I'm not a frigging Nazi, am I?

You're all goddamned Nazis!

Wait a minute...uh...I'm half German.
Does that make me a Na or a Zi?

[Polycarp]

The (Teutonic) Knights That Go Zi?

[AWB]

kknick34: Funny sidenote: I was at a function at my-inlaws (whom are all Polish) shortly after the reunification of Germany, during dinner I anounced I heard Germany was moving their capital, someone inquired where to, I said Warsaw and then I starting laughing uncontrollably. They were not amused.

Another funny sidenote: after the reunification, SNL's Weekend Update reported it (Kevin Nealon as anchor). They then showed Francois Mitterand and Jean-Claude Killey (sp?) participating in "the wave" at some sporting event, they arms raised. Nealon continued (paraphrased), "Upon hearing of the reunification of Germany, France surrendered."

[AWB]

This is just like kids calling me a commie because of my Russian surname. I only knew about a dozen words of Russian from a few phrases, anyways.

[Cap'n Crude]

As my family is Jewish, I see a lot of this. Many years ago, my brother was forbidden from learning German because, among other reasons, the sound of that language terrifies some Holocaust survivors. My mother is extremely turned off by the idea of tattoos, because of the serial numbers you can find on some people's arms. Basically, that was a very fucked-up period of time, and it has left scars on the survivors and their children that are so deep, you can't imagine it.

It goes too far though, sometimes. I have an "uncle" (close friend of family) who must be restrained from saying "filthy Nazi bastards!" every time he sees a German over the age of 60, figuring they were there and were part of it. the restraint isn't always sufficient.

Personally, I think German is a lovely language -- at least it can be. there are elements of the German cultural mindset that terrify me or at least worry me, but the language is not to blame.

--Die Hauptmann

[AuraSeer]

My girlfriend just finished her M.A. in German. (She'd planned to get a Ph.D. in the subject but changed her mind.) Half the people I know in this city are grad students who plan to make a life's work of studying or teaching German.

Not a one of 'em is a Nazi.

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Laugh hard; it's a long way to the bank.

[Boris B]

Well, Longhrn99, I applaud your decision to learn German. The German program was small at my school, but no one ever called me the N-word. (They were too busy calling me weirdo and stuff.)

One thing that is great about German is that some very smart writers will right in very plain German sometimes. I've read Gunther Grass, Herman Hesse, etc. short stories, which were at my level though I never got very advanced. So it's pretty quick to progress beyond the "Claudia und Hans go to the cinema" phase of reading.

I loved reading stuff in German, though it's been hard to keep it brushed up without a short-wave radio.

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Nothing I write about any person or group should be applied to a larger group.
- Boris Badenov

[neuro-trash grrrl]

Or how about after the Littleton shootings, when people were talking about Messrs. Harris and Klebold's taste im music, saying that they were Nazis because, among other things, they listened to German bands like Rammstein and KMFDM. All German bands are Nazis. That's a bit like saying all American bands are in favor of slavery.

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Modest? You bet I'm modest! I am the queen of modesty!

[Boris B]

That irks me even more. KMFDM is the most anti-fascist band I've ever ... understood the lyrics to. Too bad Harris and Klebold didn't take their anti-violence message to heart.

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Nothing I write about any person or group should be applied to a larger group.
- Boris Badenov

[Jophiel]

Kknick34, that had to be the funniest thing I've read in ages, and I'm 100% Polish. Thanks :)

As for the OP, I really don't see how learning the German language would make you a Nazi. Hell, I'm sure the US is full of skinhead neo-Nazis who wouldn't know German if it attacked them in a dark alley.

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"I guess it is possible for one person to make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn't."

[Enright3]

Does this remind anyone else of The Brady Bunch episode where Peter is going to be Benedict Arnold in the school play, and suddenly all his friends call him a traitor?

Poor Peter, I hope his problems got worked out by the end of the episode.

Enright3

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"Damn, it'd be like two days at Disneyland without the kids!" - Comment by a male friend the first time he saw a picture of Phouka and her breasts.

[BurnMeUp]

*laughing at Enright3* I saw that episode the other week on Nick at night...

The Brady Bunch HAD to be drug induced....

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Magnificent to behold - Greatly to be praised.

[Heath Doolin]

Ve hav veys of making you tok Dr. Jones!!!!

Sorry, Decended into Raiders of the Lost Ark for a minute.

Your friends are morons, plain and simple. You would be dumb if you wanted to learn greek (I did...for two years. What I remember? Se Ubi de Ubi. Thats it)

[J String]

quote:

"When I first expressed my desire to learn German, people called me a Nazi just because I wanted to learn a language."

Um, these people are idiots. F--k them.

I took some German in high school; it wasn't too hard to learn. Have fun, and good luck.

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It's a long way to heaven, but only three short steps to hell.

[aseymayo]

You might want to remind some of those name-calling morons that English is a Germanic language.

[Coldfire]

Goodday Y'all.

Amsterdam calling - yes, the Netherlands. Heavily opressed by the Germans in WWII. Terror. Fear. The Works.

Do we hate Germans ? Sometimes. Whenever we have to play them in soccer. And although I'm sure there are enough ignorant Dutchies who will disagree, we (in general) have nothing against Germans per se. Sure, war criminals (if still alive) must be proscecuted with all possible means. The rest of the Germans are guilt-free and welcome in my country, my home and my heart if they prove worthy - just like anyone else. Hell, am I to be held responsible because my Dutch ancestors (actually, I'm 1/16th German, but that's another story that dates back to WAY before WWII - it involves Napoleon) shipped Africans to the New World to enslave them ?

I think not.

As for people judging you because you want to learn German: never listen to ignorant twats whose IQ's are less than room temperature (choose fahrenheit or celcius here, I don't care ;) ).
The German language is a beautiful one, and I enjoy to speak it very much - actually I'm quite good at it too. But, as a Dutchman, German is a pretty easy language to get started on.

Viel Erfolg, mein Freund. Vielleicht in ein paar Wochen koennen wir zusammen Deutsch reden.

"Better the pride that resides
in a Citizen of the World,
Then the pride that divides,
when a colourful rag is unfurled."

Gotta love Neil Peart !

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Coldfire
________________________________
"You know how complex women are"
- Neil Peart, Rush (1993)

[aseymayo]

Damn, Coldf, I'd love to be fluent in more than one language - I envy you. Your command of English is very impressive.

There you go, Longhrn, tell your friends you're learning Deutsch. They'll think you mean Dutch and only accuse you of wearing wooden shoes.

[Sealemon88]

The funny thing about stereotypes is that it's easy for the victims to stereotype back.

I'm an Anglo-Saxon Texan; according to your "friends", that makes me a slave-owning Confederate.

It's much easier to lump people into a group than to judge people on an individual basis.

And now, in the spirit of Coldfire:

"(Subdivisions), In the high school halls, in the shopping malls,
Conform or be cast out
(Subdivisions), in the basement bars, in the backs of cars,
Be cool or be cast out"

..........

"Ignorance, and Predjudice, and Fear walk hand in hand."

..........

"...divided into sorry hemispheres."

Neal Peart is da' man!

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You say "cheesy" like that's a BAD thing.

[Coldfire]

Thanks, aseymayo. My languages are Dutch, English, German and French (in order of language skills, so to speak). Actually, to speak 2 or more langauges is not uncommon for the Dutch. Hey, who the HELL is going to speak Dutch to us, anyway ;)

And Sealemon: YEAH !!


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Coldfire
________________________________
"You know how complex women are"
- Neil Peart, Rush (1993)

[AzRaek]

Cool, a Rush-fest!
Don't ever feel bad about your desire to learn more about your ancestry. I'm %50 Viking (Norsk of course) and if if your great-great-great-grandaddy was an evil scumbag, that doesn't mean you are.
BTW my boyfriend in High school showed me his great-uncle's (Or someone) Wermacht uniform. It was almost a death sentance for him to keep it after the war. Creepy but interesting.

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I'll be there
Where I'll teach what I've been taught
And I've been taught...

[LongHrn99]

My ancestors are German, so I have decided to learn more about the country and the language (if not for the damn foreign language requirement I wouldn't be, but that's another story). When I first expressed my desire to learn German, people called me a Nazi just because I wanted to learn a language. Many of my friends are learning Spanish, but I'm not calling them conquistadors. What's up with this? FTR, I don't hate Jews (other than Woody Allen) and I think Hitler was an Asshole Supreme (the real person, not the poster).

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"There are many sweeping generalizations that are always true" -Space Ghost

[Glitch]

Sadly, the simple answer is: people are dumb.

I recall some flake from a Jewish league saying that all Germans regardless of anything were at fault for the Holocaust. When asked "How about a German living in Canada during WW2?" Answer "Guilty". "How about a German child?" Answer "Guilty". Etc. Although one can undestand his bitterness and anger it does little good to have it misplaced.

Of course, I am also reminded about how a local Aryan Nation flake said (in a letter to the local paper) "The Jews deserved it since they were secretly plotting to exterminate the German people."

Ahhh ... the human race. Flakes come in all shapes and sizes.

[kknick34]

Your not a Nazi for wanting to learn German.
I'm 1/2 German and I also read & study a lot about Germany, I'm not anti-semetic or a Nazi either.

Funny sidenote: I was at a function at my-inlaws (whom are all Polish) shortly after the reunification of Germany, during dinner I anounced I heard Germany was moving their capital, someone inquired where to, I said Warsaw and then I starting laughing uncontrollably. They were not amused.

[Momotaro]

I want to learn German!...as soon as I'm done with Japanese. Did I mention I can understand a little Italian?

German + Japanese + Italian what does that make me? A Nazifascimperialist?

I'm seriously (not professionally) into languages. Is it true that German is the hardest of the Germanic languages? It seems so because of all the verb conjugations. I figure that means that once you learn it, the other Germanic languages are (relatively) easy.

Coldfire, after I'm done with German, I'll learn Dutch! :) I'm an eager student. I've already learned to count in German and Norwegian, and a few other words too.

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Only humans commit inhuman acts.

[AWB]

Momotaro: I'm seriously (not professionally) into languages. Is it true that German is the hardest of the Germanic languages? It seems so because of all the verb conjugations. I figure that means that once you learn it, the other Germanic languages are (relatively) easy.

Actually, I think English is the hardest of the Germanic languages, since it has so much other stuff from other languages thrown in.

The worst part of German is the definate/indefinate articles. In English, there's "the", "a", and "an". But in German, there's: der, die, das, den, des, dem. And that's just the definate articles. Their use is dictated by case and gender.

Oh, yeah. You've got to remember the gender of every noun.

[LongHrn99]

Sorry to have gotten back into the thread so late in the game. *I* know I'm not a Nazi, I just wanted to have a catchy thread title like everyone else does, damnit!! :) I guess I just wondered why people have to be so ignorant. Actually I found it quite easy to learn, it resembled English enough that I didn't have any problems. But if I wanted to learn Japanese, would that make me an evil Jap bent on world domination? Of course not. If I wanted to learn Italian would that have made me stupid Dago? No. So why would my desire to learn German make me a Nazi? It's easy enough to say that people are just ignorant twats, but WHY can they be reasonably intelligent and still be ignorant in that respect? It doesn't make any sense. Oh, and one more thing, no more Rush in my thread!! Just kidding, you can talk about stupid Canadian bands all you want. Complete offense to all Canadians!!
Note: All references to ethnicities in the above were made either in jest or to emphasize a point.

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"There are many sweeping generalizations that are always true" -Space Ghost