Longest, Darkest Night?

Reuters is reporting that someone in Hungary has called the current rioting the country's "longest, darkest night." (They infer that the Prime Minister said it, but they don't actually attritubute the quote to anyone.)

Hmmm...

Now, to be fair, it is a bit unsettling to watch footage of rioting on the streets where I once lived (and will soon be visiting). I'm sure I have at least a couple former students among the rioters and/or the police. However, is this the country's "longest, darkest night"? Not so much.

See, there was this "little" revolution back in 1956 when they drove out the Soviets for 11 days. That was in the midst of more than 40 years of communism. Before that, Nazis or Nazi sympathizers ruled the country for a decade. 440,000 Hungarian Jews were sent to concentration camps in May and June of 1944 alone. Approximately 400,000 of them died--mostly at Auschwitz.

In WWI--as part of the Austro-Hungarian empire--Hungary lost badly. A huge percentage of their land and population were given away. Although the Hungarians disliked the Austrian rule, the Hapsburgs were like Disneyland compared to the previous 150 years of Ottoman domination. And before the Ottoman invasion, the Hungarians were dealing with people like Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan. (Although Hungarians, known to themselves as Magyars, had scarcely a better reputation than the Huns or Mongols among their neighbors.)

All of this helps explain the lyrics of Hungary's national anthem, translated as:

O Lord, bless the nation of Hungary
With your grace and bounty
Extend toward it your guarding arm
During strife with its enemies
Long torn by ill fate
Bring upon it a time of relief
This nation has suffered for all sins
Of the past and of the future!

So, is this rioting Hungary's "longest and darkest night." I'd say no--not really. Not really at all.