Thilo Sarrazin's Christmas Message of Hate

The man just won't go away.  After dominating the public discourse in Germany following the publication of his bestselling Deutschland schafft sich ab, Sarrazin is featured in the Arts & Entertainment section of the Christmas ediition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung,  No matter that he has sold 1.2 million copies, has been on all the talk shows, and is celebrated as a hero in the street.  Sarrazin is deeply offended that he has been rejected by "the elites".  It is unfortunate that the FAZ has provided the ex-central banker with a forum to spew his venom against chancellor Merkel and anyone else among "the elite" who disapprove of his crude racial theories.   But Thilo Sarrazin has moved beyond the anger.  Now he just harbors a "deep contempt" for all who disagree with him:

"Stattdessen machte sich Verachtung in mir breit. Diese Verachtung sitzt mittlerweile tief".

Sarrazin's contempt has assumed megalomaniac proportions: he claims that he could have precipitated a crisis in government (Staatskrise) if he had been so inclined. 

But Sarrazin does include one helpful piece of advice in his Christmas tirade: he encourages everyone to read Geothe's West-östlicher Divan in order to understand the true nature of Islam.  I intend to do just that in 2011.

Jakob Augstein in Der Freitag has a good analysis of Sarrazin's Christmas piece:

(Sarrazin) bedient sich der Argumentationstechniken, die man von Rechtsradikalen kennt oder von Scientologen. Er lügt einfach. Und wenn er widerlegt wird, leugnet er auch das. Die Lüge ist das Wesen der Demagogie. Wir sind an die Lüge nicht gut gewöhnt. Es ist nicht einfach, in der Öffentlichkeit mit der Lüge umzugehen. Der Lügner hat es leicht. Er behauptet. Der einzige Weg, mit einem gewohnheitsmäßigen Lügner umzugehen, ist ihm das Wort zu entziehen. Aber die FAZ hat zu Weihnachten einem Lügner das Wort erteilt.

(Sarrazin uses the same rhetorical techniques that we see with right-wing extremists and Scientologists. He just lies. And when he is disputed, he simply denies everything.  Lying is the essence of demogoguery.  We're just not that accustomed to lying.  It's not easy to deal with lying openly in public.  But the liar has it easy: he just has to open his mouth. The only way to handle a habitual liar is to silence him.  But on Christmas the FAZ has provided a liar with a forum.) 

Here's to hoping that Thilo Sarrazin will withdraw from the public eye in 2011 and take his $$millions far away - perhaps Mallorca. And we won't hear from him again....

 

Comments

[GS]

The truth will not "just go away." Muslims are not good for Germany. They are however good for destroying Germany, which is what is wanted here.

[David]

"Muslims are not good for Germany."

No, Sarrazin and his neo-Nazi sympathizers are not good for Germany.

And only a fool would see the "truth" in Sarrazin's pseudo-scientific racist theories...

[Hattie]

Sarrazin is dangerous, because he sounds reasonable. He encourages awful people like Heinz Duthel.

[Brandon]

"Here's to hoping that Thilo Sarrazin with withdraw from the public eye in 2001..."

Just two corrections:

"will withdraw"

"in 2011"

[Zyme]

Maybe he will be frustrated enough by the elites in 2011 to found a new party. That would be a step forward in this country.

So many people read his book and had their assumptions reinforced by it. I am sure this has a long term effect in our society, whether he heads a new movement or not.

[David]

@Zyme,

There already is a party that represents the view of the racial superiority of the German Volk. It is just waiting for a charismatic leader like your hero Thilo.