Humor from Germany
A friend in Germany sent me a July 9 article from From Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. It was published in English and presents itself as a US State Department memo to President Bush about his upcoming visit to Germany. Who knew that someone in the mainstream media (MSM) in Germany had such an Onion-like sensibility?Here are some excerpts relevant to comparative politics:
"How German Politics Works
"We cannot go into detail here, but the chancellor is a "Christian Democrat" - think Republicans minus the death penalty, if you can.
"The other big party is the "Social Democrats" - basically, left-wingers like Teddy Kennedy, but with fewer sex scandals (and smaller houses).
"There are rumors that there are other parties in the German parliament as well, but the CIA has been unable to find them...
"What NOT to Say
"Not even Germans understand the Germans; they are a very, very complex people. That is especially true for people in the former East Germany who feel more cheated by history than AI Gore.
"As a result, talking to them can be difficult, even though many of them know English. When you want to make a little "conservation" (your phrase) with eastern Germans [the area President Bush will visit], these phrases are a big no-no:
- "So,were you a Communist, too?"
- "What kind of job do you have?"
- "How about a prayer before we eat?”
- "I notice there's not a lot of black people around. Are they afraid to come here?" (Laughing to show you are only joking makes things worse.)
posted by Ken Wedding @ 10:33 AM
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