A French person living in Paris I met while traveling recently told me how impressed they were by Germany’s massive protests against the far-right party AfD, and how lucky I was to live in a country that so adamantly rejects fascism.
I was at one of the protests and at some point there was an animator who made the crowd sing „One love“ for about ten minutes. It made me feel embarrassed to be in an almost all-white gathering and hear „Let‘s get together and feel alright“ which seemed to express the purpose of the protest rather well, since only in the end there was a speaker with non-german passport who adressed the actual situation in its seriousness and called for action, but was not applauded in the same way like the others.
Thank you. This truly speaks from my soul. Since last years anti-AfD protests I've been anguished by this unbearable paradox. It breaks my heart that Palestinian friends were insulted and told off at such a protest last year, that people I care about see it as an obvious civic duty to take to the streets against AfD while remaining silent on the ongoing genozide in Gaza and the German governments complicity because they “don't know enough about it” or say “it's complicated...” It's overwhelming, sad and often making me feel helpless. Thank you for using your voice to reflect this crucial part of the story to the public.
I think so, too: we should not 'feel good' about these protests but constantly and continuously work to invite sceptical and critical voices who will address hypocracy and bias in these structures. Only this way the protests will be and stay open to all and specifically to the ones who are most threatened by fascist practices, naming non-white and non-conforming people. I saw a very diverse and vivid crowd outside the CDU headquarter. And yet, I can't get over the fact that the so called 'Antisemitismus Resolution' passed in the last days of the current government - which is threatening open discourse and undermining any opposition to the Israeli government's violence - without the public's protest in this country. We need to go much deeper and dig into the trauma. People need to be ready for self reflection and open up for healing. Otherwise we'll get nowhere with this. That's the sad (and good) news we need to face. Much love and gratitude for this exchange
As an American, I fear that the greatest fascist threat stems from America. I am a Jew. I hate fascism.
Fascism is not a German phenomenon. Fascism swept throught Europe and America in the 30's.
It is so damn ironic: In world war two, America fought German fascism. Today, the US VP, vile, virulent Mr. Vance, came to Germany to instruct it to be kind and receptive to fascists.
Americans are the new Germans of the earth (And I don't mean the Immanuel Kant, Mozart sort of Germans)
I hope the people on Medicaid or who have family members on Medicaid are happy the system is being broken. Most people don’t pay attention to politics. They are socially conservative and watch Fox News. They are poorly informed and don’t really know what they are voting for. Trump and the Republican Party don’t give a shit about them and they obfuscate their policies with culture war bullshit.
I was at one of the protests and at some point there was an animator who made the crowd sing „One love“ for about ten minutes. It made me feel embarrassed to be in an almost all-white gathering and hear „Let‘s get together and feel alright“ which seemed to express the purpose of the protest rather well, since only in the end there was a speaker with non-german passport who adressed the actual situation in its seriousness and called for action, but was not applauded in the same way like the others.
Thanks a lot for this article. It speaks directly to some of our experiences here in Germany since the last 30 years. Here is a piece I wrote recently about this issue: https://bresoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Commentary_Omwenyeke_Beyond-finger-pointing.pdf
Thank you. This truly speaks from my soul. Since last years anti-AfD protests I've been anguished by this unbearable paradox. It breaks my heart that Palestinian friends were insulted and told off at such a protest last year, that people I care about see it as an obvious civic duty to take to the streets against AfD while remaining silent on the ongoing genozide in Gaza and the German governments complicity because they “don't know enough about it” or say “it's complicated...” It's overwhelming, sad and often making me feel helpless. Thank you for using your voice to reflect this crucial part of the story to the public.
I think so, too: we should not 'feel good' about these protests but constantly and continuously work to invite sceptical and critical voices who will address hypocracy and bias in these structures. Only this way the protests will be and stay open to all and specifically to the ones who are most threatened by fascist practices, naming non-white and non-conforming people. I saw a very diverse and vivid crowd outside the CDU headquarter. And yet, I can't get over the fact that the so called 'Antisemitismus Resolution' passed in the last days of the current government - which is threatening open discourse and undermining any opposition to the Israeli government's violence - without the public's protest in this country. We need to go much deeper and dig into the trauma. People need to be ready for self reflection and open up for healing. Otherwise we'll get nowhere with this. That's the sad (and good) news we need to face. Much love and gratitude for this exchange
As an American, I fear that the greatest fascist threat stems from America. I am a Jew. I hate fascism.
Fascism is not a German phenomenon. Fascism swept throught Europe and America in the 30's.
It is so damn ironic: In world war two, America fought German fascism. Today, the US VP, vile, virulent Mr. Vance, came to Germany to instruct it to be kind and receptive to fascists.
Americans are the new Germans of the earth (And I don't mean the Immanuel Kant, Mozart sort of Germans)
https://davidgottfried.substack.com/p/the-american-people-are-the-new-germans
I hope the people on Medicaid or who have family members on Medicaid are happy the system is being broken. Most people don’t pay attention to politics. They are socially conservative and watch Fox News. They are poorly informed and don’t really know what they are voting for. Trump and the Republican Party don’t give a shit about them and they obfuscate their policies with culture war bullshit.
!!