Angela Merkel: Germany’s multicultural experiment has “utterly failed”
Mrs Merkel told a gathering of younger members of her conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party on Saturday that at “the beginning of the 60s our country called the foreign workers to come to Germany and now they live in our country… We kidded ourselves a while, we said: ‘They won’t stay, sometime they will be gone’, but this isn’t reality.
“And of course, the approach [to build] a multicultural [society] and to live side-by-side and to enjoy each other… has failed, utterly failed.”
In her speech, the chancellor specifically referred to recent comments by German President Christian Wulff who said that Islam was “part of Germany” like Christianity and Judaism.
While acknowledging that this was the case, Mrs Merkel stressed that immigrants living in Germany needed to do more to integrate, including learning to speak German.
“Anyone who does not immediately speak German”, she said, “is not welcome”.
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Schadenfreude on October 17, 2010 at 1:28 PM
sorry for the blockquote mess-up
The BBC reporter needs to be destroyed for dereliction!!! PIG PIG PIG
Listen to the video – she said the REVERSE!!!
“We should not be a country either which gives the impression to the outside world that those who don’t speak German immediately or who were not raised speaking German are not welcome here.”
She said that multikulti is dead, which is about time. It destroys all of us.
Schadenfreude on October 17, 2010 at 1:29 PM
Context is your friend. After Obama was on the View saying blacks are a mongrel people then added that we were all mongrels, I got carried away with my snark as I explained to upinak(You left out that one) I apologize for my snarky sign out. It was a dig at Narutoboy. Was having fun with the entire thread.
midlander on October 17, 2010 at 1:30 PM
“Anyone who does not immediately speak German”, she said, “is not welcome”.
Even the video translation in English states the OPPOSITE!
Morons keep repeating untruth because the wish to believe it. May the plague destroy the fibbers.
Schadenfreude on October 17, 2010 at 1:37 PM
She said both.
It was a confused statement, at best.
She’s right though. Countries that have multiple predominant languages never last long. The government should speak in one language and expect people to learn that language. Having a second, minority language, and not expecting those people to learn the language only condemns them to a second class lifestyle.
lorien1973 on October 17, 2010 at 1:37 PM
Isn’t that right around the same timeframe when NaziTrollBoy was culling the “racist HA comments” he keeps re-pasting?
What good is the limited open registration period when one psycholib can just log a dozen usernames and let them sit for months, to pull out whenever he gets “banned?”
logis on October 17, 2010 at 1:38 PM
(Applause).
I ewally didn’t mind Nature Boy’s endless use of the “M-Word” (moron), because any time your opponent in debate starts right off by calling you names, you know they’ve already lost the argument.
But calling HA a “hate site” was really a “jump the shark” moment.
Del Dolemonte on October 17, 2010 at 1:39 PM
That is what is known as a “sleeper cell”.
Del Dolemonte on October 17, 2010 at 1:44 PM
Well, there are ways to make sure that doesn’t happen. Verify email addresses, IP addresses, etc. Usually, you find that once the “main” account gets banned and the troll returns under a different account, the voice is far more muted anyways. The fun is over, since the new name has no troll-cache and it doesn’t last long anyways.
lorien1973 on October 17, 2010 at 1:47 PM
I’ve been around internet chat/messaging for a LONG time, and Narutoboy is/was a troll.
Paul-Cincy on October 17, 2010 at 1:52 PM
Fully agree with your statement, and most of your statements, btw.
However, she’s being maligned for the language parts in the speech, untruthfully. She said that foreigners should learn the language…however,
“We should not be a country either which gives the impression to the outside world that those who don’t speak German immediately or who were not raised speaking German are not welcome here.”
Schadenfreude on October 17, 2010 at 1:54 PM
Switzerland’s been around a while, and China longer.
DarkCurrent on October 17, 2010 at 1:54 PM
Two Merkels in one!
Emperor Norton on October 17, 2010 at 1:58 PM
Finalement!!! He was the marathon infraction of all HA ‘codes’ and decency. Annoyance had become indignant.
May he rest in pieces.
Schadenfreude on October 17, 2010 at 1:58 PM
She never said this – she’s misquoted.
See this
Schadenfreude on October 17, 2010 at 1:54 PM
Schadenfreude on October 17, 2010 at 2:00 PM
Looks like they are taking misquoting lessons from the US old media empire.
slickwillie2001 on October 17, 2010 at 2:04 PM
Did she directly say both though or are you saying she implied both? The quote above:
Was that actually said or is it a butchering of:
I’m not seeing where the content used here is in the article linked.
FWIW, I completely agree with the idea that immigrants need to assimilate, people need to learn the national language and abide by the rules. Multiculturalism is a failure. I’m just wondering if the BBC botched the quote.
Dash on October 17, 2010 at 2:06 PM
Yeah, it was confused.
She’s right that a country needs a primary language (DC’s examples not with standing), but it’d be stupid to argue that you should speak the language before coming to the country. Upon entry, yes, you really need to learn the language, but before coming – that’s just a little unreasonable?
My mom came here not knowing English. Picked it up pretty quickly (watching soap operas and movies LOL). She said soap operas were a great tool cuz they’d repeat the same scenes over and over again, so you figured it all out pretty quick. I think it’s sad to see 2nd or 3rd generation people here not speaking english at all.
lorien1973 on October 17, 2010 at 2:09 PM
Good point. What seems to be the secret?
ladyingray on October 17, 2010 at 2:13 PM
Nice move..:)
Dire Straits on October 17, 2010 at 2:15 PM
Unless you find a whole speech, translated, I guess go with whatever. Read other stories about this; she clearly means that people “need to learn german” but it’s not necessary to speak it before they come. It’s not an unreasonable position at all.
lorien1973 on October 17, 2010 at 2:17 PM
Isn’t china like 99% mandarin or something, though? With tons of various minor languages?
And switzerland, isn’t its language variances primarily based upon it’s trading? German side speaks german, french border speaks french?
I always forget switzerland in this point, but china is a unique animal all together.
lorien1973 on October 17, 2010 at 2:20 PM
She never said THAT. She said they should learn it in time, after getting there, if they don’t know it…and then said
…however,
“We should not be a country either which gives the impression to the outside world that those who don’t speak German immediately or who were not raised speaking German are not welcome here.“
Big difference from what Drudge displayed last night and the rest of parots picked up, erroneously.
Nice story about your mom – another good way – read children books. Learn the basics and build on them, instead of taking fancy classes up front. It’s all in the willingness to learn and assimilate. That does not mean to abandon one’s culture, backgrounds, native language, foods and etc.
p.s. Lorien, you add seriousness with a lighter touch to this forum. Glad you’re here.
Schadenfreude on October 17, 2010 at 2:21 PM
There are a lot of problems. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was a mistake. Today, there should be targets based on skills needed by the economy along with a demonstration by applicants of basic English skills.
dedalus on October 17, 2010 at 2:23 PM
Singapore
Schadenfreude on October 17, 2010 at 2:24 PM
India too
Schadenfreude on October 17, 2010 at 2:25 PM
Belgium
…for all, however, it’s mostly based on regional districting, except for Singapore.
Schadenfreude on October 17, 2010 at 2:27 PM
I did find Nutrootoboy’s attempts to associate Hot Air with Stormfront amusing, since the views of the Stormfront crowd have so much more in common with liberals like him than with conservatives. Their fascistic hatred of capitalism, their demonization of Jews and Israel…Stormfront resembles Huff Po far more than it resembles Hot Air.
Sharke on October 17, 2010 at 2:30 PM
Though there are talks about splitting it.
the_nile on October 17, 2010 at 2:35 PM
Putonghua (so-called standard Chinese/Mandarin) is the government sanctioned standard today and is used in schools.
My in-laws speak it as a second language. Their native language is Wu. My wife speaks both Putonghua and Wu fluently, but Wu is her mother tongue.
Her parents and older relatives speak Wu predominately, though they can speak Putonghua (skill levels varies, some even lower than mine, which is pretty low).
There are about 90 million native speakers of Wu. Living where I do I hear it all around me every day.
Other common languages spoken in China include Yue (Cantonese) with about 80 million natives speakers, Min with 50 million speakers, Xiang with 35 million speakers, etc.
These are often called dialects, but from a technical linguistic standpoint they are distinct languages since they are mutually unintelligible.
So the PRC is standardizing on Putonghua in the last few decades, but historically China has been a nation of multiple languages and they continue to be spoken within region/group.
DarkCurrent on October 17, 2010 at 2:46 PM
Isn’t it true that Singapore is the only nation in history to have gained independence involuntarily?
DarkCurrent on October 17, 2010 at 2:50 PM
Yeah
DarkCurrent on October 17, 2010 at 2:51 PM
Only royalty keep them ‘together’ by a thread.
Schadenfreude on October 17, 2010 at 3:20 PM
“Narutoboy, we hardly knew ye,” -Troy McLure.
Akzed on October 17, 2010 at 5:15 PM
You know, I hate to be the guy who says “why did it take so long,” but why did it take so long?
When did that little bigot do anything BUT stir up trouble and falsely accuse people?
I’ve seen people banned faster before for no worse than Narutoboy did for months. Did he have seniority or something? Was he in the union? Did Happyfeet blow a Vuvuzela in addition to just generally being a jerk to everyone?
It’s not like the behavior wasn’t a constant. He didn’t just wear out his welcome, he reduced it to a greasy smear.
Merovign on October 17, 2010 at 5:41 PM
I hear that a lot, and I’m sure it works, but what a horrible introduction to our country.
Eeesh. Soap operas are like angst-porn. They’re like fingernails on chalkboards to me, I can’t stand to even be in waiting rooms with soap operas on.
Merovign on October 17, 2010 at 5:59 PM
Although I’ve reported a couple posts requesting that the individual be counseled by our hosts, I have never requested a banning. I find some people on HA to be particularly irritating, not because they hold a different view than I, but because of their ceaseless name-calling, threadjacking, and generally ridiculous behavior. Every once in awhile, however, I think I cannot stand seeing someone’s name even one more time because of his egregious behavior. Thank you, Allahpundit, for making HA a more civil place to converse.
DrMagnolias on October 17, 2010 at 9:46 PM
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