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Thoughts on Germans
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Ilya Shambat
Dec 6, 2021, 12:42:37 AM12/6/21
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I live near a major tourist destination, and visitors there are either young people from Europe or families from the rest of Australia. Probably the largest source of young tourists is Germany. I have noticed in these people both good things and bad things. They are smart, articulate, hard-working and in excellent physical shape. The problem I’ve seen with people is that they are unfriendly.
Other European tourists come mainly from Netherlands and Sweden. These people have the virtues of the Germans, as well as a virtue that Germans don’t have – the virtue of friendliness. I found these people very easy to get along with. They demand a lot of themselves, as do the Germans, while also demanding of themselves to be friendly to other people. They have the best of all worlds.
Why am I writing this? Is it because I am a Jew? Well yes, I am a Jew; I’m also a Russian, and Russians took a hell of a hit during Second World War. It should be expected that someone be suspicious of a population whose ancestors tried to kill off his ethnic group or turn the country in which he lived into a slave colony. There are things that German people can do to overcome their bloody history, and one of these things is being good to other people. That is as much the case in business or political dealings; it also is the case in how one interacts with people personally.
When I encounter a person from Germany, I do not treat him as if he was a Nazi. I look at what the person is himself, not what his grandfather had been. I want to see Germany get over its past and achieve the strength, peace and good citizenship of which it is capable. This requires, on the part of the rest of us, practicing honest conduct when dealing with German people and taking action that refutes the claim of the Nazi types that you are bad. So, for example, Jewish people engaging in large-scale philanthropy will refute the claims that Jews are greedy. Jewish people going into the military will refute the claims that Jews are cowards. Jews doing well in business or technology will refute the claims that they are parasitical or an inferior race.
Ultimately, I would like to see everyone correct whatever is wrong with their culture; and the first part of that is alerting them of what shortcomings these are. Germans should be credited with character transformation since the Second World War, but there are a lot of people who continue to fight these changes and seek to reduce Germany to its darkest era. Some things are just bad and should be totally left in the past. Nazism is one such thing. Germany has many things to be proud of. The German people have absolutely nothing to gain from neo-Nazism and much to gain by working hard and working smart and trading on their superior intellect and work habits to make a great country.
So definitely credit the Germans for what is right with their country. Do not treat German people as if they were still Nazis, and in so doing discredit those who are. As for the Jews, I would suggest engaging more with German people and being on one’s best behavior while doing so. Separate in your mind the Germans from the Nazis and give the people of Germany a chance against those among them who look back to the worst time in Germany’s history and want to impose it upon others.
And yes, I am a Jew, and I have written this myself without consulting a Jewish conspiracy or political correctness.
Ilya Shambat
Other European tourists come mainly from Netherlands and Sweden. These people have the virtues of the Germans, as well as a virtue that Germans don’t have – the virtue of friendliness. I found these people very easy to get along with. They demand a lot of themselves, as do the Germans, while also demanding of themselves to be friendly to other people. They have the best of all worlds.
Why am I writing this? Is it because I am a Jew? Well yes, I am a Jew; I’m also a Russian, and Russians took a hell of a hit during Second World War. It should be expected that someone be suspicious of a population whose ancestors tried to kill off his ethnic group or turn the country in which he lived into a slave colony. There are things that German people can do to overcome their bloody history, and one of these things is being good to other people. That is as much the case in business or political dealings; it also is the case in how one interacts with people personally.
When I encounter a person from Germany, I do not treat him as if he was a Nazi. I look at what the person is himself, not what his grandfather had been. I want to see Germany get over its past and achieve the strength, peace and good citizenship of which it is capable. This requires, on the part of the rest of us, practicing honest conduct when dealing with German people and taking action that refutes the claim of the Nazi types that you are bad. So, for example, Jewish people engaging in large-scale philanthropy will refute the claims that Jews are greedy. Jewish people going into the military will refute the claims that Jews are cowards. Jews doing well in business or technology will refute the claims that they are parasitical or an inferior race.
Ultimately, I would like to see everyone correct whatever is wrong with their culture; and the first part of that is alerting them of what shortcomings these are. Germans should be credited with character transformation since the Second World War, but there are a lot of people who continue to fight these changes and seek to reduce Germany to its darkest era. Some things are just bad and should be totally left in the past. Nazism is one such thing. Germany has many things to be proud of. The German people have absolutely nothing to gain from neo-Nazism and much to gain by working hard and working smart and trading on their superior intellect and work habits to make a great country.
So definitely credit the Germans for what is right with their country. Do not treat German people as if they were still Nazis, and in so doing discredit those who are. As for the Jews, I would suggest engaging more with German people and being on one’s best behavior while doing so. Separate in your mind the Germans from the Nazis and give the people of Germany a chance against those among them who look back to the worst time in Germany’s history and want to impose it upon others.
And yes, I am a Jew, and I have written this myself without consulting a Jewish conspiracy or political correctness.
Ilya Shambat
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