2 old white german males.
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| Europe |
| Anti-Americanism: As German as Apple Strudel |
| 2019-02-12 |
| h/t Instapundit The news came in a recent issue of the Frankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ): "Two years after President Trump's inauguration, the Germans have lost much of their trust in the United States." Eighty-five percent of respondents in an Atlantik-Brucke survey, reported FAZ, view the U.S. either "negatively" or "very negatively." Many Germans look more favorably upon Communist China than upon the U.S.; more than half would like Germany to distance itself further from the U.S., with only thirteen percent wanting a closer relationship. Germans aren’t big on NATO, either: Only a quarter of those surveyed think their country should pay its agreed-upon share of the NATO budget. Many support the idea of an EU army. Of all the major political parties, only members of the anti-immigrant AfD are favorably disposed toward America. ...But in fact German anti-Americanism has nothing to do with Trump. Of course anti-Americanism exists everywhere in the world, and especially in Europe, whose political and cultural elites viewed the democratic U.S. from the moment of its founding with aristocratic disdain. But contempt for the U.S. has always been especially intense -- and irrational -- in Germany, which has its own distinctive reasons (if that’s the right word) for despising the superpower across the sea. ...Most recently I was in Hamburg, where I stayed in a neighborhood in which half of the women wore hijab and the principal architectural feature was a gigantic mosque. Although the idea of traveling to Germany for pleasure hasn’t seemed too pleasurable since Angela Merkel opened up the floodgates in 2015, I’ve mostly enjoyed my trips to that country. But no matter who was the U.S. president or what issues were in the headlines, the anti-Americanism persisted, invariably attributed to some recent U.S. action. Still, as quick as Germans are to run down the U.S., it’s impossible to get an honest answer out of them when you ask about the Muslim takeover of their country. ...Of course, Germans also hate America because it’s a superpower -- a superpower, moreover, just to rub it in, that, being isolationist at heart, never really set out to be a superpower, and that has accepted that role only out of concern for the preservation of international order and freedom. Germany, on the contrary, has been aching to be a superpower from the git-go. It has longed to rule. Back in the middle of the last century it went all in on the effort to control the world and failed disastrously -- and America alone, through the Marshall Plan, helped it to get back on its feet, repaying genocidal megalomania with magnanimous generosity. Who could ever forgive that? ...Their ancestors fought wars of conquest, and they understand that; but they’ll never be able to fully process the fact that Americans actually fought a war to free them from a psychopathic dictator whom they had followed, in mindless obedience, to the gates of Hell. Imagine knowing that and having to live with it! How could a proud and arrogant people in such a situation not find their thankfulness toward the nation that saved them being twisted into a ghoulish hatred? |
| Posted by:g(r)omgoru |
| #17 Yes I understand that |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2019-02-12 22:40 |
| #16 I realize that many, if not most people on Rantburg favor Trump I suspect that it is not Trump himself that people favor but what he is fighting against. To misquote Rumsfeld, "You go to war with the President you've got, not the President you might want or wish to have later." |
| Posted by: SteveS 2019-02-12 22:27 |
| #15 In this case I will comment, just for you But in fact German anti-Americanism has nothing to do with Trump. It has (almost) everything to to with Trump and his aggressive stance. And most of it is not "anti-Americanism", just as there hardly is any "anti-Germanism" in the U.S., just a critical view of Merkel's latest policies, and this for a reason. Most recently I was in Hamburg, where I stayed in a neighborhood in which half of the women wore hijab and the principal architectural feature was a gigantic mosque. That's BS. He won't name that neighborhood for a reason. Still, as quick as Germans are to run down the U.S., it’s impossible to get an honest answer out of them when you ask about the Muslim takeover of their country. What does he perceive as an "honest answer"? Most Germans have been concerned about Merkel's refugee policies and they will certainly be upfront about it. But few will think that 5-6 % of Muslims will take over Germany anytime soon. Germany, on the contrary, has been aching to be a superpower from the git-go. It has longed to rule. Not since 1945 The South and Southwest has traditionally been more US-friendly. Funny enough, these are the regions where people are constantly in contact with US-citizens. "Goulish hatred?" Yeah right, ask all those U.S. visitors (and troops) who just loved their time in Germany. Yes Trump is hard to stomach, for me, too. I realize that many, if not most people on Rantburg favor Trump. But I'm still here, treated with every respect and tolerance, and I try to reciprocate. My admiration and respect for America has never changed. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2019-02-12 21:52 |
| #14 And Herb, I often wonder if you are sane, or just a troll. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2019-02-12 20:36 |
| #13 I always read EC’s comments, even if he “no comments”. This is not a black and white situation. The article is a kind of click bait. Fake “news”. Hey EC. :). I spent years working in Switzerland and Lichtenstein. I have a glimmer of insight. Maybe. :) You have got to see the fighters flying really low along the Rhein, looking down from above. F-5’s as I remember. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2019-02-12 20:34 |
| #12 There's so much nonsense in that article that I'm not even going to comment on it. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2019-02-12 20:04 |
| #11 2 old white german males. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2019-02-12 16:14 |
| #10 Why should the Germans feel any different than the Left that inhabits America? The Left in America elevated an old white German male as their god. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2019-02-12 15:13 |
| #9 There is an old saying about the purpose of NATO is to keep the Russians out and the Germans down. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2019-02-12 13:14 |
| #8 Look at it this way: We're not there to defend them. We're there to defend the rest of Europe from them. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2019-02-12 12:28 |
| #7 Don't care what they think. Keep sitting on them or else they will cause more trouble. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2019-02-12 12:26 |
| #6 This is why my grandparents came to the USA at the turn of the last century. Since my people have only been here since ~1900 that's also the reason I say ********* to reparations. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2019-02-12 11:40 |
| #5 Welfare states always breed contempt for the people who pay the benefits. Military welfare states are even worse. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2019-02-12 11:26 |
| #4 They hate us because they ain't us. Much truth in that sentence. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2019-02-12 07:40 |
| #3 Either at your feet or at your throat. They hate us because they ain't us. |
| Posted by: Regular joe 2019-02-12 07:28 |
| #2 This gem from the article: "The Pew survey also showed that while only 38 percent of Germans “would be prepared to assist in the event of an attack by Russia on a NATO country under Article 5 of the NATO Treaty,” two-thirds of Germans assumed “that the United States would use military force and defend the beleaguered country.” In other words, Germans have no interest in defending anybody, perhaps even including themselves, but they take for granted America’s readiness to defend them. Yet instead of being grateful for this -- let alone ashamed -- they use it as an excuse to view themselves as peaceable and Americans as militaristic." Yup. That's about the size of it. Tell me again why we're allied with people who clearly hate our guts? |
| Posted by: Herb McCoy 2019-02-12 07:05 |
| #1 Thunderous applause. Yes, yes please leave NATO. Oh, we would hate that. Closing the bases and stopping spending for your defense at the expense of our own people? Please don't Germany. Hacke argues that the United States is abandoning its long-standing internationalist commitment to Europe. But NATO is a military alliance. To have a military alliance, you must have a military. Germany doesn’t really have one, as Hacke points out. What’s more, it isn’t clear that Germany’s commitment to the alliance is unconditional. I was recently in conversation with national security experts from Europe and the United States. I brought up that if the United States had to rush forces to the Eastern European frontier, they would have to pass through military bases in Germany. I asked if the Germans would permit the free passage of U.S. military forces. The answers ranged from “probably” to “I don’t know.” I assume they would, but the idea that the question would even come up and be answered with less than an absolute “of course” indicates a lack of trust in Germany. https://geopoliticalfutures.com/american-perspective-us-german-relations/ |
| Posted by: Herb McCoy 2019-02-12 06:59 |