The Myth of Left-WIng Violence

I have to hand it German family minister (Dr.) Kristina  Köhler-Schröder  (concerning her "doctorate", see this article).  Not only has she managed to diffuse criticism of right-wing extremist violence by equating it with "left-wing extremist violence", but she has managed to conflate leftist activism with Islamic fundamentalism.  In her speeches and press releases she always combines in one phrase "leftist and Islamic" extremism.  In a speech before the Bundestag she dismissed neo-Nazi violence - which has resulted in at least 140 deaths - as harmless Hakenkreuzschmierereien (swastika-graffiti).  Representing Hesse, she never spoke out against NPD marches or violent attacks on citizens by neo-Nazis.  But she had plenty to say about alleged "anti-German racism" of Turkish youth. 

Reading the numerous readers' comments to this article on Frau Dr. Schröder, it appears she has been wildly successful in linking Islamic terrorism with "left-wing violence" in people's minds:

Todesopfer linker Gewalt nicht bekannt?

Schonmal was von den Todesopfern der RAF gehört?

Und schoon vergessen, dass die Terroristen des 11. September zum Teil aus Deutschland kamen?

Und von den weit über 100 deutschen Opfern von islamistischem Terrorismus?

(Never heard of anyone killed by left-wing violence?  Ever heard to the victims of the RAF?  Did you forget about the Sept. 11 terrorists who came out of Germany? And the more than 100 victims of Islamic terrorism?)

There is nothing "leftist" about Islamic terrorism.  If anything, the world-view of fundamentalist Islamic extremists has more in common the völkisch fantasies of the neo-Nazis.  Both are characterized by a hyper-reactionary worldview that rejects the principles of democracy and human equality. 

And what is the evidence of growing "left-wing violence" in Germany?  The incidents of "leftist" violent attacks on individuals is entirely restricted to clashes with neo-Nazis whom local officials allow to march unimpeded in some towns in Saxony and Bavaria.  Otherwise, officials point to the luxury cars that have been vandalized and set on fire in Berlin, although the police admit they don't know who exactly is behind these crimes against property. 

It is interesting to note what constitutes "violence" among right-wing bloggers in Germany.  When the police in Dresden prevented neo-Nazis from conducting their Trauermarsch ("Mourning Procession) through the streets of the city, this was denounced by bloggers such as GeistesWelt as itself an act of violence against free speech.  The "Violence Prevention" tactics of the police are criticized as "NewSpeak" that benefits only the "rote Neu-Nazis".  Presumably these bloggers would have been pleased to see thousands of skinheads carrying banners concerning the "Bomben-Holocaust" and screaming "Ausländer 'raus!"

Comments

[hattie]

Well, she's blond(ish) and good looking. What more do you want?

[Volker]

You might want to give some context to your numbers. 140 in the last year, decade or since reunification?
And I don't see how she puts left in one pot with Islamic terrorism. Granted the passage is a little confusing, but I don't think she wanted to link those two. I could be wrong haven't read the whole thing and probably won't in the future.
And just to make it clear, I have no love for the right. I think they should all be put in a bag and get a good spanking, but I also think that the left should be stuck in the same bag.
The left is just as bad as the right if you ask me, but because everyone is panicking about a new Hitler they forget that we could have just as easily a new Stalin on our hands (hyperbole intended).

[David]

@Volker,

Yes, but the issue is "linke Gewalt" and the effort by politicians to equate this right-wing violence.

I don't think the data support this at all. The biggest threat of violence still comes from right-wing groups.

[hattie]

I'm always reminded of a game my daughter used to play with our tiny poodle dog. Whenever it ran toward her, she would back away, pretending to be very frightened! They could play this game by the hour. It was a great pastime.
That's about the danger level that "linke Gewalt" poses.

[Volker]

No it's not hattie, I think there is some cultural bias going on when it comes to the dangers of "linke Gewalt" as you two put it. Granted they haven't killed quite as many as the Nazis, but they surpass them in every other field of terror. Ranging from burning cars to the "Mai Krawalle" and if I would ask a cop which demonstration he would more like to "protect", he would probably say a right one (pun not intended), because they don't normally throw stones or spit on you.
So Andrew maybe right and left violence is like apples and oranges, you can't really compare them, but in my honest opinion they are each as destructive and dangerous as the other. But because the left is seen as anti-nazi, and there is still that big spectre Hitler going around here, it is seen as a the lesser evil.

[David]

From Bundestag.de - crimes categorized as "politically-motivated" for December 2009. Note the violent attacks against "foreigners" - all coming from right-wing extremists.

Im Dezember 2009 wurden insgesamt 903 Straftaten gemeldet, die dem Phänomenbereich ‘Politisch motivierte Kriminalität – rechts’ zugeordnet wurden. Darunter waren 41 Gewalttaten und 632 Propagandadelikte. 212 Straftaten, darunter 47 Propagandadelikte und 22 Gewalttaten, wurden dem Themenfeld ‘Hasskriminalität’ zugeordnet. Bei 135 Straftaten, darunter 28 Propagandadelikte und 22 Gewalttaten, konnte ein fremdenfeindlicher Hintergrund festgestellt werden.

[ty allen]

20,000,000 killed by Stalin....'nuff said.