"While dictators rage and statesmen talk, all Europe dances — to The Lambeth Walk."

Friday 18 September 2009

Thoughts on Germany

As I continue to settle in here and get used to my new surroundings, I thought I would share some of my impressions and experiences so far.

First of all, since my last stay here (which came to an end about two and a half years ago), the number of "visible minorities" has increased dramatically. I am not in a major city and live in a fairly rural state in the north of the country, so this has come of something of a shock even to me.

But the trend is unmistakable. Even this small city could now compete with Berlin or Hamburg, proportionally, in the diversity and enrichment stakes.

It is interesting to compare the behaviour of these obviously unassimilable Third World immigrants with that of their German hosts. As my regular readers will know, I am not one to perpetuate a stereotype unless it contains a healthy dose of truth, and many of those we have about the Germans do.

Generally speaking, this is an orderly, efficient and well run country. It feels different to Britain, because the people here are not (or don't seem to be) at the stage where they let the state do everything for them - they try to enforce their values themselves.

For example; if you wait at a pelican crossing and the lights are red but there are obviously no oncoming vehicles, you will observe that German people still do not cross.

They wait until the lights change to green.

It can be fascinating to watch this; every instinct I have tells me to just hurry across whilst I have the chance - but I make myself wait, partly to observe, and partly because it is illegal to cross against the lights - and ordinary people, from pensioners to children, will call you on it without fear, whereas most modern British people would cast their eyes down, for fear of a beating or worse.

The point I am making here is that behaviour as well as such things as appearance can mark one out as a foreigner here without much difficulty.

As I arrived at the main railway station, a school party disembarked from the train in front of me and stepped on to my platform. All appeared to be German, except for three pupils who were either African immigrants or the descendants of such.

It really was a life lesson to watch these three individuals create complete havoc where there was none before. They walked differently from their classmates, spoke differently, shouted for no reason, pushed the boys, pulled the girls' hair, answered the teachers back, ran when they were told to walk - you name a problem, and they created it on behalf of the whole class, much to the (silent) chagrin of everyone in that section of the station.

It seems astounding that people as careful about the trivialities as the Germans can let such serious and far reaching transformations occur on their watch.

It was clear, observing this group, that these three boys would never fit into that class. That being said, how then can they fit into normal German society - without irrevocably damaging it?

Today, I and several other passersby were accosted by a large gang of African and Turkish/Arab "youths", to use the correct English code, for no reason at all other than being in the street and minding our business.

As heartwarming as it was to see true multiculturalism in action as the lowest of these 'communities' banded together to harass innocent people, no one seemed to appreciate the presence of these enrichers, and once they had left several people (mainly elderly) were not shy about saying as much.

I have noticed that people here tend to be slightly less brainwashed than in Britain when it comes to these issues - many will openly admit there are huge problems or at the very least that they see a downside to what officially must be worshipped.

This is balanced by the fact that events in the past mean their mind will only allow them to go to a certain point before the 'crimethink' kicks in; discussion of topics such as the catastrophically low birth rate among ethnic Germans or the fact that certain minorities are clearly never going to assimilate en masse are too controversial for polite society. The very idea that the Germans have a right to exist unmolested in their own land can be seen as provocative and taboo, when taken beyond a very cursory opening position.

I keep coming back to this conclusion; whilst many Germans seem more willing to identify the problem than their British counterparts, their history means no real solution can ever be forthcoming. No one wants to stick their head above the parapet, because the accusation of Nazism is not just a vicious/childish slur here - it carries much legal weight.

This discussion is all the more interesting because here it is Superwahljahr - election season. Whilst "conservative" Mrs Merkel is tipped to be re-elected, most state legislatures and the federal government are up against the public vote on 27th September.

This is taken quite seriously here - curiously the state seems to take charge of the furore, and rather than seeing private citizens put up signs and banners for their preferred candidate, every lamp post becomes adorned with party and candidate posters.

I left my building to go shopping this evening to find that the posters of the NPD, the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands, had all been torn down, cut up and thrown into the gutter.

This party stands accused of neo-Nazism, and whilst I certainly don't know enough about it to endorse it, the party leadership denies these claims.

It has slogans such as 'German jobs for German workers', is very much against mass immigration and the asylum racket, and its only remotely mainstream position seems to be pulling German troops out of Afghanistan (an issue on which it is united with the far-Left, along with hatred of Israel and the insistence of a "Holocaust" in Gaza).

In a country where democracy is taken quite seriously, it is a real shame that Leftist political violence and intimidation like this is tolerated.

All parties are entitled to a voice - the socialists, the greens, Die Linke, Mrs Merkel's CDU - so why not the NPD?

If they genuinely hold abhorrent views, defeat them with logic and reasoned argument, rather than thug tactics and tantrums.

But that really is too much to ask, isn't it?

If things keep going as they are, I fear it will be Germany which ends up in the gutter - and that is a conclusion I am loathe to reach.

***UPDATE*** 18th September 09.55

I have found some more articles on the NPD linked via their Wikipedia entry. Of particular interest is this article, which claims that a majority of Germans believe that the NPD is undemocratic and a threat to Germany's image (presumably it was some of these people who took the next logical, democratic step in ripping up their campaign posters).

Fair enough, but I wonder if the same people would say that about the Leftists who recently rioted in Hamburg, for example?

I sincerely hope so, because hypocrisy is an ugly thing - perhaps not quite so much as political violence and extremism, but almost.

7 comments:

Paul Weston said...

Thanks Earl

Thought provoking.

Nick said...

I remember the last time I was in Germany and I nipped across the road before the lights changed, and as you say, everyone hooted and hollered at me. Man, that brought back some memories!

Dr.D said...

Referring to the incident with the three black students in the class cutting up and causing trouble at the train station, I have to ask, why is there no discipline for these misbehaved boys? Have the Germans forgotten how to do this? Is talk all that they are capable of doing?

It is not surprising that the problems continue when there is no downside to it for the perpetrators.

ciccio said...

The last time I was in Germany was about 30 years ago. I was on a fairly crowded bus in a small town and an elderly lady got on. There was a schoolkid sitting in the front where the lady was standing. The driver stopped the bus, grabbed the kid by the scruff of his neck and marched him off the bus to the applause of all.I think of that every time I have to go on a bus full of kids to whom the thought of giving their seat to a frail old man is alien.

Anonymous said...

Earl
A very readable article. I really wanted to read it. Continue in that vein and you will have a book worth publishing.

Good luck Earl.

Anonymous said...

"It really was a life lesson to watch these three individuals create complete havoc where there was none before. They walked differently from their classmates, spoke differently, shouted for no reason, pushed the boys, pulled the girls' hair, answered the teachers back, ran when they were told to walk - you name a problem, and they created it on behalf of the whole class..." Universally, black culture exhibits such anti-social behavior. Is it genetic? Go figure.

Ben said...

"Though the educational establishment would rather die than admit it, multiculturalism is a desperate - and surely
self-defeating - strategy for coping with the educational
deficiencies, and associated social pathologies, of young
blacks. Did these black students and their problems not
exist, we would hear little of multiculturalism."

Irving Kristol, neo-conservative thinker and essayist, 1920 - 2009.