[igleria]

You know what? You remind me of a middle aged woman who approached me screaming in January 2021 in a station in the U7 in Berlin.

I was lost, looking at a map when a woman approached me. I first thought she was looking to help me, but she came screaming in German WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT FACE MASK, THIS IS GERMANY, YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THE LAW OR GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY.

The facemask I was using was a special face mask developed in Argentina: https://www.conicet.gov.ar/scientists-developed-anti-viral-f...

Of course the woman did not have any idea about that. But instead of asking nicely, she started screaming at me.

You remind me of her alright!

edit: also, giving opinions about my person when you don't know how or why I emigrated from the country I was born and lived for 30 years is in bad taste and reeks of Euro privilege. check YOUR privilege.

[BoredPositron]

The technology of the linked facemasks was novel at the time but they were never certified as medical masks (I used them myself before medical masks were mandatory.), neither in Argentina nor in the EU while also looking like simple cloth masks. At the time she was right to say that you were not following the law. She was not right to say that you should leave the country but I bet you are also not telling us the whole interaction of your anecdote.

Based solely on our discussion, there appears to be a strong sense of entitlement in your positions and a reluctance to acknowledge your own failings while quick to point out procedural errors by others.

[igleria]

> Based solely on our discussion, there appears to be a strong sense of entitlement in your positions and a reluctance to acknowledge your own failings while quick to point out procedural errors by others.

> reluctance to acknowledge your own failings

> I bet you are also not telling us the whole interaction of your anecdote

oh well...

The interaction was exactly that. She only said the words I quoted and left, while I stayed petrified after my first xenophobic encounter in Germany. Only when she was far away I reacted and yelled at her an argentinian insult that has no translation, out of frustration and fear. So typical for a lot of Germans and Argentinians to fake being demented when you tell them there is a racism or xenophobic problem. "surely you misremember", "surely that was not all the dialogue", "I never have seen a racist in my whole life" (ok that last one actually is hyperbolic).

Of course the mask itself was not FFP2 in an official manner, that is a fact today and at that time. That lady had no idea and should have explained to me how important it is for people in Germany to follow the law, no matter what. Instead, she reacted like that. Of course I was in the wrong, and quickly procured myself an FFP2 mask as soon as I could.

You know why I'm leaving Germany?

Because I could not adapt to the culture. I could not learn the language.

Why Ireland? Because I have family there, because I speak their language, because people don't stare at me 24/7 on public transport, because the border police are not mini-dictators that when educated about their own laws scream at you WELCOME TO GERMANY while angrily smashing your Argentinian passport into the small table at the booth. (Now that I am a Polish citizen, I can avoid interacting with those mini dictators. Isn't that what I am supossed to do? Not stay in a country I could not adapt to? I gave it a few years, but family members dying 1000's of kilometers away from you take a toll.

What is YOUR problem, dude? Any more comments on how should I live my life?

Stop being like that, please... Engage in some empathy. Put yourself in someone else's shoes for once.

[BoredPositron]

This seems to be your first sincere comment in this thread, and I'll leave it at that for everyone else to see.

> Any more comments on how should I live my life?

I would also suggest you stop demanding empathy when you demonstrate none yourself. Regarding your anecdote - do you know if that woman was clear minded? Do you know if she hadn't lost a family member to COVID the day before? This highlights the fundamental problem with anecdotal evidence: we can talk in circles, and none of it establishes a meaningful point.

> Stop being like that, please... Engage in some empathy. Put yourself in someone else's shoes for once.

You're right about one thing: I struggle to show empathy for someone who complains about racism while exhibiting racist behavior themselves.