Comments on: A Skeptic Goes to Germany

By: Shadow Boxer

Shadow Boxer — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:42:39 +0000

I was in Germany once as a kid, and it was pretty cool, but I don’t remember much specifically beyond that. I remember REALLY good food, though.

Are you familiar with the White Rose Society? They were university students in Munich who were executed for printing anti-Nazi leaflets. There’s a memorial at the University of Munich, if you’re going to be in the area.

By: Feminizzle

Feminizzle — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:53:47 +0000

I have to chime in, a bit belatedly, that I have found quite a bit of anti-semitism throughout Europe. I have never in my life seen so many swastikas scrawled in metros, on public posters, and graffittied in the streets. On average, I see probably one a day. When I lived in the states, I honestly can’t recall ever seeing one except when discussing it in class. While I agree with other posters that at this point the current racist trend tends to be against immigrants- particularly Arab and African in my country- anti-semitism is alive and well.

Becky- I had your same doubts about traveling to Germany but for Italy. I saw a documentary about the rise of fascism in Europe and while France is high up there, Germany and Italy seem to be the worst offenders. Italy was worse than Germany currently, and has the much-adored Berlusconi as a super role model. He actually said that Mussolini isn’t that bad- he didn’t actually kill anyone!!! What a joke…

By: SarahMC

SarahMC — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:02:14 +0000

Maria, your comment was rude, dismissive and insulting. Don’t tell Becky to calm down and don’t condescend to call her “hun.” Bye bye.

By: PhDork

PhDork — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:01:17 +0000

Maria, did you just tell Becky to calm down?

Even apart from the other offenses–none of which are about your opinion of anti-semitism, you’re entitled to that–the “hush up, woman! You’re being hysterical! I don’t have to give you any credence!” is pretty much a bannable offense. You can disagree with us. You can argue points of fact. But to accuse Becky of being some dumb, hyper-sensitive rube is indefensible.

Bye now.

By: Maria L.

Maria L. — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:43:15 +0000

Becky, that rant made no sense whatsoever. Calm down. I didn’t say Anti-Semitism does not exists in Europe and you know that. Don’t try to distort my words. I merely stated that it’s a lot more marginal than you would like us to believe. My essentialism? You should have been a bit more specific there, hun. I can’t respond anything to that because I have no clue what you’re on about.

By: BeckySharper

BeckySharper — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:33:07 +0000

Oh Lordy. Maria, you should have read our FAQs on commenting before you posted this jackassery.

In summary, y’all, Maria sez:

Anti-Semitism doesn’t exist in Europe because I’ve never met anyone who’s anti-Semitic! MY world is the only world and therefore all of your experiences and the experiences of everyone else in this thread must be false.

Also, essentialism is wrong and “pathetic” except when I personally use it to derail and dismiss. Then it’s totes okay, and you should respect my essentialist views.

Take your haterade elsewhere, lady.

By: Maria L.

Maria L. — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:02:39 +0000

I usually never comment since English is not even my second but my third language. This time I have to, though, because I find this post so utterly ridiculous. I come from a European country that was at the receiving end of violence during both World Wars. This obviously has had all sorts of effects on all sorts of things from political rhetoric to our relations with our neighbours. Never in my life, however, would I ever essentialize the people of those countries on the basis of what happened back then – that is, on the basis of what OTHER PEOPLE did.

Racism (at least when understood in the wider sense of the term that includes prejudices based on ideas on “culture”) exists all over Europe – just like in the US. Fear of an Anti-Semitic attack, however, sounds unintentionally comical. I’ve never met one single Anti-Semitist in my life and you’re more or less telling me this continent is swarming with them.

Given all this sterotyping, I find it hard to believe you have actually been to all “major Western European countries”. To be honest, you sound like a person who’s never left the US.

You may or may not love Germany but I believe travelling will, in any case, do you good.

And guys, just because your parents or grandparents originally came from somewhere else does not magically make you an “insider” or an expert capable of defining that country and it’s “culture”. Of course, nations and “cultures” are all artificial constructs anyway but pretending to know something about being German just because your granny originally came from Hamburg and fed you sauerkraut when you were a kid is a bit pathetic.

By: Another Anne

Another Anne — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 14:52:31 +0000

I have nothing to add to the discussion, but it has been very interesting to follow.
I merely wanted to recommend seeing the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on Kurfürstendamm

By: Endora

Endora — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 08:35:38 +0000

Anne’s comment about Currywurst reminded me – I don’t eat it myself, being veggie and all, but I hear from reliable sources that the best currywurst in Berlin can be found at the stand Curry 36 on Mehringdamm.

By: BeckySharper

BeckySharper — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 04:14:17 +0000

@drahill: Eh, to me the difference is that while some governments sanction or condone genocide by looking the other way, or using the state police or the military, when they go out of their way to make it a stated priority the way the Third Reich did, it’s a public statement of intent that’s fairly rare, as is meticulously documenting the deaths as a way of determining how close they were getting to the goal of killing every last Jew in Europe.

But yes, you’re right, it’s splitting hairs to try to determine whether that kind of genocide is somehow more worthy of condemnation than others.