In Defense of Germany
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
The country of Germany has been maligned elsewhere on AMT so I'm jotting a quick post in defense of that country. Yes, they have a shady past in parts of the 20th century, but Germany is a good example of how change for the better can happen. I have German friends in that country. I know people who have visited and lived there. Germany is a fine place- not perfect, but no place is perfect. Please don't judge Germany on its past.
"It's a sad and beautiful world"
-Roberto Benigni
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
-
i think that germany has learned it's lesson, as nazism is so frowned upon now. racism and intolerance is not tolerated there.brianlux wrote:The country of Germany has been maligned elsewhere on AMT so I'm jotting a quick post in defense of that country. Yes, they have a shady past in parts of the 20th century, but Germany is a good example of how change for the better can happen. I have German friends in that country. I know people who have visited and lived there. Germany is a fine place- not perfect, but no place is perfect. Please don't judge Germany on its past.
i want to see germany one day, but it is not going to be for another several years i am afraid..."You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."0 -
They take a lot of heat for WWI too...probably a little too much heat...but their treatment in the Treaty of Versailles gave the Nazis plenty fuel for their fire.All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.0
-
Germany is now one of the most progressive, open-minded, and tolerant countries in all of Europe.
Anyway, it's not as if Americans are in any position to take a moral standpoint.0 -
brianlux wrote:The country of Germany has been maligned elsewhere on AMT so I'm jotting a quick post in defense of that country. Yes, they have a shady past in parts of the 20th century, but Germany is a good example of how change for the better can happen. I have German friends in that country. I know people who have visited and lived there. Germany is a fine place- not perfect, but no place is perfect. Please don't judge Germany on its past.
Speaking as a German, I just say thank you.
:P
That is very nice to read and it happens not often.
I guess we left the past indeed behind although it is tought still in all classes. But that is good. You should be educated about and always reminded to that horrible past we made, to go on in better ways in the future.
We still have ignorant idiots around, in politics and elsewhere but for the rest it has become indeed a very pleasent country to live in.
I experience it as mostly tolerant, nearly peaceful, very aware about environmental problems and gifted with a pretty good as independent media in paper and on tv.
The public television is still different and my Spiegel is reallly good for info gathering.
But still.... we killed once millions of innocents, ANgela now may confuses the whole world,
so it is good to hear something positive about my brith country... as said, it does not happen often.. :Pthere is no way to peace, peace is the way!
...the world is come undone, I like to change it everyday but change don't come at once, it's a wave, building before it breaks.0 -
Byrnzie wrote:Germany is now one of the most progressive, open-minded, and tolerant countries in all of Europe.
Anyway, it's not as if Americans are in any position to take a moral standpoint.
yeah, if you go back in time far enough there are few countries that are innocent. Anyway, I don't know how to blame "Germany" because it is just a concept whereas "Germans" are a very tangible thing, and I certainly don't blame them for shit that happened 70 years ago.Everything not forbidden is compulsory and eveything not compulsory is forbidden. You are free... free to do what the government says you can do.0 -
It would appear that an offhand joke I made on another thread has inspired this one. I'm truly honored.
Just for the record, I don't really have a problem with Germany today. I'm just not too concerned about offending ANYONE, and if I see a setup for a joke, I'll jump on it.
So, when I hear about a German accusing the USA of being a murderous, barbaric society, I can't help but laugh...really hard.
Some folks just need to lighten up.0 -
bennett13 wrote:It would appear that an offhand joke I made on another thread has inspired this one. I'm truly honored.
Just for the record, I don't really have a problem with Germany today. I'm just not too concerned about offending ANYONE, and if I see a setup for a joke, I'll jump on it.
So, when I hear about a German accusing the USA of being a murderous, barbaric society, I can't help but laugh...really hard.
Some folks just need to lighten up.
The joke might have worked 60 years ago... but you'd still be offending the millions of Germans who were not murderous barbarians back then. Today it just makes not sense and besides, any time you single out and generalize a nation of people or ethnic group like that it just doesn't come across as a joke. To me it comes across as bias or prejudice. But that's just me- maybe others feel differently. In any case, I stand behind my statements:
"Germany is a good example of how change for the better can happen",
"Germany is a fine place- not perfect, but no place is perfect",
"Please don't judge Germany on its past"."It's a sad and beautiful world"-Roberto Benigni0 -
I didn't judge Germany...I laughed extremely hard in response to someone from Germany judging the US as a murderous, barbaric society.
And even though that statement was a generalization of all of America (and was not intended as a joke), I certainly wasn't offended. I just thought it was hilarious. And it was. And still is.
I wish I could say "I'm sorry some folks were offended," but the fact of the matter is I'm not sorry. I find a great deal of humor in the overly politically-correct "I'm so scared of offending anyone" world in which we live now. People take themselves (and everything else) so seriously these days. I just like to keep it light. And folks on this forum give me plenty to laugh at. For example:
Person 1: A German friend said that America is a brutal and murderous society.
Person 2: A GERMAN said that about AMERICA?
Person 1: Hey! :shock: That was offensive. You can't judge a whole society for the acts of a few.
Person 2: (rolling on the ground, clutching his sides, beet red with laughter)
Person 1: Stop it! Just stop it! :evil: You're OFFENDING people!
Person 2: So Americans aren't people? Everyone except Americans are people, right?
Person 1:
I'm sorry (not really), and maybe it's just that I don't really get offended by anything (I am a huge South Park fan after all), but this is all really, really, really, REALLY funny to me! 0 -
bennett13 wrote:It would appear that an offhand joke I made on another thread has inspired this one. I'm truly honored.
Just for the record, I don't really have a problem with Germany today. I'm just not too concerned about offending ANYONE, and if I see a setup for a joke, I'll jump on it.
So, when I hear about a German accusing the USA of being a murderous, barbaric society, I can't help but laugh...really hard.
Some folks just need to lighten up.
Why does being German preclude you from having an opinion on America's human rights violations? The Germans of Nazi Germany are not the Germans of 2011. I'm sorry, but I won't judge somebody for the actions of their ancestors. While they may have benefited from the crimes of past generations, they did not commit them. What you write off as humor is simply a way of avoiding a discussion by labeling the dissenting opinion as being unworthy of taking a position. Your comment wasn't a joke; it was plain bigotry.0 -
blueandwhite wrote:bennett13 wrote:It would appear that an offhand joke I made on another thread has inspired this one. I'm truly honored.
Just for the record, I don't really have a problem with Germany today. I'm just not too concerned about offending ANYONE, and if I see a setup for a joke, I'll jump on it.
So, when I hear about a German accusing the USA of being a murderous, barbaric society, I can't help but laugh...really hard.
Some folks just need to lighten up.
Why does being German preclude you from having an opinion on America's human rights violations? The Germans of Nazi Germany are not the Germans of 2011. I'm sorry, but I won't judge somebody for the actions of their ancestors. While they may have benefited from the crimes of past generations, they did not commit them. What you write off as humor is simply a way of avoiding a discussion by labeling the dissenting opinion as being unworthy of taking a position. Your comment wasn't a joke; it was plain bigotry.
Agreed, thank you blueandwhite."It's a sad and beautiful world"-Roberto Benigni0 -
bennett13 wrote:It would appear that an offhand joke I made on another thread has inspired this one. I'm truly honored.
Just for the record, I don't really have a problem with Germany today. I'm just not too concerned about offending ANYONE, and if I see a setup for a joke, I'll jump on it.
So, when I hear about a German accusing the USA of being a murderous, barbaric society, I can't help but laugh...really hard.
Some folks just need to lighten up.
I think it's you.......0 -
0
-
if the nuremburg trials applied every US president since ww2 would have been hanged.
i guess you could say some of those guys got a bad wrap.0 -
Germans absolutely have the right to express an opinion on "human rights abuses" in the US. Just as I have the right to laugh my ass off in response.
I'm not sure where the bigotry accusations are coming from. That's just mean-spirited, and frankly, I'm offended.
I've encountered people that subscribe to bigotry and, in the words of Bob, it ain't me, babe.
I never "judged" the German people of today...I just found some humor in the fact that, especially considering their past, some of them were pointing fingers at the US. And there is humor there, folks...take it from someone who has a sense of humor.0 -
germans had the right idea.0
-
bennett13 wrote:Germans absolutely have the right to express an opinion on "human rights abuses" in the US. Just as I have the right to laugh my ass off in response.
I'm not sure where the bigotry accusations are coming from. That's just mean-spirited, and frankly, I'm offended.
I've encountered people that subscribe to bigotry and, in the words of Bob, it ain't me, babe.
I never "judged" the German people of today...I just found some humor in the fact that, especially considering their past, some of them were pointing fingers at the US. And there is humor there, folks...take it from someone who has a sense of humor.
Bennett13, I certainly do not mean to offend you. I found your post to contain slighting remarks towards Germans. Others here see it the same way. Maybe that was not your intention, but that's how it came across to me (and apparently others as well). In fact you continue (as in your most recent post) to show disrespect to a group of people. You say "I just found some humor in the fact that, especially considering their past, some of them were pointing fingers at the U.S." Who- the ghosts of Nazis? You don't see that your statements are offense to German people today?
This is becoming a rhetorical argument and seems to be going nowhere. I will stand by my defense of Germany and I will tell you I am sorry, I meant no offense to you but I'm calling it like I see it. I never make posts simply for the purpose of offending someone. Never."It's a sad and beautiful world"-Roberto Benigni0 -
Didn't Americans wipe out a good portion of the Native population?
So who is America to judge Germany?Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V0 -
i think americans killed more americans than germany killed germans. good point.keeponrockin wrote:Didn't Americans wipe out a good portion of the Native population?
So who is America to judge Germany?0 -
brianlux wrote:bennett13 wrote:Germans absolutely have the right to express an opinion on "human rights abuses" in the US. Just as I have the right to laugh my ass off in response.
I'm not sure where the bigotry accusations are coming from. That's just mean-spirited, and frankly, I'm offended.
I've encountered people that subscribe to bigotry and, in the words of Bob, it ain't me, babe.
I never "judged" the German people of today...I just found some humor in the fact that, especially considering their past, some of them were pointing fingers at the US. And there is humor there, folks...take it from someone who has a sense of humor.
Bennett13, I certainly do not mean to offend you. I found your post to contain slighting remarks towards Germans. Others here see it the same way. Maybe that was not your intention, but that's how it came across to me (and apparently others as well). In fact you continue (as in your most recent post) to show disrespect to a group of people. You say "I just found some humor in the fact that, especially considering their past, some of them were pointing fingers at the U.S." Who- the ghosts of Nazis? You don't see that your statements are offense to German people today?
This is becoming a rhetorical argument and seems to be going nowhere. I will stand by my defense of Germany and I will tell you I am sorry, I meant no offense to you but I'm calling it like I see it. I never make posts simply for the purpose of offending someone. Never.
Dude...I appreciate the apology, but I wasn't really offended. You call it as you see it and, as someone who does the same thing, I definitely can appreciate that. I really don't intend to offend anyone, but the truth hurts sometimes. So, if I call it as I see it, and someone is offended by it, so be it. The point I've been trying to make is that everyone is so uptight these days that they refuse to laugh at anything that might REMOTELY be considered "offensive" to any conceivable group of people, least of all themselves. That, in itself, is comical to me. No hard feelings to anyone here (German or otherwise).0
Categories
- All Categories
- 148.8K Pearl Jam's Music and Activism
- 110K The Porch
- 274 Vitalogy
- 35K Given To Fly (live)
- 3.5K Words and Music...Communication
- 39.1K Flea Market
- 39.1K Lost Dogs
- 58.7K Not Pearl Jam's Music
- 10.6K Musicians and Gearheads
- 29.1K Other Music
- 17.8K Poetry, Prose, Music & Art
- 1.1K The Art Wall
- 56.8K Non-Pearl Jam Discussion
- 22.2K A Moving Train
- 31.7K All Encompassing Trip
- 2.9K Technical Stuff and Help