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That reminds me, by the way, that around 2005 I was living in Washington, DC, which has quite a lot of fairly shabby, not to say dangerous, neighborhoods. Never in East Germany - and very seldom, as far as I can recall, in any of the 40-odd countries I've visited - have I EVER, EVER seen anything remotely as dismal, ghastly, shabby, abandoned, dirty and demoralizing as that Washington, DC neighborhood. In the 1970s I enjoyed making tours through various part of East Berlin. Bawer is his critique of the Che Guevara cult. And they usually exploit the hell out of them, too.
Either he was on acid or he made the whole thing up. I must admit that Mr. I grant that Che Guevara was an unregenerated Stalinist dinosaur of the old school, dogmatic as they come, a true obstacle in the road of any people that wants to attain freedom. I once chanced to venture into an area called Santa Cruz. But he also stands for other values that are very attractive, to wit; 1.He fought against Latin America's current oppressor, the United States; and2.He was honest, brave, generous, modest and kind.
On the other hand the imperial country can make very great contributions to the welfare of the dominated. For Mr. Anyway the book is certainly worth reading. Part of me said "Dostoyevsky", part of me said "Hitchcock", part of me said "Night of the Living Dead". The only country where I may have seen that degree of decay was India, or the rougher parts of the shantytowns around Mexico City.
Those two really dish the dirt on that Wall Street scum. Bawer Che Guevera stands only for Communism. And they often do. Strong countries have always dominated weak countries. and toward Cuba.
I lived for four years in West Berlin in the late 70s. Like Ciudad Netzahualcóyotl. But I find much of what he says is confirmed by other sources of comparable or greater reliability. Bawer also disparages Communist East Berlin, as distinct from East Germany. And the political system sucked, too. Mr.
That is a completely mistaken assumption. And other parts of it were glorious, like around Köpenick and other places on the outskirts of East Berlin whose names I don't recall. and got to the bits about East Germany, it started sounding like hollow propaganda. Its grunge was mind-boggling. Bawer' story is very persuasive But once I got through his ringing denunciations of Scandinavian spinelessness toward the Mohammedans.
The other bone I have to pick with Mr. is pure fantasy. I grant that Communist East Germany was by no means as spiffed up, prosperous or trendy as West Germany. And it's a lie. But as long as Latin America feels on balance oppressed by the US, Che Guevara will be popular there. (Thor Heyerdahl & Co). If you don't believe me, read the books by former US Treasury official Karin Lissakers.
Perhaps it's just Cold-War propaganda still bouncing around in people's heads. But let's be realistic. Bawer's hatchet job on old East Germany detracts considerably from his credibility. And American financial capital shamelessly exploits Latin America and has done so for many decades. I have the impression that for some reason, somebody is exceedingly intent on making people in the US believe that specifically Communist East Germany was seedy and poverty-stricken. And I can assure you that the description he gives of shabby, decrepit buildings, ragged railway employees, etc. But recently I came across a right-wing web site that proclaimed that Communist East Berlin was a mess, and I had to set them straight as well.
Read the web site of Nomi Prins, a repentant Goldman Sachs bigwig. I must have ridden 50 times through East Germany from West Berlin to West Germany and back, mostly on trains. That's a hell of a lot more than I can say for George Bush.Now I'm not particularly anti-American. Some bits I admit were somewhat shabby, but no worse than adjoining areas of West Berlin, like Kreuzberg. But the buildings were almost without exception in good repair, streets were clean, people wore clean, attractive clothing with no patches or holes, or stains. I don't recall if Mr.
All of this was compelling and I think it is safe to say that Europe has some serious soul searching to do. Of course you could go to any major American city and find the same attitude but that's neither here nor there. Bawer, who is a gay American, moved to the Netherlands and then Norway because he saw Europe as more friendly to gays. His attitude towards Europeans is downright condescending. There are some facts and statistics bandied about but few of them cited. Even though he only lived in two European countries, he seems to be an expert on all of Western Europe which he sees as a land of weak, elitist socialists. Bawer talks about the segregated communities of Muslim immigrants who seemingly refuse to respect the laws of the land. I must say that I was quite disappointed with this book.
An example of Bawer's view of Europe can be seen on page 118: "The intensity of the European establishment's anti-Americanism is matched only by the intensity of its nostalgia for the good old days of Soviet Communism." I thought the book was full of generalizations and inconsistencies. He uses the typical American line that Europeans are spoiled brats that don't appreciate American protection, and claims that the entire European "establishment" consists of elitist, socialist snobs who all hate America and care only about enforcing a multicultural and welfare state. OK, that being said, there was some information which was disturbing and infuriating. Nor does Bawer acknowledge that there might be any validity to any criticism of America. At one point, Bawer claims that crimes by Muslims are rarely reported and the perpetrators are usually let go. Don't get me wrong, there is some useful and compelling information here, but overall it reads like an anti-European diatribe, the likes of which are all too common in American conservative circles. While Bawer does effectively expose the problem of Islam in Europe, the book is full of redundant platitudes and chauvinistic American stereotypes. He talks about the murders of men like Theo van Gogh and Pim Fortuyn and how they were trivialized by defenders of multiculturalism and appeasement.
Bawer would have us believe that these anti-American attitudes are the norm throughout Europe and it is all engendered by a monolithic "establishment" of media and politicians. I'm sorry, but his picture of Europe seems to be a caricature.To prove his point, he uses anecdotes from experiences such as talking to people in a bar, who invariably spout vehement criticism of America and sympathize with terrorists. I almost fell off my chair when Bawer claimed that unlike Europeans, Americans tend not to be ideological. We learn about men like Mullah Krekar, a terrorist supporter who was apparently shielded by the Norwegian government.
He claims that anti-Semitic attacks have been on the rise, most of them committed by Muslims. That being said, we have our own problems here so I found Bawer's general premise (that America's approach to immigration and terrorism is so much better) to be quite weak. He tells stories of female genital mutilation, forced marriages, misogynism, and violence committed by immigrants. Also, the book is virtually unsourced, and while the author occasionally quotes some journalist or politician, most of it is just anecdotes and personal observations.
Of course, I'm sure there are plenty of people like this, but I simply don't buy that it is as universal as Bawer states. Yeah right. He initially enjoyed the experience although he became disenchanted by what he saw as endemic political correctness, especially regarding Islam. Not long after, he says that 70% of inmates in France are Muslims.
I believe the topic deserves merit. I powered through this since I paid for it, but wouldn't recommend it. This author just failed to get out of his own way. I expected a thoughtful book on the rise radical Islam in Europe. I didn't expect an opinionated tirade against the "liberal elite" in Europe.
What struck me too, was the fact that Bawer thinks he should not be treated like an immigrant and that all immigrants in the U.S. During my time in Europe there were not yet so many Muslims and many of the problems Bawer describes did not exist.But what amused me about the book was the obvious desire of Bawer to get back to all the anti-Americanism he had to endure in the last decade. etc. or if you are laborer. I did meet them and I invited them to my house.
are treated much better than the immigrants in Europe. I am straight and in my circle of friends were homosexuals, who attended the same parties and participated in the same activities as I did. I suppose that is what Bawer means with American culture surrounding him in Europe. Also obvious is his huge disappointment that living as a gay man in Europe did not turn out so problem free as he had hoped.
And you can only do so much sign language and smiling.I see Bawers book as an outburst of homesickness and I hope he will realize that everybody who is a first-generation immigrant will never feel quite at home and welcome. Do not imitate every aspect of American life and then complain about it. Like I was used to, I invited them to gatherings at my house , but I was never invited back. I myself am quite often frustrated by the hypocrisies with which Europeans embrace a lot of the American way of life while they condemn it at the same time. I picked up this book with big interest.
Nobody made a big deal about it. And it got worse as the years passed. It is in a way understandable. When I moved to the States I found that homosexuals were living a segregated life and took themselves much too serious. But I got invited much more by immigrants than by native Americans and I do not mean native American Indians.
I left Europe about thirty years ago and live since then in the U.S. Decades. There were all these segregated pockets of all these different nations. I also hoped that I would meet people from all over the world in the States- much more so than I had in Europe. Obviously their parties were for homosexuals only. There was really no melting pot, as I had expected.
That is a fact of life and it does not matter if you have PH.D. for a very long time.
Unfortunately as I did not speak the languages of all these different nations(only west-European languages), I did not feel very comfortable as there were often a lot of people, who did not speak English despite the fact that they had lived in the U.S. He practically turns around all the arguments Europeans have against Americans. I was also invited back, but when I was invited back I was always the only person who was not Indian, Cuban, Mexican, Iranian, Russian, Bulgarian, Somali, Israeli,Japanese, etc.
When I still lived in Europe homosexuals and straight people seemed to live happily together. If you hate America so much stop watching American TVand movies, do not eat at fast food places and drink sodas, do not wear jeans and t-shirts and sneakers and do not give big corporations so much power, etc. He must have been out of the country for a long time and must have never really had contact with immigrants when he lived in the States.
It's as Bawer stated, you would think that America was invading Europe and trying to take over the world in the 1940's and Germany and Russia saved the continent. I just pray it doesn't happen to America. This is a perfect time, with the inside ATTACK on Fort Hood and how American media is moving toward Europe's failed political correctness and "diversity." It's sad what Europe is allowing to happen to their continent, but they are well aware of what's going on and where their desire of being "liked" is leading them, and all European societies.
I've never cared much about what Europe does, as long as it doesn't pose a grave threat to my freedom and this book further justifies my attitude towards them. Great book. The ideas they are pushing of never criticizing anyone for anything they do (in their own countries) is leading them towards Islamic tyranny and complete loss of country and freedom, and I don't feel sorry for them.
This book is excellent insight into how the European elite media and academics are spinning the reality from the consequences of Islamic, shariah law, ways of life. They're obsessed with everything America does and criticize our every move, but provide no answers or solutions, other than dialogue and concessions to dissenters, to solve international/domestic problems. Everyone should read it and join the movement of preventing America's elites from taking us down the same road.
It's absolutely disgusting, the anti-American attitude of a great majority of Europeans, considering throughout history America has saved their freedom and continues to provide their safety from Russia and tyranny. European society embraces our culture, as far as movies, music, and lifestyle is concerned but hates every concept of American freedom and personal ambition that allows anyone to achieve whatever they desire.
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