A few remarks to the "practical and pragmatic" Gerrmans

Submitted by Michel C. Zala (Switzerland), May 12, 2012 at 10:12

TX for picking it up, GIK.

As I am far away from my beloved Down Under and furthermore cited a source from the US with regard to the story, those further details very much helped. It seems to me that, apart from the blaring hypocrisy of this judge, which you pointed out, where any defendant could simply claim extremist views on pretty much any topic in order to avoid a trial by jury of his peers, if this decision would stand on appeal, this judge's arrogance is most disturbing, considering his own individual judgment superior to the verdict of a dozen citizens. A dangerous precedent indeed which the crown should viciously appeal. I do not know, if judges in Australia are appointed or elected. In bo0th cases though I'd recommend to the local electorate to exercise serious pressure in order to get this judge off the bench.

As I am much closer to the Germans though (literally) I may offer a bit of insight as to their thinking. Nowhere in the world have I experienced more kumbayah or "Gutmenschentum". I watched many recent TV debates to the issue of Islam, Israel, Palestine, Arab Spring, Ghaddafi, Syria, Iran etc.), watched the local TV News of ARD, ZDF and the likes and finally consume their online news outlets (Spiegel, Welt, FAZ etc.).

Germany has probably the largest muslim minority at present (Turks). Even though increasingly often this minority which seems to be unwilling to assimilate but becomes more and more outspoken in their sectarian demands and behaviour, I have no explanation for their appeasement, tolerance, ignorance in regard to these topics, other than some form of extreme reaction and sensitivity due to their blemished racist past, which almost compels them to exercise extreme caution and err on the side of appeasement. Ironically this sentiment is not in favor of the Israelis, but nowadays extremely so in favor of muslims, particularly Palestinians. In the News, terms like muslim, Islam are literally avoided, if not covered up, while extremists of the right wing type are outed and attacked immediately. it seems that hate crime statutes are almost uniquely applied with white supremacy, neo-nazi movements, but never with Islamists. As with many similar topics, it results in some form of reverse racism and discrimination.

On the political front, there is nowadays a highly apparent anti-US, anti-Brit, anti-Saxon kind of sentiment prevalent, manifested in their political rhetoric or (in-)action in recent years. They lean heavily on the Russians and are pretty much dependent on Russian energy by now. Former Bundeskanzlers like Schroeder work for Russian companies and facilitate German investments. It therefore does not come as a surprise, that the Germans try hard to never alienate the Russians directly (Syria, Libya, Georgia, Iran etc.). At the same time they, very much like the Brits and French, have cut their defense budgets to a level which almost makes them irrelevant and at present highly dependent on the "Goodwill" of the Russians (while still increasingly dependent on US power). While the dependency on Russia (energy) is not yet fully penetrated in the minds of the people, they very much resent the fact that militarily they have become noting but a forward operating base for the Americans, which might explain some of the broad resentment against us. America is in dire shape economically and can no longer afford a global Pax Americana. We will soon have to focus on the areas and regions of importance for us in terms of geostrategy. While we rightfully focus on the Pacific and Pacific Rim and the respective Commands have been beefed up in anticipation of a more "robust" foreign policy of the Chinese (South China Sea e.g), there is no doubt, that the US is demanding a more involved engagement of the Europeans in their own self-defense and NATO. Bases are scaled down and forces are reduced throughout Europe. Instead of recognizing it and adapting their defense budgets, the Europeans, most of them facing economical challenges as well, have evidently chosen to reduxce their defense expenditures further or shift to more socialist views (France), shifting budgets towards entitlements rather than defense. This development results logically in appeasement vs the Russians and any other potential source for (internal and external )conflict, such as Islamists.

Aforementioned may explain those shortsighted trends and policies a bit. Even in Merkel's mind, the last thing they need at present is internal conflict between demographics, clashes between Islamists and Conservatives with resulting backlashes from the muslim world. They know very well, that Jews will not suicide bomb their people, while the many Islamists may very well resort to such, if their people are "oppressed". This is why IMHO any occurrence of Islamist activity or violence with the corresponding reaction by locals is at present being covered up by the press, the government and the media. It would not fit the preferred image of a peaceful, tolerant Germany. This is why outspoken Israel haters, like Grass, receive platforms and appear regularly on TV with very little opposition. And this is, why there seems to be a mantle of silence in regard to the present Islamist activities.

In my opinion it will not work, as the steam builds up and the pot will eventually blow. Sooner or later someone will burn one of those free Qurans publicly and clashes will break out and someone will get hurt. Some form of collective repression is currently being in place. They bury their heads in the sand and desperately hope that this problem will go away.

I am pretty sure it won't and the price to be paid later due to the present appeasement and inactivity will, as historically proven, be much, much higher.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".