Germany’s brutal immigrant awakening

[Dems to Win]

MARGARET WENTE
The Globe and Mail

The mass assaults in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, in the shadow of Germany’s most historic and beautiful cathedral, are destined to become a defining moment in the immigration debate that is tearing Europe apart. After Cologne, the ugly truth can no longer be ignored. The assailants, described by a senior German official, Ralf Jaeger, as being mainly Arab and North African men, including asylum seekers who arrived in the past year, come from cultures that are deeply misogynistic. Their attitudes toward women are the worst possible fit with Europe’s tolerant, sexually egalitarian liberal norms.

snip....

But what happened in Cologne was too big to cover up. News has now emerged of similar New Year’s Eve assaults in Austria, Switzerland, Finland and Sweden, as well as other German cities. The Viennese police chief has warned women not to go out alone at night. Sweden is now dealing with its own cover-up at a music festival last summer, where young girls were assaulted by hundreds of mostly Afghan men. As the official in charge of the festival’s policing told a local news source, “We sometimes dare not to say how it is because we think it might play into the hands of the [right-wing] Sweden Democrats.”

snip...

Yet even now, some of Europe’s liberal humanitarians are still in deep denial. In an interview with Der Spiegel, Cologne’s mayor expressed genuine shock that so many immigrant men do not act like German men. What’s needed, Ms. Reker said, is more language and integration courses, to give them a better grasp of German culture (which begs the question of whether they are interested in grasping it). As for how to behave at public festivals, she thinks pictograms might help.

There are other solutions, but they might be more difficult. Refuse asylum to single men (as Canada has done). Deport the ones who’ve already arrived. Choose who comes. Don’t choose people who can’t tell the difference between a kiss and rape.

As for avoiding a right-wing backlash, it’s way too late. After years of official lies and cover-ups, it’s already here.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/germanys-brutal-immigrant-awakening/article28117977/

A sober, honest look at the situation facing Europe, imho.

[leftynyc]

1. Good article

And the writer is right - the left wing backlash is already here and will only get worse if we continue to ignore what's right in front of our faces. And if we throw women under the bus, we'll deserve to lose.

[JPZenger]

2. Attackers were Algerians and Moroccans, not Syrians

The BBC has good coverage of this issue. They report that the attackers who have been identified so far have been from Algeria and Morocco, not Syria. People from Algeria and Morocco are not even eligible for refugee status, so many of these may be illegals. Meanwhile, many Syrian men are trying to communicate with Germans to explain that they are not a threat and they appreciate the help they have been receiving.

[leftynyc]

3. All your post does

is prove what a shitty job Germany (and others) did in vetting the hundreds of thousands they let into their country. No wonder their native populations are so furious.

[Ellen Forradalom]

4. In a conflict between women's rights and anyone else's

Women lose every single time.

Disgraceful that criminal assaults were covered up for fear of fueling the extreme right. That has already spectacularly backfired.

[leftynyc]

5. Yes it has

And women are rightly royally pissed off about it. Me? I'd be walking around with a baseball bat or can of pepper spray.

[840high]

6. So would I. Baseball bat.

[leftynyc]

8. Bat would be better

That way they know not to even try getting close. They have to get too close for pepper spray to be effective.

[Yo_Mama]

10. Sales of pepper spray in Germany are soaring. So you are not off base.

Sad, but true.

[Dems to Win]

12. Can't imagine how pepper spray would be effective if suddenly set upon by a circle of

20 or 30 guys

Even if you have it in hand and start spraying, one of the guys behind you will just grab it out of your hand and spray it into your face.

The threat of Taharrush Gamea is new to German women, very scary, and it's hard to see how to effectively combat it. Whether by individual women or by the police. Since the tactic involves concentric rings of men shielding what's going on from others in the crowd, how will police see it when it's happening to put a stop to it? When women escape and report it to the police, they won't be able to identify the attackers, and they will have melted back into the crowd.

Better have drones flying overhead, continually monitored by police, whenever a crowd gathers.

Germany can only hope to keep women safe by drastically stepping up it's police presence. Sad for them on so many levels.

[coyote]

11. Since the refugees are here

My wife is already walking around with a can of pepper spray. Every woman I know here is scared walking around now. Today I walked through the park with a colleague of mine, a 3 groups of Syrian refugees walked past us. Even to me as a man they looked scary, they look like gang bangers more than refugees. Yes I know the likelihood of something is probably small, but it's that 1% chance that always sticks in front of your mind. I truly feel bad for the women here...they put me on edge, and I can't imagine how the women feel.

This country that took their safety and freedom for granted is now gone. This makes no sense what Merkel did. It's as if she purposely wanted to destabilize the country, and that is what she has done.

[Eleanors38]

7. Gun sales (to mainly women) have quadrupled in Cologne and Innsbruck. nt

[EllieBC]

13. Because we are still seen as having lesser value.

We are how to avoid being assaulted or raped. We are told we are part of the problem. As far we've come, there's always someone to remind us of our "place".

[Dems to Win]

14. Welcome to DU

Always great to welcome a sister

[smirkymonkey]

9. +1000