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> "My children will now always have the right to study, work, live and love abroad. That can’t be taken away from them. I am incredibly proud I have given that

by uasm 7y ago

> "My children will now always have the right to study, work, live and love abroad. That can’t be taken away from them. I am incredibly proud I have given that to them. And now that I have the personal, individual right to do the same – a right that no politician can take away from me – I find my horizons widening too." I share her happiness and enthusiasm, and commend her for acting on her beliefs. But this quote from the very end of the article is what many Brits believed to be the truth, up until Brexit. One important lesson here - nothing is forever. A wave of xenophobia and nationalism is sweeping the world and separatism is back in fashion. Freedom is under threat.

sparkling 7y ago
I know this is hard to belive for some people but you don't need to be a xenophobe/nastionalist to have voted for "leave". The insults really don't help anyone.
- ollie87 7y ago
  Not all the people who voted leave are xenophobe/nationalist/racist, but all the xenophobes/nationalists/racists voted to leave.
  - RcouF1uZ4gsC 7y ago
    Not all people who voted remain want to exploit immigrants to keep wages down. But all people who want to exploit immigrants to keep wages down voted for remain.
    - rvieira 7y ago
      I think that someone wishing to exploit immigrants and keeping wages down would actually vote for Brexit. With Brexit, a "race to the bottom" and bonfire of EU work regulations is more likely.
      - ollie87 7y ago
        Agreed, above commenter is a bloody loon.
- uasm 7y ago
  > "I know this is hard to belive for some people but you don't need to be a xenophobe/nastionalist to have voted for "leave". The insults really don't help anyone." You are absolutely right and I wasn't trying to equate the two. To be clear - I will not label leave voters as xenophobes or nationalists, and I don't dispute the legitimacy of voting "leave". My concrete point was: having a German passport is not necessarily a guarantee of all the freedoms she's seeking for herself and her children.
RobertRoberts 7y ago
I have made friends with a German family that homeschooled their children. They had to escape Germany (early 2000s) because the German government was going to take their children from them. They successfully applied for political asylum in the US. Germany is hardly a bastion of freedom some may think.
- pintxo 7y ago
  Depending on your definition of freedom. Regarding the case of home schooling, the German position is that the state is required legally to ensure equal opportunity education for everyone. Parents therefore are legally required to send their kids to (public/approved/registered) schools. While debatable, I‘d vote that‘s a good thing, as it ensures a minimum level of education for every kids.
  - RobertRoberts 7y ago
    Are you saying state sponsored kidnapping (Germany) is preferable to state monitored home schooling (US)?
    - dakna 7y ago
      A democratic society agrees on laws, that can be changed through a certain process. Germany decided that not only the parents are responsible for the education of the next generation, but also the government. Therefore the equivalent to the US child protective service has the right to enforce that law, just like in the US, where kids are separated from their parents if they break the child protection law. This has nothing to do with kidnapping.
      - RobertRoberts 7y ago
        From the US perspective, where the refugees fled to, it is exactly state sponsored kidnapping. >Germany decided that not only the parents are responsible for the education of the next generation, but also the government. Not long ago Germany "decided" to make other laws that were used against Jews, were these just laws? Do you support the laws in Brunei that allow certain people to be killed based on their sexual preferences? These are not hypothetical situations, this is reality for people. A refugee family from modern Germany was granted asylum in the US based on US definition of freedom, not Germany's, which is historically horrific.

by uasm 7y ago

sparkling 7y ago

I know this is hard to belive for some people but you don't need to be a xenophobe/nastionalist to have voted for "leave". The insults really don't help anyone.

ollie87 7y ago
Not all the people who voted leave are xenophobe/nationalist/racist, but all the xenophobes/nationalists/racists voted to leave.
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 7y ago
  Not all people who voted remain want to exploit immigrants to keep wages down. But all people who want to exploit immigrants to keep wages down voted for remain.
  - rvieira 7y ago
    I think that someone wishing to exploit immigrants and keeping wages down would actually vote for Brexit. With Brexit, a "race to the bottom" and bonfire of EU work regulations is more likely.
    - ollie87 7y ago
      Agreed, above commenter is a bloody loon.
uasm 7y ago
> "I know this is hard to belive for some people but you don't need to be a xenophobe/nastionalist to have voted for "leave". The insults really don't help anyone." You are absolutely right and I wasn't trying to equate the two. To be clear - I will not label leave voters as xenophobes or nationalists, and I don't dispute the legitimacy of voting "leave". My concrete point was: having a German passport is not necessarily a guarantee of all the freedoms she's seeking for herself and her children.

RobertRoberts 7y ago

I have made friends with a German family that homeschooled their children. They had to escape Germany (early 2000s) because the German government was going to take their children from them. They successfully applied for political asylum in the US. Germany is hardly a bastion of freedom some may think.

pintxo 7y ago
Depending on your definition of freedom. Regarding the case of home schooling, the German position is that the state is required legally to ensure equal opportunity education for everyone. Parents therefore are legally required to send their kids to (public/approved/registered) schools. While debatable, I‘d vote that‘s a good thing, as it ensures a minimum level of education for every kids.
- RobertRoberts 7y ago
  Are you saying state sponsored kidnapping (Germany) is preferable to state monitored home schooling (US)?
  - dakna 7y ago
    A democratic society agrees on laws, that can be changed through a certain process. Germany decided that not only the parents are responsible for the education of the next generation, but also the government. Therefore the equivalent to the US child protective service has the right to enforce that law, just like in the US, where kids are separated from their parents if they break the child protection law. This has nothing to do with kidnapping.
    - RobertRoberts 7y ago
      From the US perspective, where the refugees fled to, it is exactly state sponsored kidnapping. >Germany decided that not only the parents are responsible for the education of the next generation, but also the government. Not long ago Germany "decided" to make other laws that were used against Jews, were these just laws? Do you support the laws in Brunei that allow certain people to be killed based on their sexual preferences? These are not hypothetical situations, this is reality for people. A refugee family from modern Germany was granted asylum in the US based on US definition of freedom, not Germany's, which is historically horrific.