3 ms·

Generally a positive trend. I wonder what is keeping Germans from feeling global?

by corv 10y ago

maufl 10y ago
(As a German) I think lot's of Germans feel global already. But I suspect it's limited to a certain demographic, namely young people with academic background. I don't know about the rest but recently it feels like more people just want to keep to themselves (especially with all the immigrants coming into our country).
- alphydan 10y ago
  > all the immigrants coming into our country When sorted by % of population that is composed of immigrants, Germany does not have much immigration (it's country # sixty-something in the list) [0]) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_immigrant_population https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_immigrant...
  - ZoF 10y ago
    Yes, sorting that way does show that currently Germany doesn't have the largest immigrant population, but that is changing quickly. Today Germany is the second most popular migration destination in the world, after the United States[0] Not commenting on whether that's a good or bad thing(I feel it's pretty neutral), just pointing out that the parent commenter saying "all the immigrants coming into our country" isn't making a crazy statement. [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Germany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Germany
  - maufl 10y ago
    Yes, that's certainly true. And we always had waves of immigrants, it's nothing new. However, I think right now many perceive it as a large amount of immigrants that come quickly, maybe because of media coverage.
RGamma 10y ago
Germany is a country of assimilation and a very sizable portion of immigrants (I count esp. the Gastarbeiter that we have failed to repatriate) have not managed this and now even 2 or 3 generations later we have certain city districts with over 50% immigrants that mainly speak insufferable Kanakendeutsch or barely any at all (luckily I live in one of the better suburbs in that regard), in which you feel like a foreigner in your own country. If we have to wait 3 or more generations for assimilation to happen, if ever, no wonder that right-conservative parties can use this as a selling point. (and no I definitely don't feel global (I'm also young, with academic background), let all regions stay to themselves. Tourism is sufficient if you want to experience others)
mxfh 10y ago
I also wonder how the question was phrased, in my experience Kosmopolit/Weltbürger has a lot of cultural baggage in the German cultural sphere; that it requires some sort of personal refinement (Herder, Kant, Klaus Mann), a label most people won't assert to themselves. On the other hand the term was used as a negative propaganda term in the eastern bloc[1] In my experience German's are way more likely to call themselves Europeans first (more than most other European nationalities), and happily skip the world citizen part for convenience's sake. Even the E in PEGIDA stand for Europeans. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootless_cosmopolitan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootless_cosmopolitan

Generally a positive trend. I wonder what is keeping Germans from feeling global?

by corv 10y ago

Generally a positive trend. I wonder what is keeping Germans from feeling global?

maufl 10y ago

(As a German) I think lot's of Germans feel global already. But I suspect it's limited to a certain demographic, namely young people with academic background. I don't know about the rest but recently it feels like more people just want to keep to themselves (especially with all the immigrants coming into our country).

alphydan 10y ago
> all the immigrants coming into our country When sorted by % of population that is composed of immigrants, Germany does not have much immigration (it's country # sixty-something in the list) [0]) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_immigrant_population https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_immigrant...
- ZoF 10y ago
  Yes, sorting that way does show that currently Germany doesn't have the largest immigrant population, but that is changing quickly. Today Germany is the second most popular migration destination in the world, after the United States[0] Not commenting on whether that's a good or bad thing(I feel it's pretty neutral), just pointing out that the parent commenter saying "all the immigrants coming into our country" isn't making a crazy statement. [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Germany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Germany
- maufl 10y ago
  Yes, that's certainly true. And we always had waves of immigrants, it's nothing new. However, I think right now many perceive it as a large amount of immigrants that come quickly, maybe because of media coverage.

RGamma 10y ago

Germany is a country of assimilation and a very sizable portion of immigrants (I count esp. the Gastarbeiter that we have failed to repatriate) have not managed this and now even 2 or 3 generations later we have certain city districts with over 50% immigrants that mainly speak insufferable Kanakendeutsch or barely any at all (luckily I live in one of the better suburbs in that regard), in which you feel like a foreigner in your own country. If we have to wait 3 or more generations for assimilation to happen, if ever, no wonder that right-conservative parties can use this as a selling point. (and no I definitely don't feel global (I'm also young, with academic background), let all regions stay to themselves. Tourism is sufficient if you want to experience others)

mxfh 10y ago

I also wonder how the question was phrased, in my experience Kosmopolit/Weltbürger has a lot of cultural baggage in the German cultural sphere; that it requires some sort of personal refinement (Herder, Kant, Klaus Mann), a label most people won't assert to themselves. On the other hand the term was used as a negative propaganda term in the eastern bloc[1] In my experience German's are way more likely to call themselves Europeans first (more than most other European nationalities), and happily skip the world citizen part for convenience's sake. Even the E in PEGIDA stand for Europeans. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootless_cosmopolitan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootless_cosmopolitan