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Germany hit by wave of public sector strikes (HOLD MEIN BIER, THE CHAOS)
The Financial Times ^
| December 18, 2002
| Hugh Williamson
Posted on 12/17/2002 3:51:04 PM PST by MadIvan
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To: ModelBreaker
Why should anyone apologize for something someone else did? The people in today's Germany are not the same ones who put Hitler in power. All this apologizing for past sins is nuts.
To: MadIvan
So, Schroeder can't/won't pull a Chretien: "I'm stepping down - in 18 months..."?
(Meanwhile, causing as much trouble as he can, a la Clinton, for whomever succeeds him.)
To: ModelBreaker
"Why should they quit apologizing for Hitler?"Answer: Because Hitler and the war have been over for 57 years, and it is time for Germany to assume defence responsibilities for Europe and the EU allies.
To: MrPeanut
Looks like the German years before WW2 Yup, in fact the French have already surrendered.
To: shrinkermd
Generally, I agree with you. But I have had a lot of business dealings with Germans over the past ten years. The combination of intramural arrogance and intermural herd mentality there is quite amazing and strikes me as the same lethal combination that lead to the Holocaust. Of course, the expressed belief structure has changed. But the underlying culture has not.
The Greens there make our environmentalists here look like tolerant, open-minded folks. A political lurch to the Greens in Germany could easily, in my opinion, lead to another nazi type regime (Hitler was elected with just over 30% of the vote--not an unachievable number for the Greens). Oh, the style would be different but the substance, as it affects the rest of the world, would be very similar.
Of all countries, I firmly believe that a permanent sense of guilt and need to apologize by the Germants is healthy for the rest of the world. The longer it keeps them demilitarized, the better for the rest of us.
To: ModelBreaker
Having lived in Germany for almost 10 years now...I cannot agree more with the intramural arrogance and herd mentality. Its taught in school and kids become used to the whole concept. Everyone fits into a certain postion in life by the time they are 9 years old and its almost impossible to move up or out. University education may be totally free....but its down a certain path and most of the educational elite (professors) have no modern background. The technology side of universities is dismal and always behind the times. And business instructors are lost in the current environment. The most amazing thing is that no one can go out and creat a company out of thin air (a Bill Gates type) and expect to be allowed to run it. You don't become a German CEO unless you have a minimum of a MBA and all of your tickets punched.
As for the political sector...the Greens have made several significant mistakes in the last four years...but the media has barely acknowledged those errors...so they are getting a free ride out in the public. The Greens influence does not shrink...thats for sure. With the political system in place...it would be simple to have a Green Hitler in place within 20 years. ((Its the movie Mel Brooks has been waiting to make...lol))
To: sarasmom
One morning, after coming home from a walk, I saw my neighbor (we lived in a dopplehaus) scrubbing the front steps with a brush and bleach water. The stuff I would see them cleaning and doing was so bizzare, especially taking into consideration, the fact that they don't keep there bodies and clothing so clean. Odd.
Pepsionice, you really summed it up perfectly. I didn't live there for nearly so long but I caught on quickly that the mentality was very different. As I could not work and there is not really much to do, I spent alot of time walking and observing.
27
posted on
12/18/2002 9:33:42 AM PST
by
riri
To: pepsionice
I really think you have to have significant exposure on site in Germany to understand just how unchanged the culture is from pre-WWII. The public style is different. But the underlying culture is still kind of scary.
There's a reason Germany is still an occupied country. Other folks is high places have, for many years, felt that some heavy divisions in Germany make the world a better place. And they do.
I deeply disagree with those who would encourage the Germans to remilitarize.
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