Germany announces wide-ranging plans to restrict the speech, travel and economic activity of political dissidents, in order to better control the "thought and speech patterns" of its own people
Germany announces wide-ranging plans to restrict the speech, travel and economic activity of political dissidents, in order to better control the "thought and speech patterns" of its own people
After Germany’s defeat in 1945, Walter Ulbricht returned from exile in Moscow to become one of the founding politicians of the DDR. The new state, he said, “must look democratic, but we must have everything under control.” It has been 80 years since Ulbricht spoke those words, and while the DDR has faded away, their spirit lives on in the political establishment of the Federal Republic. Our present rulers are doing everything in their power to re-establish pseudodemocracy in the West. This is not a mere eugyppius exaggeration, and it is not sensationalism for internet clicks. It is what our politicians themselves are saying.
The more I read about it, the more I realize that I am, too, a Right-Wing Extremist™
And frankly I couldn't be more proud. Its a sad and dark world we seem to be living in, and frankly it looks like it will get much worse before it gets better, but I'm happy to know I'm on the right side of it
This struck me recently as odd: During nearly three years of Covid, as a German and as a historian, I learned more on the workings of fascism and the "Third Reich" than during school and university combined. And now, so close by, during nearly three years of "Traffic light" coalition, it's the same with the workings of socialism and the GDR. Especially telling how these phenomenons overlap, not only in time, but in the persons propagating the whole shit. Tells you a lot about totalitarianism in general and about your compatriots in special, lol.
“‘There are people out there who are not saying anything illegal but they have made themselves inconvenient anyway.’ ”
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Geez. Don’t I know the feeling.
There’s no organized society anywhere on earth whose leaders don’t want to point their fingers at the variously inconvenient and scream witch! and hope the more convenient people can be made to agree.
One of the things that I've learned in American politics is that, in general, when Party X accuses Party Y of doing... SOMETHING, that something is what Party X is doing in reality.
So it would seem that the current government in Germany is admitting that they act like a criminal/mafia syndicate, that they are using "dark money," that they are using hatred and violence against those who disagree with them, that they use disinformation campaigns (lies/gaslighting) and that anyone who disagrees with them is essentially a criminal who has no rights.
It is easy to say "get out now." But where is there to go? There is nowhere to hide.
At an evening of sketches, long ago at my first university, I recall an undergrad (to become a famous comedian) standing up at a stage podium to deliver, in cod-German accent, a speech about what "is now being done about people who'd served in the Nazi regime"; how the courts were working under new "focused legislation" to track down "these people" who are "everywhere"; how kindergartens, schools, colleges and universities were at last refining their recruitment and personnel policies to assist the state in recognising the "traits", often well-hidden, of "so-called" ex-Nazis; how businesses and local authorities and the media were winkling out "the guilty" at every level, working "fearlessly with discipline and efficient intelligence", to identify "the foulness in our midst...these people who infect our new Germany" with their "diseased sub-human thoughts". As the sketch continued the actor's initially sober voice grew heated. His words came faster, adjectives amplified and given deeper emphasis with rigid hand and then arm gestures. The sympathetic and virtuous figure who'd begun the speech had slowly transformed, growing grimmer, glistening, reddening, and in a grand finale, showing a face contorted into a mask of enthusiastic - almost joyful - rage; flecks of spittle reaching the front row of the audience; even a little foam at the mouth - near apoplexy, rage and hate personified "there will at last be a final solution to this problem!". The silence before the applause was deafening.
The national socialist state survived long enough to start the war that destroyed it because opposition was suppressed and most opponents decided to go quiet in their own interests.
The German democratic state survived long enough for everyone to see what a failure communism is because opposition was suppressed and most opponents decided to go quiet in their own interests.
Now the federal Republic is going to suppress opposition, and ensure it is in the opponents best interests to go quiet.
What does anyone think they will do in the safe space thereby created for overweening government? It is not done because they wish go actually democratically deal with the wishes of the people.
It's not a German phenomenon per se. It's happening across the entire West. Don't be blinded by thinking this is particularly German. It is vital to NATO that Germany be held in place. And the EU is nothing without NATO. It is a facade that would dissolve in one day without the military might of NATO behind it. These regimes in the West are all saying and doing the same thing ... liberal democracy, making the West safe for democracy, yada yada. Democracy is the codeword for protecting their grasp on power. Essentially, we are all living in the West under juntas. Their goal is complete control of the internet, by the way, to censor you into oblivion. To destroy your livelihood if necessary if you oppose them ... Why would they think twice about it? It is that simple. They are hysterically frightened of rightwing populism. These are regimes, these are juntas. They have their armies, their political police, their intelligence services, and their media are platforms for intelligence agency psy ops. That's what you're up against.
This is really scary, and I can see this coming to the US as the the push to remove Trump from ballots is the first step. Saving democracy by destroying democracy. I don't understand how people cannot see this, and how their policies, once put in place, could easily be used against them.
Here's a reason to laugh at these politicians right across the EU27 and UK. A known murderer from Albania did so in London, fled to Denmark, was captured, sent to UK prison, deported to Albania and... after 6 years of a life-sentence, was out. Exactly as predicted.
He went on to 'trade' cars, money, women and drugs across Belgium, Italy and more until a rival gang shot him dead whilst in Albania. In public.
This is not unique. At no point did this man ever have real EU28 / EU27 / UK documents. At no point did he have the right to stay in any European country. He inflicted real harm on everyone he met.
So, we the little people, should be frightened of the fools who would call themselves better than us. Yet real crime goes on all around us, sponsored by the very same fools.
Faeser: "I would like to treat right-wing extremist networks in the same way as organised crime." What a relief! We have nothing to worry about! Crime is not punished in Germany at all! IMO one very real potential threat percolating beneath the surface in German society ... real "dissidents" ... are the immigrant "clans", i.e. organized crime families that have become firmly rooted in Germany . German law enforcement would not have the vaguest idea of how to combat them. Nor the will to do so. But if you don't pay your cable bill for the state propaganda ministry, or let off steam on Substack. Then you can go to jail.
eugyppius, what exactly do these "protectors of democracy" say the AfD would do if they won an election? Do they state that AfD would abolish elections, persecute opponents, prohibit the expression of viewpoints they disagree with? What, exactly? Do they ever specify?
Remember Margaret Thatcher's comment: "You can vote in socialism BUT you have to SHOOT your way out!"
The same playbook is being deployed all across the west. It's not hard to recognize the pattern. Once you see it, it cannot be unseen.
The more I read about it, the more I realize that I am, too, a Right-Wing Extremist™
And frankly I couldn't be more proud. Its a sad and dark world we seem to be living in, and frankly it looks like it will get much worse before it gets better, but I'm happy to know I'm on the right side of it
Too many voters in both the US and the EU openly support this kind of totalitarian rhetoric. It's chilling.
This struck me recently as odd: During nearly three years of Covid, as a German and as a historian, I learned more on the workings of fascism and the "Third Reich" than during school and university combined. And now, so close by, during nearly three years of "Traffic light" coalition, it's the same with the workings of socialism and the GDR. Especially telling how these phenomenons overlap, not only in time, but in the persons propagating the whole shit. Tells you a lot about totalitarianism in general and about your compatriots in special, lol.
“‘There are people out there who are not saying anything illegal but they have made themselves inconvenient anyway.’ ”
-------------------------------------
Geez. Don’t I know the feeling.
There’s no organized society anywhere on earth whose leaders don’t want to point their fingers at the variously inconvenient and scream witch! and hope the more convenient people can be made to agree.
"That is not enough. I therefore want to amend the law to ensure that the potential threat is taken into account."
Pre-Crime. What will these people NOT do?!?
One of the things that I've learned in American politics is that, in general, when Party X accuses Party Y of doing... SOMETHING, that something is what Party X is doing in reality.
So it would seem that the current government in Germany is admitting that they act like a criminal/mafia syndicate, that they are using "dark money," that they are using hatred and violence against those who disagree with them, that they use disinformation campaigns (lies/gaslighting) and that anyone who disagrees with them is essentially a criminal who has no rights.
It is easy to say "get out now." But where is there to go? There is nowhere to hide.
At an evening of sketches, long ago at my first university, I recall an undergrad (to become a famous comedian) standing up at a stage podium to deliver, in cod-German accent, a speech about what "is now being done about people who'd served in the Nazi regime"; how the courts were working under new "focused legislation" to track down "these people" who are "everywhere"; how kindergartens, schools, colleges and universities were at last refining their recruitment and personnel policies to assist the state in recognising the "traits", often well-hidden, of "so-called" ex-Nazis; how businesses and local authorities and the media were winkling out "the guilty" at every level, working "fearlessly with discipline and efficient intelligence", to identify "the foulness in our midst...these people who infect our new Germany" with their "diseased sub-human thoughts". As the sketch continued the actor's initially sober voice grew heated. His words came faster, adjectives amplified and given deeper emphasis with rigid hand and then arm gestures. The sympathetic and virtuous figure who'd begun the speech had slowly transformed, growing grimmer, glistening, reddening, and in a grand finale, showing a face contorted into a mask of enthusiastic - almost joyful - rage; flecks of spittle reaching the front row of the audience; even a little foam at the mouth - near apoplexy, rage and hate personified "there will at last be a final solution to this problem!". The silence before the applause was deafening.
The national socialist state survived long enough to start the war that destroyed it because opposition was suppressed and most opponents decided to go quiet in their own interests.
The German democratic state survived long enough for everyone to see what a failure communism is because opposition was suppressed and most opponents decided to go quiet in their own interests.
Now the federal Republic is going to suppress opposition, and ensure it is in the opponents best interests to go quiet.
What does anyone think they will do in the safe space thereby created for overweening government? It is not done because they wish go actually democratically deal with the wishes of the people.
It's not a German phenomenon per se. It's happening across the entire West. Don't be blinded by thinking this is particularly German. It is vital to NATO that Germany be held in place. And the EU is nothing without NATO. It is a facade that would dissolve in one day without the military might of NATO behind it. These regimes in the West are all saying and doing the same thing ... liberal democracy, making the West safe for democracy, yada yada. Democracy is the codeword for protecting their grasp on power. Essentially, we are all living in the West under juntas. Their goal is complete control of the internet, by the way, to censor you into oblivion. To destroy your livelihood if necessary if you oppose them ... Why would they think twice about it? It is that simple. They are hysterically frightened of rightwing populism. These are regimes, these are juntas. They have their armies, their political police, their intelligence services, and their media are platforms for intelligence agency psy ops. That's what you're up against.
This is really scary, and I can see this coming to the US as the the push to remove Trump from ballots is the first step. Saving democracy by destroying democracy. I don't understand how people cannot see this, and how their policies, once put in place, could easily be used against them.
Every German who values freedom must vote for AfD in every election beginning immediately.
Here's a reason to laugh at these politicians right across the EU27 and UK. A known murderer from Albania did so in London, fled to Denmark, was captured, sent to UK prison, deported to Albania and... after 6 years of a life-sentence, was out. Exactly as predicted.
He went on to 'trade' cars, money, women and drugs across Belgium, Italy and more until a rival gang shot him dead whilst in Albania. In public.
This is not unique. At no point did this man ever have real EU28 / EU27 / UK documents. At no point did he have the right to stay in any European country. He inflicted real harm on everyone he met.
So, we the little people, should be frightened of the fools who would call themselves better than us. Yet real crime goes on all around us, sponsored by the very same fools.
Faeser: "I would like to treat right-wing extremist networks in the same way as organised crime." What a relief! We have nothing to worry about! Crime is not punished in Germany at all! IMO one very real potential threat percolating beneath the surface in German society ... real "dissidents" ... are the immigrant "clans", i.e. organized crime families that have become firmly rooted in Germany . German law enforcement would not have the vaguest idea of how to combat them. Nor the will to do so. But if you don't pay your cable bill for the state propaganda ministry, or let off steam on Substack. Then you can go to jail.
eugyppius, what exactly do these "protectors of democracy" say the AfD would do if they won an election? Do they state that AfD would abolish elections, persecute opponents, prohibit the expression of viewpoints they disagree with? What, exactly? Do they ever specify?
Or is it all just empty fearmongering?