User:Malick78/Spieprzaj

"Spieprzaj dziadu!" (Polish: "Piss off, old man!") was a phrase used by the late Polish President Lech Kaczyński to a man on the street in the Praga district of Warsaw, during the November 2002 Warsaw mayoral campaign in which he was taking part. It became one of the most famous remarks associated with Kaczynski.

It has since taken on a life of its own, being quoted in television programmes and films, inspiring websites and appearing on T-shirts and a multitude of other objects.

Incident
On 4 November 2002 Kaczyński was campaigning in the north of Warsaw's Praga district. After a campaign meeting, he was about to get into his car when a passerby heckled him:


 * Passerby: "You've changed party, you've run away like rats."
 * Lech Kaczyński: "Sir, piss off Sir! That's what I'll say to you."
 * Passerby: "'Piss off Sir'? Sir, you are just afraid of the truth!"
 * Lech Kaczyński (getting into his car): "Piss off, old man!"
 * Passerby (to a journalist): "How can someone respond like that: 'Piss off Sir'? I asked the guy politely."

The name of the passerby was, as of November 2009, unknown.

Translation
"Spiepraj" is the informal singular imperative from the verb "spieprzać", an offensive word equivalent to "piss off" or "bugger off". "Dziad" in a negative word referring to an old male. An alternative English translation could be, for example, "Piss off, you old git!".

Reaction
Afterwards, Kaczyński explained that politicians also have a right to defend their honour: "The first lot of insults I put up with, it was only after the second lot that I told him firmly - though mildly for a Praga street - to go away."

In Lublin in 2008 Przemysław D., 34, shouted "Spieprzaj, dziadu!" in the vicinity of Kaczyński and was prosecuted for insulting the President. The Polish edition of Newsweek questioned in an editorial how Kaczyński could complain that someone was rude to him, when his original phrase in 2002 was so rude to someone else.

Later uses of the phrase
The phrase was brought up again by candidate Donald Tusk, now Polish Prime Minister, during the 2005 presidential election campaign. On 26 September, during a televised debate with Kaczyński, Tusk said: "I will refrain from quoting, but that remark caused a furore. I believe, that in Poland there are no people, groups or old men, that should be left out."

In 2007, political party Platforma Obywatelska included footage of the original incident in one of three campaign television adverts. 2007 also saw Jerzy Szmajdziński, leader of the Democratic Left Alliance, tell Kaczyński "Spieprzaj dziadu!" when Kaczyński criticised Poland's post-war nation by saying that socialism was "a system run by rabble for rabble" ("socjalizm to był ustrój hołoty, dla hołoty"). Kaczyński and Szmajdziński both later died in the same plane in the 2010 Smolensk air crash.

In 2009, while in Lublin, member of the Polish Parliament Janusz Palikot quoted the phrase in reference to Kaczyński and was reported to the police for insulting the President, a criminal offence in Poland. However, linguists were divided as to whether the insult, being a quotation, had a satirical function and was therefore protected by freedom of speech legislation.

In Polish popular culture
The phrase has been repeated in various television programmes, notably the sitcom Świat według Kiepskich ("The World According to the Kiepskis") and cult cartoon Włatcy móch. It is used in the Polish versions of the computer game The Witcher and also appears in a milder form ("Zjeżdżaj, dziadu" - "Get lost, old man") in the translations for the animated films Astérix at the Olympic Games, Open Season and The Simpsons Movie. Wristbands have also been produced by those opposed to Kaczyński sporting the phrase.

In November 2009, seven years after the original incident, a new coin called the Seven Old Men of the Capital was introduced by a local businessman in Praga to commemorate the event. It was not legal tender, but could be exchanged for services in participating outlets in the Praga area. 10,000 coins were produced and each was worth seven zloties.