The Germans' Unfriendliness Problem

For a number of years I lived on the Magnetic Island near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. There were many young tourists there from Germany. I noticed that they were smart, articulate and in excellent physical shape; but they did not appear friendly to me.

There were also young people there from Sweden and Netherlands. They had the positive qualities that the Germans had, but they were also friendly.

German culture appears to demand a lot of people. But one thing that it does not appear to demand is being a kind person. The result is people who have many impressive traits, but who are not all that good to other people.

Of course the Germans and the Jews have a very long and ugly history. I however bear German people no ill will. I want to see every place in the world fix its problems and improve. In case of the German culture, it appears to be this unfriendliness that is their greatest problem. That is off-putting to other people and gets German people accused of being arrogant and mean-spirited.

Maybe they are of the opinion that anyone who does not demand of himself what they demand of themselves is a lower form of life. However with any number of others – including the Swedes and the Dutch – I have seen people demanding a lot of themselves as well without being unfriendly. Most of the women with whom I had romantic relationships demanded a lot of themselves. However they also put in significant effort into reaching out to others and being good to others. That was even the case with all sorts of people who bore them ill will.

If the Germans are of the opinion that demanding a lot of themselves justifies them in being bad to other people, then the Swedes and the Dutch are a repudiation of that claim. They likewise are smart, articulate and in excellent physical shape; but they encourage being good to others. I suppose the Germans' unfriendliness problem is matched by the Russians and the French. And in all cases this attitude works against them. People all over the world hate the French, and many continue equating Germans with their conduct seven decades ago even though by now the Germans should have acquired a better reputation based on their more recent acts.

I have heard it said by an American who has traveled extensively in Germany that German men are assholes. I do not know if all of them are, but I have known some who definitely were just that. There was a German-descended man who would make his wife spend six hours a day cleaning their huge house and then come at her with fists if she left a speck of dust on the floor. There was another who told his daughter's boyfriend that it was OK to hit her. This kind of behavior does not lead to positive repute for German people.

Germans of course have many impressive accomplishments in their history. The recent trend toward Nazism and suchlike is completely misguided. Germany has many real achievements to look back to, and ones that are being achieved now. The German people do not need to look back to the worst time in their history. As for the Americans who have become a part of the trend, the correct response is to see them as traitors. Their grandparents died fighting the Nazis. In joining things such as Nazism, they are betraying their country. One cannot claim to be an American patriot or anything of the sort if he is supporting an ideology that his grandparents died fighting.

So if the German people want to improve their reputation, they will do more to encourage friendly behavior. Once again, there is nothing contradictory between such a thing and demanding a lot of oneself. Jesus Christ was greater than anyone in Germany or anywhere else, but He did not behave in an arrogant or off-putting manner. It is possible both to nurture excellence and kind behavior. And in this the Germans have things to learn from the Swedes and the Dutch.