Crossing the Red Line

Thilo Sarrazin is a member of the board of the Bundesbank in Germany. For several years his outspoken opinions about immigrants have caused controversy — he has declared that Turks and Arabs are making Germany “dumber” because they have lower IQs and are more fecund than native Germans.

The hot water he found himself in as a result of all this has neared the boiling point in the last couple of weeks with the publication of his new book, Deutschland schafft sich ab — Wie wir unser Land aufs Spiel setzen (“Abolishing Germany — How we’re putting our country in jeopardy”). An interview with a cultural magazine prior to the book’s release brought the scalding water down on his head from both ends of the political spectrum.

Mr. Sarrazin is a member of the SPD (Social Democrats), and his party immediately disavowed him:

The Social Democrats’ leader Sigmar Gabriel has signalled that Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin should leave the centre-left party following his latest inflammatory and anti-immigrant statements.

Sarrazin wrote, “In no other religion is the transition to violence and terrorism so fluid.” For this he was likened to (who else?) anti-Semites and Nazis. With depressing predictability, a virulent case of the Screaming Nazi Heeber-Jeebers rapidly infected the German media, with every major outlet falling into line to decry his “racism”. An opinion piece in Der Spiegel concluded that “Germany is becoming Islamophobic”, with Sarrazin heading the list of notorious Islamophobes.

Meanwhile, Germany’s culture-enricher interest groups went into high dudgeon, especially the Turks. The “Turkish community” made demands of the German government:

The chairman of the Turkish Community in Germany (TGD) has called on Chancellor Angela Merkel to send a clear signal condemning anti-Muslim comments by Bundesbank official Thilo Sarrazin, according to a Saturday report.

Ms. Merkel did a reasonable job of complying, saying that Mr. Sarrazin’s statements were “defamatory” and “completely unhelpful”. But the author has not backed down, and yesterday continued his criticism of Muslim immigrants, even as the SPD moved to expel him:

Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin reiterated his criticism of Muslim immigrants on Monday, saying the vast majority were not fit to integrate into German society. Meanwhile the Social Democrats prepared to kick him out of the party.

And what was his greatest sin against Multiculturalism?

Sarrazin had done a lot for the party but had now crossed a “red line,” [SPD leader Sigmar] Gabriel said, by linking the genetic make-up of certain ethnic groups with intelligence and the ability to learn. This was “highly problematic” and “racist.”

That’s right — by mentioning the connection between genes and intelligence, Thilo Sarrazin proved that he’s a WAYCIST!

The above smorgasbord may help fill in some of the background on Thilo Sarrazin, so that the context of the following translation by JLH will be clear. The translator includes this note:

I thought you might like a little antidote to the MSM hit-pieces, so here’s a recent piece from PI. Sarrazin’s defenders are among the heavy hitters in the Islamist debate:

• Necla Kelek has been in GoV as the ex-Muslim who, so to speak, lifted the veil on life in Islam.
  
• Stadtkewitz, who writes the closing letter, we remember from his previous clash with the Berlin head of CDU who now wants to expel him for inviting Wilders, and who was burned out of his house for opposing a mosque that was eventually built in his district.
  
• Much-honored as an author, journalist and director, Giordano identifies himself as a Holocaust survivor when he answers the Jewish Central Council in defense of Sarrazin.
  
• Hans-Olaf Henkel is a retired businessman, past president of the Organization of German Industry and of the Leibniz Society.

The article has a four-way shot of the major defenders.

Many thanks to JLH for this translation from Politically Incorrect, August 28, 2010:

Tailwind for Sarrazin?

It is always the same ones who raise a warning and do not join in the chorus of howls, which only serves to confirm Sarrazin’s thesis. Ralf Giordano; former BDI president Hans-Olaf Henkel; Islam critic Necla Kelek and Berlin CDU representative René Stadtkewitz. They are all distinguished by having disputed with him with him on some content, by addressing instead of whitewashing problems, and by agreeing with his theses.

BZ [Berliner Zeitung] reports:

Excerpts were already published in Spiegel and Bild. In them, the former head of the federal bank sharply criticizes social, educational and immigration policy. An army of integration officials and Islam researchers are exercised about “Downplaying, Self-Deception and Denial of Problems.” In his 464 page book, Sarrazin hammers Islam and Muslim immigrants. He writes, for instance, “In no other religion is the transition to violence, dictatorship and terrorism so smooth.”

And it is true. Or can even one of the so-called critics prove the opposite?

Many of them, including Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) call his remarks injurious and defamatory. Colleagues from his own party reproach Sarrazin for representing the Nazi mindset.

It does not get any worse than that. At the head of the line, the Jewish Central Council is distinguished by its downplaying of the National Socialist era.

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The Jewish Central Council calls Sarrazin’s comments “extremely dangerous” because “The racist hate tirades he has been giving for months are like someone running through a gas station with a lighter.”

It is beneficial that there are still voices of reason amid the hysterical sniveling of the bleeding hearts:

“Naturally Mr. Sarrazin is a great monitory voice. He is someone who tells the truth.,” says publicist Ralph Giordano to BZ… At any rate, his critics did not go into these empirical truths, said Giordano and stressed “No one analyzes this country’s failed integration policies more clear-sightedly than Mr. Sarrazin.”…”I consider it mistaken to push Mr. Sarrazin into the National Socialism corner. Nothing resembles National Socialism. I say that as a Holocaust survivor.”

We agree. And to force someone like Sarrazin into this corner is just the same as downplaying this dark time.

Former president of the BDI (Federation of German Industry), Hans-Olaf Henkel also defends Sarrazin: “He is certainly no racist, but someone who thematically catalogues Islam’s excesses.” Henkel stressed and expanded: “Sarrazin is distinguished by similar characteristics. He deals with fact meticulously and derives seemingly sadistic pleasure from confronting people with uncomfortable truths.”

Berlin CDU chief Frank Henkel, who has already arranged for the expulsion of Stadtkewitz, contents himself with the following statement:

“Naturally, we must not whitewash existing problems,” said state and local CDU chief Henkel.

Which is what our “elites” inevitably do. He continues:

“But anyone who ties educational problems to the hereditary factors and handicaps among immigrants is beyond help. That is too deeply contemptuous of humanity.”

To “refute” Sarrazin’s ideas, was it really necessary to invoke himself as proof to the contrary?

René Stadtkewitz, member of the Berlin house of representatives, writes:

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Distribution of Dr. Thilo Sarrazin’s book “Germany Abrogates Itself” has hardly begun and already his statements are being ripped, condemned and labelled as racist, and of course, once more, his expulsion from his party is called for. I find this development noteworthy. Hardly anyone could have read the book through. Although I had ordered it long ahead of time, I only received it yesterday. Had Sarrazin’s defamers made the effort just to page through the book, at least give it a quick read-through, they would have realized that Dr. Sarrazin differentiates demographic development as well as migration — which includes both immigration and emigration — and backs up his observations with facts. Beyond that, he offers the reader a number of suggestions which both can and must be discussed.

I do not intend to go into the individual nonsensical misrepresentations and demands by politicians of all parties, who have made their rote comments on Dr. Sarrazin’s statements. I will just confirm once more how politics ties itself in knots and, now as ever, is not prepared to debate problems of integration, especially of immigrants from Islamic countries. The politicians responsible today have no doubt been aware for decades that the collision of two completely different social models caused by immigration from Islamic territory had to lead to substantial conflicts. It is that much more difficult to understand their reaction to this objective description of the situation. Although the debate is desperately necessary, so that it may even be possible to think about various attempts at a solution, it is refused as always, and the initiator of the debate declared to be a non-person. Independently of the damage the defamers are causing to the political climate in Germany, they presumably do not comprehend that it is they who are contributing to the fact that not only is their own country’s future being stolen, but countless women in Germany are being executed in the name of honor or deprived daily of their constitutionally protected rights. It is especially reprehensible that the chancellor is a part of it.

We must talk about this problem. If politics continues to refuse to act for the good of society, there will soon have to be a change in the political landscape in Germany.