More than half of Italians say racist acts are justifiable, poll finds

A recent poll has shown that more than half of Italians believe that racist acts «were either sometimes or always justifiable», the Guardian wrote on Tuesday.

SWG, an Italian polling firm, questioned 1,500 people in the country. 10% of those surveyed said that racist acts were always justified while 45% said that they could be «acceptable depending on the situation». Only 45% of those questioned in Italy said that all forms of racist acts are unacceptable.  

Speaking to the Guardian, Enzo Risso, an SWG scientific director, said that «there has been a relaxation in attitudes towards racism – not necessarily that people have become racist, more that they are becoming more accepting of racist acts and do not consider them so scandalous».

«We can say anything about anyone and are becoming more used to it», he added. To him, the trend is a «bad sign» in Italy and an «adaptation towards the worst».