# German woman on tv: "Southern Europeans are not as disciplined as us" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 28, 2011, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545 "2011-05-28T08:21:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/21 "2011-05-28T16:04:14Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > Greece and Italy have been basket cases long before the Euro was ever thought of. If it wasn’t the Euro, it would have been something else that tipped them over the edge. Yeah, they’re certainly screwy countries when compared to the UK and Germany (and France, for that matter). But if they had their own currencies, they’d have a lot more flexibility right now. They could devalue and fuel their recovery through exports. Instead, Germany expects them to go through grinding deflation and unemployment to make good on German bank investments. If I were a Greek citizen, I’d tell the Germans to get bent, too. The alternative, of course, is to keep bailing them out. But German citizens are understandably not too thrilled with that idea either. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/22 "2011-05-28T16:11:40Z")
I can see Germany being a bit upset about Greece needing bail outs when they see it’s citizens as lazy and corrupt. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/23 "2011-05-28T16:22:02Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > And I am really astonished that you thought it was racist. You could have thought "gee whiz, I didn’t know that southerners are less disciplined ----I need to learn more about the cultural differences between Southern Europe and Germany. " > > Facts are facts—and there is nothing racist about pointing them out. > It’s a very, very sad aspect of our modern world that people are afraid to say out loud that some cultures are better than others. If you’re really going for XIX th century racism, then you forgot where it leads to. Germany’s a good example of that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/24 "2011-05-28T16:28:57Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > I just Googled “German woman discipline”. This news item wasn’t on the first four pages of hits… Yeah, that’s what I thought of. I think discipline is way more popular in Germany. People should stop taking quotes out of context before starting an OP. Look at the confusion in this thread. What did people think German discipline meant? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/25 "2011-05-28T16:34:16Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Facts are facts—and there is nothing racist about pointing them out. > It’s a very, very sad aspect of our modern world that people are afraid to say out loud that some cultures are better than others. Pip pip, by Jove ! ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/26 "2011-05-28T16:44:37Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > :rolleyes: People in our modern world are also afraid to say out loud which colors are better than others. So say it out loud, then. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/27 "2011-05-28T16:52:52Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Similarly my German friend, after living in the UK for five years, found that the lack of rules consciousness she had picked up in England was getting her in trouble. She was walking down the street and had a guy in a car, who wasn’t a cop, on a completely different street to her, screech to a halt several yards from where she was walking just to shout out of his car window to admonish her for jaywalking. It’s like the old joke: Why do Germans never commit crimes? Because it’s illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/28 "2011-05-28T17:38:45Z")
Good one. Would that work with Canadians? Does anyone remember to old joke about the difference between heaven and hell? I’m only rememberint about two-thirds of it. In heaven, the Germans run the trains, the French do the cooking, and the English do something else. In hell, the English do the cooking, the French run the trains, and I still don’t remember that last category. Maybe it was the courts? Any help would be appreciated. The point of the joke was that there’s an up side and a down side to most ways of doing things. ---
**Author:** ![sohvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/29 "2011-05-28T18:09:11Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Any help would be appreciated. The point of the joke was that there’s an up side and a down side to most ways of doing things. I haven’t heard that specific joke, but [the Perfect European](http://www.unternehmen.com/erothitan/press_info/2002-10-28_the_perfect_european_en.html) has the same idea. I once had a mug with that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/30 "2011-05-28T18:24:20Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Good one. Would that work with Canadians? > > Does anyone remember to old joke about the difference between heaven and hell? I’m only rememberint about two-thirds of it. > > In heaven, the Germans run the trains, the French do the cooking, and the English do something else. > > In hell, the English do the cooking, the French run the trains, and I still don’t remember that last category. Maybe it was the courts? > > Any help would be appreciated. The point of the joke was that there’s an up side and a down side to most ways of doing things. In Heaven there is an Englishman to greet you at the door, the French do all the cooking, the Italians provide the entertainment, and the Germans keep everything organized. In Hell you are greeted at the door by a Frenchman, the English do all the cooking, the Germans provide the entertainment, and everything is organized by the Italians. ---
**Author:** ![desy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@desy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/desy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/31 "2011-05-28T18:29:32Z")
> [@RaleighRally](#): > > But then I reassured myself that the channel I was watching is famous for its political correctness, and would never indulge in bigotry. That’s kind of an odd thing to say. If the channels position is that southern europeans are lazy, then okay, thats bigoted. But if the channel is reporting the opinion of a german citizen, then its not bigoted of the channel itself, necessarily. Having not seen this interview, I would suggest that it is actually good reporting of the general mood of germans towards their neighbors. Reporting on bigotry isnt bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/32 "2011-05-28T18:34:09Z")
Here’s an old joke I once read in a collection by Isaac Asimov: A Berliner is walking around Vienna, gets lost, grabs a passing Viennese by the lapels and barks, “The-Post-Office-where-is-it?!” The Viennese gentleman steps back, straightens his coat, and says, “Sir, would it not be more polite to ask, ‘Pardon me, if you have a moment and happen to know, could you kindly direct me to the Post Office?’” The Berliner looks at him in astonishment, says, “I’d rather be lost!” and walks away. The following year the same Viennese gentleman is walking around Berlin, gets lost, and asks a passing Berliner, “Pardon me, sir, if you have a moment and happen to know, could you kindly direct me to the Post Office?” The Berliner barks, “About-face-walk-three-blocks-turn-left-walk-two-blocks-the-Post-Office-is-on-the-Achteck-Square!” The Viennese, more bewildered than enlightened, says, “Thank you–” The Berliner grabs him by the lapels and screams, "Never mind the thanks! _Repeat the instructions!"_ ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/33 "2011-05-28T18:34:30Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > In Heaven there is an Englishman to greet you at the door, the French do all the cooking, the Italians provide the entertainment, and the Germans keep everything organized. In Hell you are greeted at the door by a Frenchman, the English do all the cooking, the Germans provide the entertainment, and everything is organized by the Italians. There are lots of variants of this. My favourite is “In heaven the police are English, the cooks are French, the cars are German, and the women are Italian. In hell the police are German, the cooks are English, the cars are French, and the women are Italian.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/34 "2011-05-28T18:35:50Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Good one. Would that work with Canadians? Then there was the time _Maclean’s_ ran a contest to complete the phrase "As Canadian as . . . " and the winner was, “As Canadian as possible under the circumstances.” ---
**Author:** ![Docta\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Docta\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Docta_G)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/35 "2011-05-28T19:21:48Z")
“Say what you will about the tenets of National Socialism, but at least it was disciplined.” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/36 "2011-05-28T19:32:38Z")
Yeah, I was about to say - there have been periods in relatively recent history in which it would probably been better for the world at large if the Germans had been a bit less _disciplined_. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/37 "2011-05-28T19:32:39Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Here’s an old joke I once read in a collection by Isaac Asimov: > > A Berliner is walking around Vienna, gets lost, grabs a passing Viennese by the lapels and barks, “The-Post-Office-where-is-it?!” > > The Viennese gentleman steps back, straightens his coat, and says, “Sir, would it not be more polite to ask, ‘Pardon me, if you have a moment and happen to know, could you kindly direct me to the Post Office?’” > > The Berliner looks at him in astonishment, says, “I’d rather be lost!” and walks away. > > The following year the same Viennese gentleman is walking around Berlin, gets lost, and asks a passing Berliner, “Pardon me, sir, if you have a moment and happen to know, could you kindly direct me to the Post Office?” > > The Berliner barks, “About-face-walk-three-blocks-turn-left-walk-two-blocks-the-Post-Office-is-on-the-Achteck-Square!” > > The Viennese, more bewildered than enlightened, says, “Thank you–” > > The Berliner grabs him by the lapels and screams, "Never mind the thanks! _Repeat the instructions!"_ I lol’d. ---
**Author:** ![RaleighRally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@RaleighRally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaleighRally)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/38 "2011-05-28T21:36:40Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > I just Googled “German woman discipline”. This news item wasn’t on the first four pages of hits… 1:20 in this clip: [http://svtplay.se/v/2430328/rapport/tyskland\_\_oro\_for\_grekland?sb,k103266,6,f,155704](http://svtplay.se/v/2430328/rapport/tyskland__oro_for_grekland?sb,k103266,6,f,155704) ---
**Author:** ![RaleighRally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@RaleighRally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaleighRally)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/39 "2011-05-28T21:53:33Z")
> [@Apollon](#): > > It’s not racism if it’s actually true. But even if untrue, it would still not be racism, because southern Europeans and northern Europeans are still the same race (for most definitions of “race”). There is no race but the human race. Still, if the same kind of remark involved blacks, it would be racist. Dont you reckon? ---
**Author:** ![RaleighRally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@RaleighRally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaleighRally)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545/40 "2011-05-28T22:13:30Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Yup, France, which is a Latin country (if that Latin criteria is to be believed) is incredibly disorganised compared to the UK. France is a mix of north and south. Founded by the Franks, a Germanic tribe and also influenced by Danish Vikings, especially Normandy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-woman-on-tv-southern-europeans-are-not-as-disciplined-as-us/583545.md?page=3)