I had a conversation with my (ex) German girlfriend last year in September. I thought it was interesting and it was one of the conversations with her that made a noticeable impact on me. That is to say, it’s evidence of part of the reason why I liked her as much as I did. When I spoke with her, she would continue with the discourse even if she disagreed with me. She never nuked the conversation just because I said something she didn’t like. She actually gave thought to what I said. In the summer before this, I had several other similar conversations, where she called me a racist, a misogynist, and an asshole. By the time I was done talking with her, she only called me an asshole.
This particular conversation started with me finding a playlist of German songs on YouTube. I was thrilled because they sounded beautiful to me – and I thought they’d sound beautiful to someone who might not otherwise care to hear German spoken or sang.
I say with positivity, that from where I stand, not all is lost with my generation. Or my game is getting better. Either way, I’m moving forward. Or maybe I’m just a monster.
11:19
Me:
This is a good song
11:27
Her:
You mean the song I send you the other day?
11:27
Me:
I guess so
I’ve been listening to it a lot
it’s on a playlist with lots of German musik
it’s German music that sounds nice11:28
Her:
Hahaha really?! I like that11:28
Me:
without being dark and metallic like Rammstein
it almost brings a tear to my eye11:28
Her:
Hahaha
Right XD
Why that?11:28
Me:
Because
I love German
I consider it beautiful when most consider it ugly
I am proud to know German and to have German blood11:29
Her:11:29
Me:
when many Germans are afraid to say the same because of past history
but how can they not be proud?
Germans have contributed much to the advances of science
Much to music with the likes of Bach and Mozart
Mendelsohn
Psychology with Freud and Jung
Philosophy with Kant and Nietsche
Engineering with the quality of cars, trucks, machines, tools11:30
Her:
Yeah I know… I’m proud of those parts of German history and not of 1WW and 2WW stuff …11:30
Me:
Efficient society despite all the rules
I accept Germany11:31
Her:
Hahaha11:31
Me:
for the beautiful things
and the ugly things
warts and all11:32
Her:
That’s so nice to hear
I like that
And it is a rare thing to hear someone say that he/she considers German to be a beautiful language …. most think it sounds too hard and aggressive …
I don’t know … I mean I can’t tell, cause I grew up speaking German and I don’t know how it sounds to foreigners
I’m proud of Germany nowadays
I think more my grandparents and my parents generations are the ones who have problems with being proud, because they were more affected by the war … my grandparents directly and my parents were always told not to be too proud of Germany ….
But that has changed now… for my generation the war is quite far away, so it doesn’t affect us that much anymore11:40
Me:
Fuck the people who say you should not be too proud of being German
They want to hold you down for whatever reason.
If a child commits one bad act in their life11:40
Her:
Hahaha xP true11:40
Me:
a horrible act
are the a bad child?
what if this child has done many good things in its life and never did something like this before?
does that one bad act make it a bad child?
Germany has been around since 1871
and Germans have been around since the Holy Roman Empire
12 bad years out of a thousand, does not a bad or evil people make
I am not catholic
but
Jesus did say – let he hath committed no sin throw the first stone
who hath*
No one is without sin
The Americans exterminated the Indians
The Turks genocided the Armenians
The Russians had pogroms – literally groups of peasants going around to kill Jews
In ancient times, the Jews themselves genocided peoples to reach and secure their “Holy Land”
The English, Dutch, and Americans had slaves
and other nations too
the Belgians massacred Africans in Congo11:44
Her:
Spanish conquered Mexico and Southamerica and killed the Indians11:44
Me:
Exactly.11:44
Her:
You’re right
Horrible things have happened through history all over the world (sadly)11:46
Me:
In history classes it was taught that WW2 was caused by how the allies handled WW1
denegrating Germany
making Germany responsible for paying off war reparations
making Germany responsible for the war in the first place
punishing Germany with occupation
and a pitiful military with which to “defend” itself
and what did they do after WW2?
War Trials
Denazification11:47
Her:
Yes, part of the reason …Germans were pissed
Yeah…11:47
Me:
Deported many Germans to Soviet Gulags
Crushed the Germany spirit
and made Germans ashamed of being German11:48
Her:
Hmmm..11:48
Me:
What of the Germans who were born after the war?
Did they choose to be born German?
How can you be ashamed of something over which you have no control of?
How can you be penalized for such?
Do we get mad at disabled people for being disabled?
Do we tell people who were born deformed that they must be ashamed of being deformed?11:50
Her:
Well of course not..11:50
Me:
So why make Germans ashamed of being German?
So why should Germans not be proud of being German?11:51
Her:
There is no logical reason for that11:51
Me:
Surely being proud of being German is different from “being proud” of the 12 bad years
Exactly.
Fuck the people who tell you to not be too proud.11:51
Her:
Yes, big difference between does two11:51
Me:
“Fick dich – ich bin stolz Deutsch zu sein”11:52
Her:
Hahahaha XD
Exactly ;D
But still sometimes if you say that too much some parts of the society will call you a Nazi that’s annoying11:53
Me:
Fuck them too11:53
Her:
Hahaha11:53
Me:
I am American
Yet I am proud to have German blood
What will they say to that?
My answer will remain the same
“Fick dich – ich bin stolz Deutsch zu sein”11:54
Her:
Hahaha I don’t know XD
Hahaha
Good good ^^11:55
Me:
I have to go get lunch and get to work
Talk to you later11:56
Her:
Haha alright
Mein kleiner Deutscher
Bye bye
Per Handy gesendet
Wähle ein Emoticon
~Wald
P.S. The video above was from a youtube playlist. Here’s the link: It doesn’t embed well, unfortunately.
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You didnt say anything too controversial that time
What do you mean?
you said she thought you were too right wing, but that conversation was positive. I was thinking you didnt say anything too controversial in the above conversation
Geography has been very unkind to the Germans. From Europe’s western fringe, the Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English sailed out to conquer vast empires. On the other side, Russia expanded eastward, from the Urals to the Pacific in about fifty years.
At this time, the Germans were stuck in the middle of Europe, plundered and depopulated by armies of religious fanatics from every direction. By the time the Germans recovered, the entire world had been conquered by other European peoples. Germans twice attempted to get a fair share of Earth’s dry land, and failed both times. The window of opportunity, when colonizers had fast-firing guns and natives didn’t, had closed.
Germans finally gave up and renounced imperialism, as the fox renounced the grapes he couldn’t quite reach.
The Germans did just fine as Imperialistic regimes suffered the consequences of overreach and over excess.
They rose to greatness and jealous powers denied her a spot in the sunlight for long.
Wald
I do not like the German language, for the reasons stated. It is quite formal, hard and inelegant.
Being Czech, I never felt quite at home here, but I thought something was simply wrong with me. Guess that is at least a little part of why I feel like an exile. Interesting how these things play out.
Do you feel more at home in Czech Republic?
Wald
I do, very much so. Always thought I was making that shit up or that it was just sentimentality due to being there seldom. But yeah, whenever I used to think of Czech, it filled me with warmth and familiarity. Felt like home.
Unfortunately, I am estranged from the Czech as well. When I was there in recent times, I just noticed how my language is not quite as fluent and I failed to understand many anglicisms.
So while I had this idea of a fatherland, it is not something that is reflected back at me when I visit. So I guess I really have no real home.
I still love the Czech country. But hey, as I am growing older, I stop to mistify things. I think it is only a matter of time until I see Czech as just one variation of many, not better or worse. But maybe not, who knows. Maybe one’s roots are really undeniable and inalienable.
I felt very much at home when I was in Germany. Not because I lived there for a reasonable amount of time for study abroad, but because of the people. The people and I fit.
I tend to take the view that the country is not the land but the people (the land helps).
I think that, were you to live in Czech Republic for an extended period of time, you’d find it home again. The longer you live away, the harder or longer it would take to be that way.
“Stop to mystify things” – That I imagine is a translation from German.
You normally would say “I stop mystifying things” (and an “ing” at the end of a verb is to turn it into the infinite.
Making = machen
I stop making = Ich hoer auf zu machen
I would agree with you that one’s roots are inalienable and undeniable. But you must first figure out where and who they are (part of why family is so important).
Wald
Yeah, it makes sense to me that you would like them. They are said to be rather serious, disciplined and reserved, which is how I would expect you to be as well. It is ironic that I can not really verify that claim about the German people; I guess I was way too focused on myself most of my life. Would you say it is that or something else that attracts you to the Germans?
Thanks for the correction. Is ‘Stop to XX’ always wrong or are there valid use cases for that?
Family so important. Yeah, well, you know how I feel about my family. I guess there is a reason why I am not a particularly happy and jolly person.
Some time ago I saw an Italian family. The man of the family was a rather fat dude, but there he was, with the baby cart, playing with the baby, completely un-self-consciously. Play with daddy. I was envious like hell – towards the baby. To have enjoyed such an open and unrestrained communication with his dad and to have gotten all this affirmitive attention, that is very valuable.
I find the Germans can be serious, disciplined, and reserved. But they can also be light-hearted, fun, and genuine. If you’re a friend with a German, you’re real friends and likely friends for life.
Unlike the acquaintance/friends you have in the more superficial US.
“Stop to XX” only works if you say, “We must stop to rest and recover”. Stop as in halt, not necessarily stop a particular action. If that makes any sense.
You can always change that, work around it, or make it work to your advantage. Depends on you what you want.
With the little I’ve read and heard, I think can understand why. A perfectly normal feelings, I assure you.
Wald
I actually heard Germans say that, too. I had my doubts, but I was quite superficial myself.
Are you absolutely certain about ‘stop to’? I understand your explanation, but that means that I have used it wrongly a big lot of times.
Thanks.