Never underestimate the pettiness of a Baltic chihuahua. Used to discriminating against the Russian minority, some are now targeting others such as Dario Boni, an Italian business owner of Gelato Italia in Riga, Latvia.
A social media post referred to Boni as "disgusting," even though he is not Russian (!), for not knowing the Latvian language. The post called for an investigation of his business, which took place and, according to some media sources, resulted in a fine. Latvia has a special government organization, the Center for State Language (VVC), tasked with engaging in tinpot totalitarianism of this nature.
"Are you sure we're in Europe?", Boni was quoted in a Latvian publication Delfi. The business owner has been living in Latvia and running his gelato cafe for a decade. He has been subject to such language purity investigations three times. Boni thinks Latvian is difficult to learn; nor does he consider such laws to be in line with European values.
@NinaByzantina
