4 ms·

I agree that the article did not talk about racism, or at least discrimination enough. I am a german citizen of Turkish descent and work in IT. I am a native G

by hazn 4y ago

I agree that the article did not talk about racism, or at least discrimination enough. I am a german citizen of Turkish descent and work in IT. I am a native German speaker as I was born and raised in Germany. However, I had to endure countless of sublimely racist comments in many job interviews, ranging from asking where my parents came from to openly asking if I was “like one of the a-social (read: thrashy/criminal) turks”. Even though the demand for workers in IT is high, people like me still face discrimination. I wouldn’t want to know how it is for people who don’t speak German on a native level. Whenever I mentioned this to Germans with a brighter hue than me, they all chalk it up to some bad apples being racist. That is not the reality a lot of middle-eastern/brown looking people deal with. It impacts our day-to-day.

DanielHB 4y ago
Being white south american in europe is quite strange, people (usually old people) ask you were you are from assuming you are going to say germany/france/italy/spain and when you say a country in SA they first frown, then, in their heads, they try to reconcile their views of that country with their views on your skin color. For example I got told several times I don't look Brazilian and one time I remember someone completely changing their attitude (for the worse) after mentioning I was brazilian I have one last name or German origin and one of Portuguese origin, I started putting only the german one in CVs
- hazn 4y ago
  I see! Your story hits home for me. It's interesting to see how the social integration of migrants is judged in middle Europe. People with a Greek and Italian descent share cultural similarities with people of Turkish descent. However, they often have a brighter hue than middle-eastern people. It appears that this fact is critical in how they are treated/thought-of/questioned. Just like the story you just told, looking “white/western” is more important than sharing the cultural values of the country you live in. I apologize for the stupid “white” and “western” terms everyone, I couldn't put better words to such a fickle concept. I also apologize for the overgeneralization, I love Germany and the wider German society.
- 908B64B197 4y ago
  In Germany and Europe there might be another reason why (especially older) people frown at a white German from South-America [0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratlines_(World_War_II) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratlines_(World_War_II)

by hazn 4y ago

DanielHB 4y ago

Being white south american in europe is quite strange, people (usually old people) ask you were you are from assuming you are going to say germany/france/italy/spain and when you say a country in SA they first frown, then, in their heads, they try to reconcile their views of that country with their views on your skin color. For example I got told several times I don't look Brazilian and one time I remember someone completely changing their attitude (for the worse) after mentioning I was brazilian I have one last name or German origin and one of Portuguese origin, I started putting only the german one in CVs

hazn 4y ago
I see! Your story hits home for me. It's interesting to see how the social integration of migrants is judged in middle Europe. People with a Greek and Italian descent share cultural similarities with people of Turkish descent. However, they often have a brighter hue than middle-eastern people. It appears that this fact is critical in how they are treated/thought-of/questioned. Just like the story you just told, looking “white/western” is more important than sharing the cultural values of the country you live in. I apologize for the stupid “white” and “western” terms everyone, I couldn't put better words to such a fickle concept. I also apologize for the overgeneralization, I love Germany and the wider German society.
908B64B197 4y ago
In Germany and Europe there might be another reason why (especially older) people frown at a white German from South-America [0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratlines_(World_War_II) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratlines_(World_War_II)