Half of Austrians fear stating opinions publicly, citing over-the-top political correctness & fear of being branded alt right – RT

One in two Austrians prefers to keep their opinions to themselves, partly due to fear of being labeled an alt right, a new survey shows, as people in the Alpine land appear to grow wary of exaggerated political correctness.

An increasing need to watch ones mouth, which is in no small way influenced by modern woke trends, seems to be getting on the nerves of many Austrians, a survey commissioned by Der Standard newspaper revealed. Indeed, 57 percent of respondents said theyve grown tired of being increasingly dictatedto what they can and cannot say.

More than a half of Austrians also said that they often prefer not to express their more controversial opinions publicly, while admitting that many of their fellow citizens hold the same beliefs as they do.

According to Der Standard, supporters of the liberal Neos party or the Greens feel much less social pressure and are much more inclined to make their opinions public than the backers of the right-wing Freedom Party (FPO), who are more reluctant.

This could potentially push people into the arms of various conspiracy theorist groups, including the Querdenken an anti-lockdown movement, David Pfarrhofer, the director of the Market Research Institute which conducted the survey, said, adding that people might start to believe they would not be truly accepted elsewhere.

Pfarrhofer said that a comparable survey in Germany demonstrated similar results, with 63 percent of respondents believing there are some unwritten red lines they should not cross and 57 percent feeling irritated by being told what they can and cannot say.

Half of respondents said that one can be unjustifiably declared a right-winger in Austria and almost half said political correctness has been exaggerated. More than 40 percent believe a small elite group is defining which opinions are considered acceptable an idea Der Standard defined as a conspiracy theory.

Just over one third of respondents believe it is only possible to speak freely in private, while 29 percent consider the internet a place where one can speak ones mind freely. A striking 60 percent said its not possible to speak freely online.

Only 14 percent of Austrians believe its a good idea to change childrens books to include corrected language to conform to the modern norms of political correctness.

Still, the majority of those surveyed defined themselves as tolerant people who would have no problems with others around them holding opinions that are totally different from their own.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!

See the original post:

Half of Austrians fear stating opinions publicly, citing over-the-top political correctness & fear of being branded alt right - RT