Shock Mom and Dad: Become a Neo-Nazi
Liberal parents who tolerate sex, drugs, and rock are hard to shock. Here’s an idea: why not become a Neo-Nazi?...
German young people, faced with liberal parents who are tolerant about sex, drugs and rock and roll, are increasingly rebelling by turning to right-wing extremism. Neo-nazi fashion, music and ideology have become an ever important part of German youth culture.
Where did this "German" image come from? It's hard to say who the first person was to show up to a party in a Lonsdale shirt, curse "the Russians" or download the latest CDs by Bremen's Germanic renegade heavy metal band Kategorie C.
But Christian, Stefan and Andy don't really care how it all started. They see just themselves as good kids, living in decent families in a small city west of Munich. They're in their late teens, about to graduate from high school. And they say that there are too many foreigners "in our country." They say that "they" should leave, and that then things would be sure to get better.
Article
The EU and Germany have attempted to ban certain symbols such as the swastika. I think this actually creates more harm than good for many reasons. One concern is who determines what is acceptable or not. In the United States, we have freedom of speech and this guarantees the KKK the right to look like the silly rednecks that they are when they parade around town in their bedsheets. I think this excerpt underscores the argument that one cannot ban symbols or organizations. This only serves to mystify them and make them alluring. Germany's heart is in the right place, but they're creating a monster.
Torsten Lemmer, from Dusseldorf, the former head of publishing house Rock Nord, says that kids are most strongly drawn by anything illegal. In the past it was drugs, but now, says Lemmer, "it's banned CDs." The NPD has replaced LSD as the drug of choice.
German young people, faced with liberal parents who are tolerant about sex, drugs and rock and roll, are increasingly rebelling by turning to right-wing extremism. Neo-nazi fashion, music and ideology have become an ever important part of German youth culture.
Where did this "German" image come from? It's hard to say who the first person was to show up to a party in a Lonsdale shirt, curse "the Russians" or download the latest CDs by Bremen's Germanic renegade heavy metal band Kategorie C.
But Christian, Stefan and Andy don't really care how it all started. They see just themselves as good kids, living in decent families in a small city west of Munich. They're in their late teens, about to graduate from high school. And they say that there are too many foreigners "in our country." They say that "they" should leave, and that then things would be sure to get better.
Article
The EU and Germany have attempted to ban certain symbols such as the swastika. I think this actually creates more harm than good for many reasons. One concern is who determines what is acceptable or not. In the United States, we have freedom of speech and this guarantees the KKK the right to look like the silly rednecks that they are when they parade around town in their bedsheets. I think this excerpt underscores the argument that one cannot ban symbols or organizations. This only serves to mystify them and make them alluring. Germany's heart is in the right place, but they're creating a monster.
Torsten Lemmer, from Dusseldorf, the former head of publishing house Rock Nord, says that kids are most strongly drawn by anything illegal. In the past it was drugs, but now, says Lemmer, "it's banned CDs." The NPD has replaced LSD as the drug of choice.
posted by torporindy at 6/06/2005
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