Kablooey - you are very emotive in your language and your knowledge of history is sketchy - probably like mine also - I do think you need to read a little bit of history that is not anglo-centric - or simply just read a little more.
Your post is full of assumptions, accusations and really is quite offensive - I don't think I have ever wilfully used offensive words here.
In case you are wondering: I am actually a female, have worked all my life in this country, have worked with politicians, have seen and worked more than you can imagine, but cannot comment.
Germany and it's present third generation after WWII has in the past and is still making reparation payments to victims of the Holocaust; that is a fact which you can check out over the internet. Of course, money cannot make up for the horror of the Holocaust and I hope something like that never happens again.
Slavery? I know too little about it, but Austria and even the Austro-Hungarian empire being landlocked I think you cannot accuse that country of having been an active participant in that lucrative trade; England and the Americas became super powers and super wealthy on the back of slave labout and also the slave trade - until they 'saw the light' in Victorian times.
Israel is also close to my heart, my first boyfriend was part Jewish and I knew his mother's story, who was in hiding during the war, but held her head high after, was an educated women but could only get work as a tram conductress, which she did, with pride. Her husband had left her during the Hitler days, but she didn't talk about it - I know this from her son. Two of my best friends are Jewish, one went to live in Israel and they left for Australia in disgust, as their highly educated and elderly father was made to dig roads - he died from a heart attack in Israel as a result. I also have a friend who has gone to live in Israel.
My 'old world' garbage is possibly that I am trying to defend Germany, which I am not, but I, along with many other people, have a grudging respect for the Germans. My parents were not nazis, if you have read some of my other - rather lengthy posts you would know - I am not going to repeat myself, they were socialists to the core, mainly because in their day, there was no work - too long a story to go into detail here - and after the war, the profit makers were immediately there to get their pound of flesh, so union membership and the threat of strikes was the only way workers could get at least a wage to live on. Strikes didn't happen as they did here. On arrival here, I and my husband were shocked to see how many strikes happened and for what ridiculous reasons. Here in Australia I am a swinging voter, have been an Australian citizen since 1967
I won't say much more, as you seem determined to put me into one of your 'boxes' - go ahead - and most of your posts are incoherent rants, anyway, which jump from subject to subject. I don't actually know what caused so much offense in my post, as your message is just a series of garbled accusations. A bit of politeness would go a long way.
Taurisk
Expand
