Bescheuer-ism
As the German election results were published on TV, I was engrossed in interesting fodder online while my roomate Jan was sucked into the live coverage. The announcements were made and he was a bit dissapointed to say the least (see following column). He spoke with Hilmaron the phone and I overheard them discussing the results; primarily the fact that the PDS (the former Communist Party) had received 8.7% of the vote. To that end, I heard Jan cry out: “Wie bescheuert sind sie?!?” I wasn’t totally clear on the meaning of this text so I immersed myself further into the internet and found this translation of the statement:
“one beer short of a six-pack”
“one sandwich short of a picnic”
“to have one’s head stuck up one’s arse”
As it turns out, 25% of the people in the former East voted for the PDS. Now, before I get off on a rant here, let it be known that I am no Ossi hater. I will defend the East and the problems there to tooth and nail should someone (especially some Wessi who has never been further East than Alexanderplatz) speak ill of her. Now that that’s clarified: How friggin BESCHEUERT are these people?!? 25%?!? Are you effing kidding me? Didn’t we fight a 40 year war over this? Didn’t one side decisively come out on top?!? (And in case you missed the results, take a walk through the two Berlins and you will still see the contributions of the respected regimes.)
Sixteen years ago, the Berlin Wall fell in what was possibly one of the greatest triumphs of the Human Spirit in history. A vote for the former Communist Party that instilled those measures is a slap to the face of this monumental event! Added to that, it has been reported that several unofficial members of the former Stasi Secret State Police of East Germany currently hold seats within this Party and the current Government. Are you kidding me…?!? Did you like your travel restrictions? Did you like the microphones in your telephones? How ‘bout those bananas?
Because I know the curiosity is there: I would have voted for the FDP in the previous election. There is far too much babying in the German government. People need to step out and take care of things on their own, especially in a time of uncertainty like this. I do not agree with everything the FDP has to say, but the most pressing issue facing Germany today is the economy, or more appropriately the lack there-of. In order to spur that economy, the government needs to make it much more appealing for larger business to settle in Germany (which means slashing these ridiculously high taxes) while also making the process easier for small businesses to settle themselves (which means a slashing of Beauracracy). Several social attitudes also need to change regarding employment but we can save these frustrations for a later rant.
If you voted for the PDS, please let me know why. I am always trying to understand things. And this is a phenomeneon that eludes me.