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There are elections in two states and federal elections coming up in 2017. Security and refugees are the main topics. The governing parties are trying to sound

There are elections in two states and federal elections coming up in 2017. Security and refugees are the main topics. The governing parties are trying to sound hard to stop the rise of the populist AFD by adjusting to the right. Especially the CSU, which since the beginning of time governs Bavaria (where the attacks happended) and traditionally was the rightmost not yet extremist party, tries to compete with populism. Claims to forbid burkas and stuff like that have been made. When the Munich shooting happened the whole city was locked down, the minister of defence unilaterally set military troops on call who for obvious historic reasons are only allowed to act inside Germany if the alternative would literally be "no Germany left", so she got bashed for that, police forces from neighbouring German states were called to Munich, the federal special unit GSG9 came, and even Austrian Cobra forces came to help. As bad as this sounds: This was only a mass shooting from a crazy person and while there was misinformation and panic spreading, after the initial catastrophe the situation was immediately under control. The shooter is dead, the guy who sold him the weapon got caught. There is really no reason to panic here, to bully muslims or let alone allow the military to act inside the borders. Not having soldiers on the streets (or police who act like soldiers for that matter) is a privilege we should not give up so easily. And I don't think it is reasonable to expect any terrorist group to be able to keep me locked inside my home for 5 days, when authorities here are already calling foreign forces and keep the military on call, as soon as a teenager with a Glock goes crazy.

randomname2 10y ago
Just to underscore that, the leader of the Alternative for Germany party (Frauke Petry) only yesterday spoke out in favor of people arming themselves with guns and self-defense devices after all the violent attacks last month: "German right-wing leader backs citizens' right to arm themselves" - http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN10V0A5 http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN10V0A5
- allendoerfer 10y ago
  I think with a population of 80 million, you cannot entirely avoid shootings. 9 people died in Munich and this is horrible. And while each one on there is terrible, the Wikipedia category for German shootings [0] is small. The obvious comparison with the US shows that arming the population would be very counterproductive. So when I read stuff like that, I am asking myself whether she actually is that stupid or whether she knows exactly what she says and just tries to manipulate the people and what would be worse. The only positive thing to note about the latest rise of the far-right parties in Europe is that it nicely debunked the morale high ground of women in politics. They can be just as evil/corrupt/populist/human, the liberal ones were just the first who showed up. [0] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kategorie:Amoklauf_in_Deutschland https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kategorie:Amoklauf_in_Deutschl...

randomname2 10y ago

Just to underscore that, the leader of the Alternative for Germany party (Frauke Petry) only yesterday spoke out in favor of people arming themselves with guns and self-defense devices after all the violent attacks last month: "German right-wing leader backs citizens' right to arm themselves" - http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN10V0A5 http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN10V0A5

allendoerfer 10y ago
I think with a population of 80 million, you cannot entirely avoid shootings. 9 people died in Munich and this is horrible. And while each one on there is terrible, the Wikipedia category for German shootings [0] is small. The obvious comparison with the US shows that arming the population would be very counterproductive. So when I read stuff like that, I am asking myself whether she actually is that stupid or whether she knows exactly what she says and just tries to manipulate the people and what would be worse. The only positive thing to note about the latest rise of the far-right parties in Europe is that it nicely debunked the morale high ground of women in politics. They can be just as evil/corrupt/populist/human, the liberal ones were just the first who showed up. [0] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kategorie:Amoklauf_in_Deutschland https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kategorie:Amoklauf_in_Deutschl...