There's a Place for Us/ Somewhere, a Place for Us

David Weigel | February 20, 2007

Attention must be paid to this float in Dusseldorf's Rosemonday parade.

The float itself is surreal, yet optimistic; the presence of the Mummer-Lollipop Guild Pact of Steel underneath it tips it decisively towards surrealism.

(Via Chuck Johnson, who ain't letting some paper mache and Germans get him down.)

Comments

|2.20.07 @ 2:24PM|#

The guy with the glasses looks more Tweedledee than Munchkin to me.

|2.20.07 @ 2:32PM|#

The message of the float ("Let's get along, folks!") is fine, but it is a little lame that the guy has "Hamas" on his headgear instead of a Palestinian flag or something like that. Hamas doesn't represent all Palestinians.

|2.20.07 @ 2:46PM|#

I'd be more concerned about the snaggletooth than the headgear.

|2.20.07 @ 2:52PM|#

The float itself is surreal...
Not if you include the caption:

Looking for a good place to stick a knife.

|2.20.07 @ 3:02PM|#

The irony of Germans commenting on the actions of a Jewish state is delicious.

fyodor|2.20.07 @ 3:26PM|#

The message of the float ("Let's get along, folks!") is fine, but it is a little lame that the guy has "Hamas" on his headgear instead of a Palestinian flag or something like that. Hamas doesn't represent all Palestinians.

The implication might be that Hamas is the faction of Palestinians that most needs to hear the "message". As well, the lighthearted nature of the event hardly requires intellectual rigor on such details.

LatexSolarBeef|2.20.07 @ 3:29PM|#

yesterday, I saved two images of German parade floats

one showed Bush getting a bare-assed spanking over the knee of Lady Liberty

the other showed a wimpy looking POTUS grimacing at the shaggy armpit of Iran's prez, who's making a muscle w/ a big ol' bicep emblazoned with the nuke logo

nice bite, both of them

|2.20.07 @ 3:53PM|#

"but it is a little lame that the guy has "Hamas" on his headgear instead of a Palestinian flag or something like that. Hamas doesn't represent all Palestinians."

The reason "Hamas" had to be written on the headgear was because Germans immediately recognize the Jewish caricature (but not Hamas). Anti-Semitism is hard-wired into their national DNA.

edna|2.20.07 @ 3:56PM|#

isn't the jewish guy one of the ones from ahmadinnerjacket's holocaust denial conference?

Edward|2.20.07 @ 4:01PM|#

Adolph

Anti-Semitism is hardwired into Western culture, not into anybody's DNA. That's why the Jews (or their surrogate Israel) are at the center of every conceivable conspiracy theory, even those that relate to 9/11. It takes real mental effort to overcome anti-Semitism, which is why it's so enduring. At least, that's my theory.

|2.20.07 @ 4:10PM|#

My favorite quote about this, from over at Nobody's Business:

The wonderful thing about offending the religious is the self-calibrating nature of the activity: the degree of offence taken is directly proportional to how much the offended person deserves it.

|2.20.07 @ 4:19PM|#

"Anti-Semitism is hardwired into Western culture, not into anybody's DNA"

The term used was "national DNA"

Yeshiva Bocher|2.20.07 @ 4:36PM|#

Yo, not all orthodox Jews are Zionists, Baby.

|2.20.07 @ 5:10PM|#

Anti-Semitism is hardwired into Western culture, not into anybody's DNA. That's why the Jews (or their surrogate Israel) are at the center of every conceivable conspiracy theory, even those that relate to 9/11. It takes real mental effort to overcome anti-Semitism, which is why it's so enduring. At least, that's my theory.

I'm a western Zionist goy. Fit that into your theory. ; >

Edward|2.20.07 @ 5:22PM|#

"I'm a western Zionist goy. Fit that into your theory. ; >"

A large part of Zionism's rationale is the inevitable anti-Semitism Jews face in the diaspora, so your western Zionism fits quite neatly into my theory.

Edward|2.20.07 @ 5:28PM|#

Bill,

Sorry, Bill, I misread your message with a comma after Zionist, accusing me of being a goy (which I am) and missed your characterization of yourself as a "goy." An anti-Semitic goy (I'm not claiming you are) could easily support Zionism as a way of clearing out the Jews. Don't some Christian fundamentalist Zionists support Israel because they think they'll be raptured up when all Jews return there (and the Jews, of course, will all burn in hell)?

H-dawg|2.20.07 @ 6:44PM|#

Uh, that doesn't sound like a terribly strong incentive for the Jews to return...

|2.20.07 @ 7:02PM|#

The guy in the black, broad-brimmed hat is supposed to be Jewish? I thought he was a Quaker! He looks like he just stepped off of a Quaker Oats box.

Yeshiva Bocher Manqué|2.20.07 @ 7:47PM|#

- Did you hear the news? The Jews sank the Titanic.
- I thought it was an iceberg!
- Iceberg, Goldberg, what's the difference?

|2.20.07 @ 8:00PM|#

Edward,

When I read my comment with the comma (that you mentally placed there), I couldn't help but laugh. It definitely reads better without the comma.

|2.20.07 @ 8:02PM|#

And for the record, I'm not an anti-semite. I'm quite philosemitic.

There goes the neighborhood|2.20.07 @ 8:36PM|#

philosemitic

Phyllosemitic = Hamantaschen (hold the ham).

|2.21.07 @ 2:09AM|#

"Anti-Semitism is hard-wired into their national DNA."

Adolph has obviously never lived in modern Germany, or had very many dealings with modern, three-generations-removed-from-WWII Germans.

edna|2.21.07 @ 8:15AM|#

"Adolph has obviously never lived in modern Germany, or had very many dealings with modern, three-generations-removed-from-WWII Germans."

otoh, i have, and have been appalled by how casual and ingrained the antisemitism is. over and over, someone would be telling a story or trying to make a point, they'd say something derogatory about jews, then go uncomfortably quiet when they remembered that they were talking to one. this has happened to me over and over.

now, i don't think that modern germans want to turn me into a bar of soap, but they deeply believe that the jews were responsible for the holocaust (yes, it was regrettable and too extreme, but they were destroying the economy and bringing hardship on the german people), and they deeply believe that this goes on today (lots of references to "jew businesses" in my discussions with them). it's worse in the old eastern part, but i've had the same experiences in muenchen, duesseldorf, koeln, and (shudder) vaihingen.

and i should note that i'm cool with it, i haven't allowed these experiences to sour me on my friends and business associates there (they just go with what their parents told them and what they learned in school), but it has been an eye-opener for me, and has convinced me of the need for a secure jewish state. the shit could certainly hit the fan if there's another depression in europe.

edna|2.21.07 @ 8:16AM|#

sorry, i should have edited this better. i'll try again after i've had some coffee.

|2.21.07 @ 9:12AM|#

Crush the Jew egg children! Crrrush it!

Edward|2.21.07 @ 10:12AM|#

edna

About securing a Jewish state, has it occurred to you that having all the Jews in one place makes them more vulnerable to anihilation? This is especially true when you consider that the same irrational thinking about Jews that forms the basis of anti-Semitism is easily transferred to Israel, which becomes a (in the mind of the anti-Semite) a politer synonym for "Jews." It is (they are) still poisoning the wells.

|2.21.07 @ 10:34AM|#

Edna, I have been living in Germany for about three years now, I and have heard few anti-Semitic comments. There is, of course, the occasional NPD march, and I have heard some vitriolic stuff from some eastern Europeans and a couple of French guys I know. Most young Germans seem to avoid such talk. My experience may, however, have something to do with the fact that I live in a western university town.

It is also worth noting that nothing is sacred during Carnival. The Rheinlaender regard it as the one time of the year that they are allowed to be silly and offensive. If y'all think those floats were bad, you should see what they do to their own politicans.

|2.21.07 @ 10:45AM|#

edna, were you in the east?

Pure hearsay, but I have heard that people in the former DDR are much more anti-semitic, and prone to other forms of cultural backwardsness, than those in the west.

edna|2.21.07 @ 1:44PM|#

for the record, the float doesn't offend me in the least. nor have i allowed the casual bigotry i encounter to stand between me and people that i deal with there.

yes, i've been in the east. much, much worse there, but the first time a bigoted "jew" reference was made in a business meeting, i was in muenchen.