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No, "philistine" is actually quite right. That's how Jesus Christ called them. You could also call them submissive, hypocrite squareheaded cowards. The "Spieß

by zmix 7y ago

No, "philistine" is actually quite right. That's how Jesus Christ called them. You could also call them submissive, hypocrite squareheaded cowards. The "Spieß" seems to translate to "skewer", "spit", "pike". So, they sting, but are not very sharp. They always side with the authority du jour, because that keeps them safe.

indigo945 7y ago
The translation is correct, but your interpretation is wrong. "Spießbürger" is a medieval term, referring to citizens enlisted in a city's defense forces as spearmen, and was originally used derogatorily by the upper classes, who were mounted on horses instead. Later, it was mostly used by students to ridicule the "uneducated" masses. See famous German poet Heinrich Heine (translated from the Wikipedia article): "In general, the residents of Göttingen are divided into students, professors, philistines, and beasts... The number of philistines of Göttingen is rather large, like sand, or more precisely, like shit by the seashore; truly, when I saw them in the morning, with their dirty faces and white invoices, before the gates of the academic court, I could barely believe how God could create so much scum." The modern use of the word, referring to somebody who is petty, obedient to any authority, bland and unpleasant, was probably shaped by Ödön von Horvath's novel "Der ewige Spießer" (The Eternal Philistine). The pejorative was popular among German students in the wake of the anti-fascist protests of 1968, referring to those set in their (Nazi) ways due to lack of critical thinking. Note: Most of this comment is just me summarizing the German Wikipedia article on the word. I am not a philologist.
- zmix 7y ago
  Thank you for the interesting reference to Heine., which is nicely translated, btw. I didn't know this. I assumed, the "spearmen" background, however, I find the analogy to be, probably by accident, to have a much wider reach, which I can not really communicate in English, since the vocabulary differs too much for that. Thanks for the interesting comment.

by zmix 7y ago

indigo945 7y ago

The translation is correct, but your interpretation is wrong. "Spießbürger" is a medieval term, referring to citizens enlisted in a city's defense forces as spearmen, and was originally used derogatorily by the upper classes, who were mounted on horses instead. Later, it was mostly used by students to ridicule the "uneducated" masses. See famous German poet Heinrich Heine (translated from the Wikipedia article): "In general, the residents of Göttingen are divided into students, professors, philistines, and beasts... The number of philistines of Göttingen is rather large, like sand, or more precisely, like shit by the seashore; truly, when I saw them in the morning, with their dirty faces and white invoices, before the gates of the academic court, I could barely believe how God could create so much scum." The modern use of the word, referring to somebody who is petty, obedient to any authority, bland and unpleasant, was probably shaped by Ödön von Horvath's novel "Der ewige Spießer" (The Eternal Philistine). The pejorative was popular among German students in the wake of the anti-fascist protests of 1968, referring to those set in their (Nazi) ways due to lack of critical thinking. Note: Most of this comment is just me summarizing the German Wikipedia article on the word. I am not a philologist.

zmix 7y ago
Thank you for the interesting reference to Heine., which is nicely translated, btw. I didn't know this. I assumed, the "spearmen" background, however, I find the analogy to be, probably by accident, to have a much wider reach, which I can not really communicate in English, since the vocabulary differs too much for that. Thanks for the interesting comment.