[throwbadubadu]

> I never understood how the idea of HOAs became acceptable.

I do.. it is the canonization and highest wish of all the what we call a https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spie%C3%9Fb%C3%BCrger in Germany :D

"A Spießbürger is a derogatory term for a narrow-minded person who is characterized by mental immobility, pronounced conformity to social norms and aversion to changes in the usual living environment."

[jjgreen]

To be fair, the Germans have a word for everything

Look, a man with a duck on his head

We Germans have a word for that: Quacksalberaufdekopfmann

[Detrytus]

To be fair, German form such words just by writing the whole sentence without any spaces or hyphens, like "Amanwithaduckonhishead"

[throwbadubadu]

Get the point, but no, actually not, we join nouns, not sentences ;) (but english does, too, just with spaces between?)

Further especially that word few germans could tell you why it is called like that:

Spieß is spear, so Spießbürger/Spießer is just a spear citizen, or a speary?! ;)

(One explanation is the medieval simple citizen that could not afford a better weapon than a simple spear. Not even sure if the only explanation attempt though..)

[em-bee]

the funny thing is that a Spießbürger is someone who in english could be described as having a stick up their rear.

[generic92034]

Yeah, but do not forget how we are even codifying quite narrow-minded views about how someone should build their house in Bauordnungen (building code). My parents had to sue to build their house with a pitched roof, even though one neighboring house already had the same. And do not get me started on Denkmalschutz (monument protection?) ...

[pantalaimon]

Yea here the government removed a mural from a hostel facade because it 'disturbed' the monument protected building adjacent to it.

https://www.rbb24.de/panorama/beitrag/2024/04/berlin-hostel-...