Germans Readers Weigh in on Hurricane Katrina

Der Spiegel ^ | September 12, 2005

[Altair333]

Always good to hear the Hun's take on things.

[martin_fierro]

American society needs to ask itself why a natural catastrophe led to the breakdown of all civil order in a relatively short amount of time, and allowed a city to drown in chaos and anarchy.

Simple. It's a U.S. city that's most like a European city.

[martin_fierro]

[Indy Pendance]

This would NEVER happen in Europe.

[martin_fierro]

The German media claims that only the wealthy were able to leave the city. This is true, but only because of the failure of New Orleans's liberal black government. Why, for example, weren't all the school buses and trains used to evacuate the people? Now, in an attempt to distract attention from its own incompetence, the local government is trying to blame the federal administration.
Claus Franzkowiak, USA

Klaus, izzat you??

[Inyokern]

The drowning of New Orleans makes me want to prance like a little girl!

[wideawake]

Oh, no! They edited Helmut Woitas' comments for length.

I'll insert the missing text in bold:

The catastrophe in New Orleans may have something to do with America's unusually religious nature. "God bless America" -- a phrase used even by the President -- expresses an unshakable faith in God which makes human striving beside the point. In Germany we say "Government Bless Germany" which makes individual striving unnecessary. All hail the omnipotent state! The indifference to those unfortunates who couldn't save themselves under their own power might be explained by the maxim, "God helps those who help themselves." In Germany we say "The Aryan Worldsoul despises the weak Untermenschen!" New Orleans presents an image of the United States, on the whole, that is unworthy of a cultivated nation. If America wants to get with it, it needs to start gassing millions of innocent people to death. We Germans are totally kicking America's ass in this regard.

[NRA2BFree]

American society needs to ask itself why a natural catastrophe led to the breakdown of all civil order in a relatively short amount of time, and allowed a city to drown in chaos and anarchy.

We don*t need to ask. We already know. It*s because they had a RAT for Mayor and another one who was the Governor of LA. Case closed, but we*re glad you all could give us your irrelevant comments. :o)

[Altair333]

Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance!

[Howlin]

I think these people post here at FR.

[Howlin]

This would NEVER happen in Europe.

Exactly.

Now, how many people was it that died in Paris IN THE HEAT???

[telebob]

"Asia, on the other hand, showed none of this aggression and brutality after the tsunami, but was marked, on the contrary, by a massive sense of cooperation."

Hmmm...the tsunami killed about 300,000 people over a good part of the globe. Katrina so far has killed less than a thousand.

The 'massive cooperation' after the tsunami was mainly US-driven and supplied. The local populations affected had absolutely no means to cope with the disaster without huge amounts of aid and an injection of good old American efficiency and command and control.

NO on the other hand, well that was run by Democrats.

[MNJohnnie]

Asia, on the other hand, showed none of this aggression and brutality after the tsunami

Probably because the initial relief efforts there were US Military backed up by armed Marines rather then backed up by unarmed NG troops and an understaffed, under equipped NO police force.

[Billthedrill]

You write that the catastrophe has nothing to do with global warming. This statement is untenable from scientific point of view and politically speaking is fatal.

Dr. Schmitz is revealing a little too much here. He admits that there is no proof - little evidence, in fact - that global warming is linked to the frequency of storms in the Atlantic or anywhere else. That isn't important to him. What is important is that it must be pretended to be true for political purposes. This is as profound a betrayal of science as it is possible to commit.

Politically "fatal" to whom, exactly? Certainly a government predicated on political action that is not backed by science must be backed by something else. In this case, it is nothing more than fervent belief in ecological and economic principles that are imposed for political reasons. A government backed by fervent belief and phony science has a rather sordid recent history in Germany. Perhaps Herr Doktor Schmitz might bear that in mind.

[vetvetdoug]

I am disappointed that there was no mention of how a master race would have handled the situation as compared to what the Non-Aryian race types did. <sarcasm...

[Indy Pendance]

Duh, that was global warming caused by Bush not signing a piece of paper.

[NRA2BFree]

A salutary effect of the destruction by this and perhaps other hurricanes might be that the priggish voodoo-magician of the American Way of Life named Bush -- and his short-haul Creationists -- suffer a decisive setback. For this adminstration wants to distract American people (and in the end all of us) from the most urgent problems. This is because they want to use their money for something else: to build an enormous halo for themselves.

Christoph Müller-Luckwald, Germany

Thank you Christoph! Reading your letter makes me appreciate my sanity even more. It must be terrible to go through life with your head stuck up your butt. :o)

[Mike Darancette]

When I listen to Germans spew their hatred of the USA it always helps to think of their Grandmothers selling themselves to American troops for a Hershey Bar.

[Mike Darancette]

Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance!

Touch my Monkey.