Sunday, January 11, 2009
Pandering to racism in Germany
German cops, worried that an Israeli flag in an apartment window might incite vile, racist scumbag demonstrators, solve the problem by breaking into the apartment and removing the flag. There are only two possible explanations for this. First, these German cops want to suppress expressions of support for Israel. This strikes me as a bad public relations and an offense to international human rights law. Now, I have little good to say about international "human rights" law, but Europeans claim to venerate it. Go figure. Second, the Germans have such contempt for the ability of the Muslim demonstrators to control their emotions that they do not trust them to respond non-violently even to such a benign symbol as a flag in a window. Not only are these German cops pandering to the racism of the protestors, but they themselves are racist in their obvious assumption that Muslims will resort to violence at the slightest provocation.
15 Comments:
By 
Dawnfire82, at
Sun Jan 11, 10:57:00 AM:
I suppose there could be a third explanation; that they really saw themselves as a neutral party seeking to remove a potential problem in a preventative strike, and felt comfortable exercising this option as an all-powerful authority.
For this, you have to recall two things. 1) many Europeans think that even the possibility of being offensive is a bad thing, unless you're targeting a well-known exception, like American heads of state. 2), this is Germany, which until a few years ago did not even have police brutality laws. Respect their authority.
By Myrtus, at
Sun Jan 11, 12:04:00 PM:
I totally agree with Dawnfire82! I believe the German police took the proper action to prevent any possible violent retaliation from happening. If I were I cop (I'm an ex-cop myself) I would do the same thing to protect the Israel supporters from becoming possible victims amid an angry mob who's anger is oviously directed towards Israel. There is a time and place for everything. I believe the German police's primary concern is to prevent escalation, considering that there have been reports from across the globe where violence has indeed errupted during various pro-Hamas demonstrations. I say prevention is the best medicine.
By 
, at
Sun Jan 11, 01:32:00 PM:
Perhaps violence against "the mob of protesters," who claim offense against anything and everything (even the publication of a cartoon) is called for.
How long does "the West" turn the other cheek? I personally feel like I don't have any more cheeks left to turn...
(Cheeky!)
By , at
Sun Jan 11, 02:15:00 PM:
Good points about the Euroweenies and human rights, TH. I remember some years back, a southern woman attending Harvard landed in hot water for displaying a Confederate flag from her dorm room window on a warm spring day. I believe it was taken down for pretty much the same reasons as this, so I would speculate that the lesson here is that the flag of Israel has joined the Nazi flag and the Confederste flag as an unacceptable symbol of expression.
By , at
Sun Jan 11, 02:47:00 PM:
With respect to point two, who knows? But I'm inclined to think that prudence caused this response by the police, knowing that's it a pretty safe bet that an Israeli flag will draw jew-haters by the scores, especially now, and things could rapidly get out of hand.(Does anyone remember raging gangs of "youths" burning Paris last year?) I don't think it disprespects the nature of islamic residents. It's based upon recent, often repeated events.
Der Polizei are there to PREVENT trouble.
By Assistant Village Idiot, at
Sun Jan 11, 05:17:00 PM:
I consider that third option to be equal parts policing and rationalization. It is reasonable in extremity, if some potential victim does not understand what type of danger he is putting himself in. But as an extended policy, it is a statement that the violent can continue to be violent, and the unpopular should pipe down.
European anti-semitism since WWII takes a consistent path: indigenous Europeans do not treat Jews violently - that would conflict with their self-image as peace-seeking individuals - but they make excuses for those who do treat Jews violently.
Which is what makes their Pacifism Lite self-righteousness so evil at its core.
By Georg Felis, at
Sun Jan 11, 05:44:00 PM:
I'd bet on "Even police departments are not immune from having the occasional over-reacting idiot who is too close to the situation to make a rational decision."
Many times a perfectly normal individual will get into a stress-loop about an event, and they really need somebody to say "What do you think you're doing?". (Been there, done that, my wife's in charge of bopping me on the head now when I get overhyped about stupid stuff)
By , at
Sun Jan 11, 06:07:00 PM:
While I understand a police officer's attempt to prevent a riot, isn't there ever a higher call? If police hadn't been willing to risk their lives, we'd still be living in segregation. And people would still be saying "Hey, we're just trying to prevent violence." It's unacceptable. If we do not claim the right to freedom of religious speech, we WILL lose it. All in the name of preventing violence. Have we really come this far? Police officers who will argue that stealing someone's right to freedom of speech is better than risking riot? Thank heavens our founding fathers in the US felt freedom was worth risking war (their lives, their well being, their childrens' lives) over.
By , at
Sun Jan 11, 06:14:00 PM:
Three words regarding this incident:
Public.relations.disaster.
Seven words of advice for the German police:
Hire.a.good.damage.control.consultant.NOW.
By SR, at
Sun Jan 11, 07:29:00 PM:
Damned if they do, damned if they don't.
If Muslim or any other kind of an ti semite threw a fire bomb through the window. Everybody would be bitching at the politzei also.
By , at
Sun Jan 11, 08:12:00 PM:
I would posit a simple question: Why, all of a sudden, is this tsunami of jew hatred being expressed? I will answer.
The election of a P.O.T.U.S whose middle name is Hussein has this effect: First, the Islamists feel that BHO, whatever he is, will not be hard on them. Second, he can and will do nothing because he is weak in his worldview. He is a leftist-socialist and, as such, he is fodder for the islamist terrorist cannon.
So, all of you who voted for him take heart, you will get what you voted for, and it will not be pretty.
By Dawnfire82, at
Mon Jan 12, 12:50:00 AM:
"Why, all of a sudden, is this tsunami of jew hatred being expressed?"
Where have you been? This fired up in 2000, with the 2nd Intifada, and 2006 with the Lebanon War as well. There was a smaller dose in 2003.
By Gary Rosen, at
Mon Jan 12, 04:38:00 AM:
Actually the "tsunami" of Jew-hatred "flared up" several thousand years ago and never stopped. It's just part of the deal of being Jewish - you're always going to be despised by the losers, misfucks and nitwits of the world.
Anti-semitism isn't about Jews, it's about anti-semites. They can't own up to their own failures and shortcomings so they blame everything on the Joooos.
By , at
Mon Jan 12, 10:52:00 PM:
It is truly sad to read this; not just the removal of an Israeli flag from a private residence (I would have thought the German police required a warrant before entering a private home) or the apparent growth of anti-semitism in Europe. What is really sad is the failure of the political class in Western nations to stand up against radical Islamic activists and rhetoric, as well as the terrorist organizations that they support. The liberal democratic values that stretch from the Magna Carta to the constitutions of free societies, including The United States, are being undermined by a radical new force that is using religion to suppress all who disagree. Where is the leadership to say "not in my country."
By , at
Sun Jan 18, 10:53:00 AM:
Hi,
I'm german and was following this topic during the last days. I also read the offical press statement of the german police (http://www.polizei-nrw.de/presseportal/behoerden/duisburg/article/meldung-090113-150947-87-869.html and http://www.polizei-nrw.de/presseportal/behoerden/duisburg/article/meldung-090112-154613-73-408.html). At first the president of the local police department defended the action by putting the prevention of a riot by tearing down the flag over the so called "inviolability of the home" which is written in the german constitution. Hmm... After the incident was made public by the media, he gave a second official statement, stating that it wasnt ok, that hes taking all responsiblity and that hes sorry for what happend. The basic problem of this is, that nowadays islamic extremists have almost all freedom they want because the government is afraid of what could happen (see the opera "idomeneo" in berlin that was caceled because mohammed was shown on stage). One can call this appeasment policy.
