But the worst are the “Chinese only” nazis. I came here to learn Chinese too but give me a break! If you INSIST on speaking chinese with other foreigners I think you are mentally ill.
Why did you use the word “nazis” here? Do you have any idea what that means? (If not I suggest you do your history lessons again.)
Don’t worry, I don’t feel offended or am too sensitive but I just don’t think the word is appropiate in this context.
That said, if you nod at me or say hello I will reply in the same manner but not necessarily start a conversation, it’s just not “my style”.
Rascal, it was a bad choice of a word, but in the states now, there are lots of slang words using nazi in a new way: femi-nazis for feminists, scooter-nazis here in Taibei for people who drive their motorcycles in a crazy way, the “soup nazi” guy on the Seinfeld TV sitcom a few years ago in the US of A … so somebody saying “Chinese only nazi” is just a continuation of the new slang terminology branching out. Weird, yes, but it’s been going on for a long time now.
Of course, history should be respected and I salute your sensitivity to this word. But how to stop language from evolving? Rush Limbaugh that rightwing conservi-nazi was the first to popularize femi-nazi and he still uses that term. The soup nazi term makes headlines in America. I notice a lot of my friends here in Taibei use the term scooter nazi.
By the way, what does NAZI stand for in German anyway? I never knew, still don’t.
so how did “Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei” get shortened to “Na - Zi”? The NA is from national, I see, but the ZI, is that from the SOZI… word following? But why did the word become NASO, as in the “Naso” flag etc?
I realize this is off topic so let’s get back to where nemesis was heading after this.
This might be a separate topic, but… speaking of Germans, do other people feel hostility towards Germans in general?
Every German I have actually met is quite arrogant and likes to put others down. Also, personally, I think I still have trouble forgiving them for WWII (the country should have been completely disbanded and split up between the Jews and other groups who were displaced and murdered).
Actually, pretty much every German I’ve met has been pretty damn nice, but most of the ones I know come from the Sweibien (sp) area around Stuttgart/Tubingen, who consider themselves different from other Germans. I love the names they have for Germans from other areas, though – Fishheads and Yellow Feet come to mind, although they have many, many others.
quote:Originally posted by dbbowman:
This might be a separate topic, but... speaking of Germans, do other people feel hostility towards Germans in general?
“Whatever you do, don’t mention the war.” - Basil Fawlty
quote:Originally posted by sandman:
Actually, pretty much every German I've met has been pretty damn nice, but most of the ones I know come from the Sweibien (sp) area around Stuttgart/Tubingen, who consider themselves different from other Germans.
Take alook at these photos. Especially that of the ruins of the Stuttgart Synagogue.
Personally, the Germans I’ve known have been either wonderful people or utter pricks. Perhaps doing things by halves isn’t efficient.
The reason that Nazis are called Nazis, I would hazzard, is the German penchant for abbreviating words by clipping them and adding an “i.” For instance “pullover” (borrowed from english of course) is shortened to “pulli.” The first syllably of national is pronounced “natz” thus it was shortened to “nazi” presumable because “nati” would look like it should be pronounced “natt-ee.”
I got a good laugh once because a German girlfriend of mine refered to mobile phones as "handi"s. Where I come from that meant something different.
As to the so-called foreigner complex, as a native born Midewesterner, I definitely believe in smiling and making some sort of friendly greeting when you’re in close quarters with someone or make eye contact. That said, however, I’m a pretty prickly guy and firmly believe that familiarity breeds contempt. I’ve had a couple people with a crazed fob “ah my soul brother” look in their eyes try to establish a deep personal relationship with me in a public place and it always leaves me fumbling for an excuse to leave. Just cause we all foreign, don’t mean we’re friends.
I didn’t bother clicking on your link, O’Brien, as I don’t see the relevance of that to my post.
I presume you have some American friends who you consider nice (I know I have). Are they any less nice because of what their forbears did to the Indian or the black man?
No civilized person is ever going to forget that these atrocities happened, or try to justify why they happened, but how long should you continue to hate?
None of my German friends have anything but the deepest contempt for what Hitler and the Nazis did. Why should I hate them?
drambuie,
I can’t be positive but I’m pretty sure you’re reading too much into the characters. For one thing in Taiwan guoyu, it’s Nacui 納粹. I’m guessing that you’re a Cantonese speaker and you just romanized the cantonese characters with hanyu pinyin. How’re they pronounced in Cantonese? If it sounds closer but uses different characters, there’s good reason to think that it’s simply a transliteration.
I believe the reason “nazi” is generalized in American English is that it has come to be synonmous with “dictatorial asshole.”
Granted, the Germans I meet are generally a gneration or two (at most) removed. However, the Aryan/Nazi movement in Germany is still going strong… much stronger than the KKK/kill native Americans movement.
Also, slavery wasn’t about extermination, and facially. neither was the land expansionist movement that led to the mass killings of native Americans.
quote:Originally posted by sandman:
I I presume you have some American friends who you consider nice (I know I have). Are they any less nice because of what their forbears did to the Indian or the black man?
Slavery was introduced to North America (Jamestown, Virginia, 1619) by the Dutch and other Europeans:
According to “Guns, Germs, And Steel” by Jared Diamond, “Throughout the Americas, diseases introduced with Europeans spread from tribe to tribe far in advance of the Europeans themselves, killing an estimated 95 percent of the pre-Columbian Native American population.” (page 78).
You will not find any Americans who have ever owned slaves or killed Indians. You will find lots of Germans who have murdered Jews, Russians, Gypsies, homosexuals…and are proud of it. For God’s sake, these Nazi assholes even have annual conventions!
There was no Auschwitz in the US…and I’ve been to real one.
quote:Originally posted by sandman:
You're right of course! I just emailed all my German friends to tell them they're dirty, Jew-killing, slave-owning white supremacist bastards.