influential Roman Catholic priest and Redemptorist, creator and head of the conservative catholic Radio Maryja radio station.-Life and career:...
.
This group of people is often regarded as an important factor in the 2005 parliamentary and presidential elections in Poland, contributing to the defeat of both the
liberalLiberalism is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted today throughout the world, and was recognized as an important value by many philosophers throughout history...
and the
social democraticSocial democracy is a political ideology of the political left and centre-left on the classic political spectrum. Social democracy emerged in the late 19th century from the socialist movement and continues to exert influence worldwide....
parties and candidates.
The epithet arose from the head covering –
beretA beret is a soft round cap, usually of wool felt, with a flat crown, which is worn by both men and women and usually associated with France although it is also the traditional headgear of Northern Spain...
s, made out of wool or
mohairMohair usually refers to a silk-like fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat. The word "mohair" was adopted into English before 1570 from the Arabic mukhayyar, a type of haircloth, literally 'choice', from khayyara, 'he chose'. Mohair fiber is approximately 25-45 microns in diameter....
and often worn by elderly women in Poland.
Mohair berets , or "the army of mohair berets" is a common term used in present-day
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
as an
epithetAn epithet is a descriptive word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing, which has become a fixed formula...
against a major section of listeners of the
ultraUltra- is a prefix from Latin that means "beyond."Ultra may also refer to:In politics:* Ultra, the codename for cryptographic intelligence obtained from German signal traffic in World War II....
-Catholic
Radio MaryjaRadio Maryja is a Polish religious, nationalist, conservative, anti-post-communists and pro-life Roman Catholic radio station and media group, describing itself as patriotic. It was founded in Toruń, Poland, on December 9, 1991 and run since its inception by the Redemptorist Tadeusz Rydzyk, often...
. These listeners (mostly women) are religious, usually elderly people of traditionalist views, adhering to the Radio's
charismaThe word charisma refers to a trait found in persons whose personalities are characterized by a personal charm and magnetism , along with innate and powerfully sophisticated abilities of interpersonal communication and persuasion...
tic director
Tadeusz RydzykTadeusz Rydzyk , born May 3, 1945 in Olkusz, Poland, is an influential Roman Catholic priest and Redemptorist, creator and head of the conservative catholic Radio Maryja radio station.-Life and career:...
.
This group of people is often regarded as an important factor in the 2005 parliamentary and presidential elections in Poland, contributing to the defeat of both the
liberalLiberalism is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted today throughout the world, and was recognized as an important value by many philosophers throughout history...
and the
social democraticSocial democracy is a political ideology of the political left and centre-left on the classic political spectrum. Social democracy emerged in the late 19th century from the socialist movement and continues to exert influence worldwide....
parties and candidates.
The epithet arose from the head covering –
beretA beret is a soft round cap, usually of wool felt, with a flat crown, which is worn by both men and women and usually associated with France although it is also the traditional headgear of Northern Spain...
s, made out of wool or
mohairMohair usually refers to a silk-like fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat. The word "mohair" was adopted into English before 1570 from the Arabic mukhayyar, a type of haircloth, literally 'choice', from khayyara, 'he chose'. Mohair fiber is approximately 25-45 microns in diameter....
and often worn by elderly women in Poland. Berets are also a common head covering in many armies, particularly in Polish Army, where a different beret colour distinguishes the army department. In Polish, soldiers are often nicknamed after the beret colour, e.g. the commandos squads are commonly named "red berets" .
The term "mohair berets" is a straight
paraphraseParaphrase is restatement of a text or passage, using other words. The term "paraphrase" derives via the Latin "paraphrasis" from the Greek para phraseïn, meaning "additional manner of expression". The act of paraphrasing is also called "paraphrasis."A paraphrase typically explains or clarifies...
of such army nicknames, and was used for the first time in a satirical TV programme, depictured with the "army" of elderly women with berets on their heads, walking down the street and "attacking" young people kissing on the benches and kiosks selling erotic and pornographic magazines with their umbrellas. Since then the term has been in common use by a good part of Polish youth, and later has gained a wider spread that it started being used by newspapers. But it was not used in public debate until 10 November 2005, when
Donald TuskDonald Franciszek Tusk is a center-right Polish politician, co-founder and chairman of the Civic Platform , and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland....
, chairman of the
Civic PlatformThe Civic Platform is a christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Poland. Since the 2007 general election, it is the largest party in the Sejm, the Lower House of the Polish parliament....
, used the phrase "mohair coalition" during his speech in
SejmThe Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. Each member of Sejm is called Poseł.Before the 20th century, the term "Sejm" referred to the entire three-chamber Polish parliament, comprising the lower house , the upper house and the King. It was commonly termed a three-estate parliament...
. It was actually the first time, when the elderly people have noticed the existence of the epithet and started to consider it very offensive.
Among the youth, especially high school and college students, the term "mohair berets" gained more popularity after the parliamentary and presidential victory of right wing party
Law and JusticeLaw and Justice Law and Justice Law and Justice (Polish: (PiS) is a national conservative Polish political party.The party was established in 2001, by the Kaczyński twins, Lech, the current President of Poland, and Jarosław, current party chairman...
, strongly supported by
Radio MaryjaRadio Maryja is a Polish religious, nationalist, conservative, anti-post-communists and pro-life Roman Catholic radio station and media group, describing itself as patriotic. It was founded in Toruń, Poland, on December 9, 1991 and run since its inception by the Redemptorist Tadeusz Rydzyk, often...
; especially after its attempts in
June 2006June 2006 was a month with thirty days.The following events also occurred during the month:...
to introduce
religionA religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth...
(which in case of Polish schools, including secular, obligatory schools, is not the same as Religious Education but is the course of Roman Catholic religious doctrine) as an optional part of
state examsMatura is the word commonly used in Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Liechtenstein, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Ukraine for the final exams young adults take at the end of...
.
Radio Maryja tends to blame the introduction of this epithet on
Gazeta WyborczaGazeta Wyborcza is Poland's second-largest daily newspaper aimed at left-leaning liberal readers. It is considered to be one of the most influential and opinion-forming newspapers in Poland. It covers the gamut of political, international and general news...
, although the term was widely used before; most likely its first use in a major newspaper occurred on 23 October 2004 in
RzeczpospolitaRzeczpospolita is one of Poland's large nationwide daily newspapers, with a circulation of 160,000, although a few years ago it reached even 260,000. The title may be rendered as "The Republic", but see Rzeczpospolita for more about this word....
.
Moherowe Berety is also a name of a song by
Big CycBig Cyc is a Polish rock band formed in 1988.The band is well-known in Poland for their controversial behaviour. The cover of their first album, Z partyjnym pozdrowieniem , was an image of Vladimir Lenin with a Mohawk hairstyle...
, a Polish satirical punk-rock band, which was also released as a single, but is not commonly played on air, mainly due to its strongly political lyrics. Listen to
Moherowe Berety http://www.bigcyc.pl/ccount/click.php?id=2 (whole song from the official artists' web site).
External links
- "The mohair berets are on the march", New Statesman
The New Statesman is a British left-wing political magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, 19 December 2005