| Same can be said for West Germany. The horror stories are overwhelmingly from the former East Germany and Berlin. I'm not trying to defend what is going on "over there", but you have to realize that Germany is, in many respects, still not one country and will remain so for a very long time. Whenever you hear people speak of German unification, keep the following in mind: While we were incredibly lucky that there was no bloodshed, the people of East Germany were completely screwed in the process. More than twenty years after the beginning, it is misleading to speak of unification. What happened was an annexation. Every part of East German society was uprooted, down to the most minuscule. Massive labor migration to the west completely changed demographics, with many young women leaving but fewer young men doing so. Wherever you have conditions such as these in any European country, Skinheads and the like will start appearing. As if it was some perverse rule of nature. Maybe we're screwed. Maybe it is an emergent trait of European culture. I hope it isn't. |