Einfach, weil das Leben schöner ohne Nazis ist.
My partner on the German exchange, and many of her friends, were active Anti-Facs. This means they were against Nazism and Fascism. I was really interested in the Anti-Fac politics, because I wasn't that aware of the prevalence of neo-Nazism in Germany at the moment. I'd heard rumblings, sure, but I hadn't really considered that it would be such a huge concern to people amongst my age group, or that there would actually be an active anti-fac movement.
While I was over there, there was a Nazi demo in a nearby town (Lübeck). Supposedly, 4000 Nazis were going to attend, but only 250 turned up. Which amused my partner's Anti-Fac friends who did turn up to demo against the demo, some of whom were hit by policemen. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that Nazis are still very much in the minority in Germany. And, I don't know whether they believe in all the Nazi beliefs, or whether they're just latching onto the far-right symbolism and the racist points of Nazism.
Germany is a wonderful, wonderful country. I fell in love with it the first time I went on an exchange and visited Germany in year 10. Even though after this year, I won't be learning German anymore, I still hope to live in Deutschland at some point. It is a pity that there are all these stupid Nazi stereotypes still, but it is fairly understandable I guess, given the Nazi atrocities. Although, it has to be said, that countries which were actually occupied during World War Two aren't as obsessed with stereotyping in the same way as we are.
However, the realities are that the British particularly like to use Nazi stereotypes in reference to contemporary Germany, and that there is unfortunately a bit of neo-Nazism going on in the Bundesrepublik. Even though Germany has tried so hard to move on from all that.
Another reality is that we in Britain have some lovely little Fascists in our own garden. Y'know, the BNP.
Now, personally, I don't believe that everyone who votes for the BNP are actual Fascists, or evil. I personally believe that there are a lot of hard-working people out there, who read the tabloids and freak the hell out about all those moral panics about immigrants and ra-dee-ra-dee-ra, and that the BNP exploit this fear. It's what's happening in Germany, and, I imagine, pretty much every other Western democratic country with a similar "immigrant problem" (ahem). The tabloids almost had me fooled. It's like in that Kaiser Chiefs song.
Likewise, not everyone who voted for the Nazis (who, by the way, never got a majority in elections) were evil, or Fascists. But they didn't even necessarily vote for the Nazis for the anti-Semitism. It was simply bread and work which was high on their agenda.
However, the BNP are, quite simply put, fuckwits.
And I, for one, am personally "gegen Faschismus", to use a German phrase (cos sometimes, the German feels better than the English). Being in Germany inspired me to be more Anti-Fac. We can't just pretend that the BNP don't exist, and it doesn't matter if they're a minority. It is important to be vigilant against Fascism. To be consciously aware.
P.S. Please excuse the shit German. There is a reason why I'm dropping it after this year ;)
4 comments:
It looks like the nazis are once again on the rise, just 1 year ago I noticed a lot of debates on my homecountrys forums. They were actually favouring nazism, and even discriminating a lot of the immigrant lurkers.
It seems to have died down again though, as the media stopped the gentle portraying of the immigrants as law-breaking criminals.
Having hatred towards a stereotype is a dangerous, dangerous tendency - that we all should seek to avoid.
Two words: Keine übermensch.
"Two words: Keine übermensch."
I agree to that sentiment, especially in the case of ethnicity or sex.
Our media still likes moral panics about immigrants though. It's ridiculous, but, like I said, it's easily believed.
People who have little experience of mixing with ethnicity (for example, people in rural villages, where the population is predominantly white and middle class) will believe the media representations of ethnicity, and people who live in areas with a higher ethnic population, may be prone to believe that people from ethnic minorities are over-crowding, or whatever.
So, maybe so far multiculturalism (in Britain at least) hasn't been as successful as had been hoped, with flaws in the system, but I do believe that not only is it possible, but it is also important, that multiculturalism can work.
So yeah.
I guess, at the end of the day, much as I love my English culture and history, and am patriotic in that sense, I am also appreciative of other cultures, and diversity is always good. :)
"Ironically enough, feminism itself is an extremely fascist ideology."
I do not believe that statement. It is all too easy to say that a particular political movement, such as feminism, is "fascist" just because one disagrees with it. However, I don't believe feminism to be authoritarian, or that it seeks to forge a type of national unity, usually based on ethnic, religious, cultural, or racial attributes.
My experience of feminism is that it seeks for society ti not be a gender-based hierarchy. I like the German term "Gleichheitsfeminismus", which I think sums up better than English, when literally translated as "equality feminism".
Therefore, in a feminist ideal, there are "Keine übermensch", and so therefore, feminism is not a fascist ideology.
But nevermind. I don't know how much you do actually know of feminist theory or anything like that, but meh.
OK, see it that way if you wish.
I must confess I still disagree with you. But I can't be arsed to go into it. Partly because this thread is getting a tinsy bit off topic, y'see. And partly, because it is clearly all very subjective.
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