Ganesha’s girl – International edition

Sorry for the delay

Last night my internet was sooo not working. Rather than get frustrated about it (after restarting the computer like 5 times) I gave up, took a shower and snuggled in the bed with the cats, reading a book.

I also tried lentils, but we just won’t go there (although they weren’t as nasty as the chickpeas).

Racially motiviated? No sh*t

As you all know, I live in Germany. Or as it is still (officially under the radar) known: West Germany. Is there a difference?

You betcha.

Take this. And the mayor has the balls to say it wasn’t racially motivated. This with the skinheads chasing the indians *through the streets* *with people WATCHING!!!* and chanting “Foreigners out”.

No, definitely not racially motivated. By the way, this happened in east Germany. Yeah, Germany is reunified, but honestly when you live here you know it’s two different countries. The west simply has better infrastructure than the east, doomed by Russian occupation until the wall fell. Better job opportunities make all the difference. Although the east has been renovated using money from a tax that everyone in Germany has to pay, regardless of your status. The place sparkles, there’s just no jobs in it, and thus a lot of dissatisfied “arbeitslos” (unemployed).

It’s (right wingism) more disapproved of in the west, and there are skinheads, but simply not as many. This goes alongside the recently powerfully reelected Left Party (communists)…who are generating an extremely large following in the east. So it’s dicey situation.

The thing about this attack is that it is not unusual. Foreigners (even the white kind) are just, well – they just don’t “feel” you here, you know? I can say this from experience – my hubs lives in Liepzig (east), and I’ve been there on and off lots. But when he brought up living there, I threw it down in a second. No way. The east germans even treat the west germans differently – um, me, an English speaker? No thanks. (He didn’t push very hard to do it in all honesty. He just wanted us to be together during the week too). A friend of mine (Japanese) had gone there to Leipzig and a couple other towns for a holiday, and ended up leaving early ’cause he said they were giving him really funny looks. And this guy’s been everywhere, so …

What excessively bothers me about this situation (well besides for the entire thing) was that the people standing to the sides did nothing about this, simply watched it happen. I know it takes a lot of courage to stand up for others, but I would like to think they would have done something. Had I been there, I like to believe I would have – although staring down Skinheads bent on distruction
would be seriously hairy.

Interested in some survey results of right wing-ism? Click here.

No don’t get me wrong, Germany is a lovely country. But it has its demons that it lives with alongside a collective guilt from the past that is all but suffocating it. Yet simply having guilt about it but doing nothing to change it is not the way to move forward.

How many do you read?

I just read this very disturbing article. How can this be? About Reading – or the lack of it.

Among the v. disturbing facts:

One in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday.

The typical person claimed to have read four books in the last year — half read more and half read fewer.

At the same time, book enthusiasts abound. Many in the survey reported reading dozens of books and said they couldn’t do without them.

How can you live without a good book? I usually get about 3-4 in a WEEK. But then I am a proud acknowledged bookworm (as my bank account would sadly attest – it costs a lot to buy an english book over here)

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