Dialog International

Racist Tweets Against Mesut Özil

The UEFA Euro 2012 compettition has been a delight to watch.  Unfortunately the multicultural makeup of the teams has revealed an ugly side of European soccer fans: 

Multiculturalism, of course, is the bête noire (pun intended) of the racist far right that loves to drape itself in national flags, conjuring up fantasies of racial purity, sometimes with murderous consequences, as in the case of Norwegian killer Anders Breivik. And it's precisely because football represents the most multicultural reflection of an evolving European identity that the game is also a magnet for toxic racism.

Despite the success (so far) of the German team, there have been racist remarks against team members of non-German ethnic backgrounds.  Some of the most hateful comments have been directed at Mesut Özil, who was born in Germany,  but whose family comes from Turkey.  Özil and his father, however, have decided take action:  

MUNICH - Mesut Ozil’s management has registered complaints against persons unknown for racist remarks made through social network Twitter.

Ozil’s advisor Roland Eitel on Tuesday said that the move is designed to deter others from similar action. Ozil’s father said that he wants the person(s) to be identified.

Tweets in which Ozil was the target of racist statements occurred during Germany’s last Uefa Euro 2012 group game against Denmark. The user tweeted that Ozil was no real German and that the national team should only consist of players with German names.

Ozil is of Turkish descent and was born in Germany. News reports said the profile was started under the name @PiratenOnline. The name appeared to misuse the big Internet presence of Germany’s Pirates Party, which said it had nothing to do with the tweets and distanced itself from them.

Twitter reportedly closed the account after some 3 000 tweets and protests from other users.

But the abuse doesn't end there.  The völkisch-national weekly paper Junge Freiheit heaps scorn on Mesut Özil and his father, noting that while Mesut may technically be a German citizen (Staatsangehörigkeit), he is alien to the German Volk (Volkszugehörigkeit).  One gets the sense that the right-wing editors at Junge Freiheit and its neo-Nazi friends would much rather have a racially pure losing team than a winning multicultural team. 

Clemens Wergin: Germany must lose the Euro 2012 Championship

The German soccer team has performed well in the 2012 European Championship, winning its first three contests and reaching the quarter-finals.  On Friday Germany faces Greece and is the overwhelming favorite to win and advance to the sem-final.  But Die Welt columnists Clemens Wergin, writing in The New York Times, is hoping for a Greek upset: 

Germany is a favorite to win the 2012 championship now under way in Poland and Ukraine, having chalked up decisive wins in its first two games this week. Domestic bliss should reign in my home. So why does the foreign-policy guy in me keep hoping Germany will lose?

The painful fact is that a German victory over the rest of Europe would strengthen a notion that many Europeans harbor already: that the Continent is ruled by a new regional superpower.

If Greece should prevail, there will be an outpouring of euphoria and a national celebration.  But reality will set in the next day, and Greeks still will face the austerity-induced misery of day-to-day existence.  And they will continue to blame Germany for their woes.

What is it that keeps millions of soccer fans in Germany and Greece glued to their television sets for 80 minutes, watching young athletes kick a ball up and down a field?  Harald Lange, who runs the Institut für Fankultur in Cologne has identified three factors:

1. Ursache: Die Bedeutungslosigkeit

Objektiv gesehen hat es für die Zuschauer keine persönlichen Konsequenzen, ob die Lieblingsmannschaft verliert oder gewinnt. Der Chef wird nicht netter, der Kontostand nicht erfreulicher und die Schwiegermutter nicht zahmer. Gerade das ermöglicht es den Fans jedoch, sich den Emotionen beim Zuschauen voll hinzugeben und aus ihrer Haut zu gehen. Wer sich in ein Fußballspiel hineinsteigert, kann extreme Freude und Leidenschaft erleben - ohne dass er persönliche Nachteile fürchten muss.

(1. Meaninglessness:  The truth is that there are no personal consequences to the fans whether the favorite team wins or loses. Your boss won't be any nice to you, your bank account will not be fatter nor will your mother-in-law be any nice.  But that is precisely why fans can give into their emotions and go wild while watching the game. WHen you immerse yourself in a soccer match you can experience extreme joy and passion - without being worried about any negative personal consequences. )

2. Ursache: Die Spielstruktur

Eine weitere Besonderheit des Fußballs ist seine Unberechenbarkeit. Sie treibt Fans an den Rand des Wahnsinns, in die Aufregung hinein, in seltenen und tragischen Fällen sogar bis hin zum Herzinfarkt, wie eine Studie der Universität München zur Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 2006 zeigt. "Die Leute gehen zum Fußball, weil sie nicht wissen, wie das Spiel ausgeht", sagte schon Sepp Herberger, dem 1954 als Bundestrainer mit seiner Mannschaft das Wunder von Bern gelang.

(2. The Structure of the Game. A further peculiarity of soccer is its unpredictability. It drives fans to the brink of insanity, to extreme excitement, and in a few tragic cases even to heart attacks, as shown in a study by the University of Munich on the 2006 World Cup. "People go to see soccer because they don't know what the outcome will be,"  said Sepp Herberger, who achieved the "Miracle of Bern" as coach of the 1954 German national team)

3. Das Gemeinschaftsgefüge

"Die Menschen suchen im Fußball in erster Linie Unterhaltung und Spaß", sagt Lange. "Hinzu kommt aber auch die Identifikation und die Zugehörigkeit." Sie zeigt sich an den Trikots und Fanschals. Sie manifestiert sich in Stadiongesängen, in die bis zu 80.000 Fans im Stadion einstimmten. Und in den Gesprächen. Selbst wenn Menschen ein Spiel allein vor dem Fernseher gucken, tauschen sie sich anschließend in der Regel darüber aus. Auch Autokorsos haben zum Ziel, die gemeinsame Freude zu zelebrieren.

(3. The communal feeling."People turn to soccer primariyl for entertainment and fun," says Lange. "But there is also the sense of belonging." This is displayed in the team shirts and scarves. It manifests iteslf in the stadium songs, sung by up to 80,000 fans in the stadium. And then in conversations. Even when people watch a game alone in front of the TV they talk about it aftewards with others. )

So let's enjoy the "beautiful game" and then talk about it aftewards.  I'm cheering for the German team, but  - and this is the beauty of the sport - Clemens Wergin's wish could come true!

Interview Project Germany

American filmmaker Austin Lynch (son of director David Lynch) has teamed up with Judith Keil to create Interview Project Germany.  Austin and Judith take a road trip throughout Germany and interview random people along the way.  Each interview is basically a 5 minute monologue by the subject, and follow the same format.  Each interview is introduced by David Lynch and then the camera pans the surrounding area, giving the viewer a sense of the physical environment.  The subjects are of every age and come from all walks of life. 

The interviews reveal a world of pain.  The people share stories of loss, separation, health crises, and shattered dreams.  But somehow they also leave one with a feeling of optimism and profound respect for human resilience.

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Dirk's Quest

I am a die-hard Boston Celtics fan, but I am rooting for Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.  This is Dirk's year, a pay-off for his years of hard work and loyalty to Dallas.  He led his team to a historic comeback the other night with his team down by 15 points with less than 8 minutes left in the game.  The kid from Würzburg showed both game and heart, prompting instant comparisons to the great Michael Jordan. 

But would Michael Jordan have forfeited $5 million in salary to allow his team to acquire other talent?  In this era where professional sports is dominated by greed Dirk Nowitzki stands alone: 

Dirk Nowitzki ist ein globaler Superstar, aber er ist auch, nicht nur dem Trikot nach, ein Maverick. Seit sich ein texanischer Großgrundbesitzer dieses Namens im 19. Jahrhundert weigerte, seine Rinder zu brandmarken, beschreibt das Wort im Amerikanischen einen Freigeist, einen, der von der Norm abweicht. Nowitzki tut das nicht, weil er partout auffallen wollte oder das große Statement suchen würde. Eher im Gegenteil. Aber er hat etwas im heldenfixierten Sport dieser Tage sehr Seltenes geschafft und sich seine Romantik behalten. Er ist ein leidenschaftlicher Athlet geblieben und ein ziemlich natürlicher Mensch.

(Dirk Nowitzki is a global superstar, but he also - and not just because of his uniform - a maverick. Ever since a Texan rancher with this name refused to brand his cattle back in the 19th century, the word describes an American type of free spirit, one who deviates from the norm.  Nowitzki does this not because he wants to stand out or wants to make a grand statement. Just the opposite.  But he has accomplished something unique in the era where everyone is fixated on sports heroes and held on to his romantic spirit. He remains a passionate athlete and a pretty normal human being.) 

I hope that Dallas will go on and defeat Miami for the championship. But whatever the outcome, Dirk Nowitzki has brought excitement, emotion and honor back into a sport that sorely needs it.

"Multikulti" Nightmare

Germany failed to make it into the finals, but all in all it was a successful World Cup for the young, multicultural team, which also won praise from the international community.  Still, the recriminations have started from certain quarters.  Michael Paulwitz, a commentator for Der Stürmer Junge Freiheit, provides us with a völkisch analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the German team. 

For Paulwitz, the success of the German team does NOT represent a triumph of multiculturalism - far from it. The real strength of the team was its Führer - or rather, coach:

Auf die Führung kommt es an. Und die Führungsqualitäten von Joachim Löw sind überragend.

(It comes down to leadership.  And Joachim Löw has superior leadership qualities.) 

But what about the "immigrant" players? Don't they deserve some of the credit.  Nonesense. For Paulwitz most of them are not immigrants at all - but rather vollblutig German.  

Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski und Piotr Trochowski sind nämlich schon mal keine „Polen“, sondern Deutsche aus Oppeln, Gleiwitz beziehungsweise Dirschau. (...)Lukas Podolski mag man mit seinem Nationalhymnenproblem dem „schwimmenden Volkstum“ zuordnen, das es in Oberschlesien auch vor der polnischen Annexion schon gab. Ein ethnischer Deutscher ist er trotzdem.

(Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski and Piotr Trochowski aren't really Poles at all, but rather Germans from Oppeln, Gleiwitz and Dirshaus.  Podolski is part or the "fluid ethnicity" that existed in Upper Silesia even before the Polish annexation.  But he is still an ethnic German.)

Paulwitz can even accept some of the other other "Migranten" players, since they have a German parent and are therefore at least halbblutig and therefore Mischlinge.  Even the black player - Cacau from Brazil - elicits some sympathy, since he is a devout Christian, which compensates somewhat for his ethnic weakness.

Paulwitz has nothing but condemnation for the  "Turk" - Mesut Özil - not only because he is a Muslim, but because he has become rich and famous with his German passport and yet still retains much of his ethnic heritage.  Interesting to read the comments as well, for many of the readers blamed the loss to Spain on Özil - conveniently ignoring the fact that it was  Özi's brilliant play that got them into the semi-final round. They also bemoan the absence of the vollblutig German  Thomas Müller (Dieser ist tief in seiner bayerischen Heimat und Kultur verwurzelt / He is deeply rooted in his Bavarian homeland and cutlure), and they point to the ethnic cohesion of the Spanish team as the key to their victory over the "Multikulti" German team.

But I will give Paulwitz some credit for his more imaginative and nuanced racism which compares favorably to the crude racism of his sister publication in the the US  - Alternative Right.  Check out the piece on the World Cup: White Man's Game. 

World Cup an "Opium for the Masses"?

After Germany knocked England out of the World Cup I guess some observers in the UK want to ruin the fun for the rest of us.  The British writer Terry Eagleton writes  in Der Freitag that soccer/football is an reactionary capitalist plot designed to divert the masses from effecting socialist change . - Treuer Freund des Kapitalismus: 

Wenn alle konservativen Denkfabriken dieser Welt versuchen würden, einen Plan auszuhecken, wie die Bevölkerung am besten von politischen Ungerechtigkeiten abgelenkt und Kompensation für ihr tristes Arbeitsleben erhalten könnte, kämen alle zu demselben Ergebnis: Fußball. Es wurde bislang noch kein geeigneteres Mittel ersonnen, um die Probleme des Kapitalismus zu lösen, selbst dem Sozialismus ist er um Lichtjahre voraus.

(The original English in The Guardian): 

(If every rightwing thinktank came up with a scheme to distract the populace from political injustice and compensate them for lives of hard labour, the solution in each case would be the same: football. No finer way of resolving the problems of capitalism has been dreamed up, bar socialism. And in the tussle between them, football is several light years ahead.)

Talk about Sour Grapes!  If England had won,  Eagleton would have been tarred and feathered for expressing these sentiments.  As it is, I suspect that many in Britain would concur - until next season.

Football/Soccer, Eagleton concludes must be eliminated if true socialism ever has a chance:

Keiner, der ernsthaft an politischer Veränderung interessiert ist, kann die Tatsache verleugnen, dass das Spiel abgeschafft werden müsste.

(Nobody serious about political change can shirk the fact that the game has to be abolished.)

In fact, many communists love soccer.  The German Communist Party (DKP) is celebrating its Sommerfest in Berlin, and took time out to watch Germany beat Argentina.  They simply turned off the sound when the German national anthem was played.

 

Watch the video over at Politblogger.

Right-wingers mourn success of Germany in the World Cup

While most Germans were thrilled at the victory of their national team over Ghana at the World Cup 2010, a small group of right-wing observers were in mourning.  You see, the star player on the team - and the one who scored the winning goal - is Mesut Ozil, a young German of Turkish background. And worse than being a Turk, in their eyes, is the fact that Ozil is an observant Muslim. The German team this year reflects a new "multi-cultural" Germany hated by the German right.  Ozil is the latest star addition to an increasingly diverse German line-up. But although the names sound exotic, Sami Khedira, Mario Gomez, Jerome Boateng, and Dennis Aogo are all the sons of German mothers and immigrant fathers - Tunisian, Spanish, Ghanaian and Nigerian respectively.

Writing in the right-wing libertarian magazine eigentümlich frei, Ronald Glaeser is depressed by Mesut Ozil's success:

Der gebürtige Türke singt nach eigener Aussage die Nationalhymne nicht mit, sondern betet Koranverse, wenn die Melodie gespielt wird. Tolle Integration ist das.

(The Turkish-born Ozil (note: he was born in Gelsenkirchen in 1988 -DV) admits that he doesn't sing along with the national anthem - and recites verse from the Koran as the melody is played. Great example of integration. )

Others cannot get over the fact that Mesut Ozil has a beautiful German girlfriend who converted to Islam. The online hate forum Die Grüne Pest has a long thread dealing with this "abomination".  Of course, the hate blog Politically Incorrect also weighs in on the matter:

Aber wer – außer ein Moslem – erwartet so einen Schritt vom Partner?

(Who, besides a Muslim, would expect his partner to do this?) 

While the right-wing Germans are upset at the success of Muslim players, their American cousins over at Alternative Right celebrate the superiority of white soccer players. The losses by the teams from Africa in the World Cup "prove" that "black men can't kick."