It is beginning to grate

axer · 17-01-2011 11:46am

SteeveeDee wrote: »

It's true that the Germans get a lot of stick but they dish it out as much as any nation.I too have been assumed to harbour anti british sentiment,drink too much guinness,to have violent political stances,be lazy and have the ability to talk my way out of a death sentence..now I'm not sure what's worse,being classed as efficient and dull or the above,either way it's all nonsense.I'm not convinced people equate German's with Nazi's these days either.Folks may have a sincere interest in German people's history as it had a huge impact on Europe and may also joke about Nazism and what happened but it's mostly all hyperbole and not to be taken at face value.

I will laugh at stereotypes since they are generally true (from a very high level) but being called or inferred as being a Nazi is not stereotyping. Thats what makes it different.

SteeveeDee · 17-01-2011 2:36pm

axer wrote: »

I will laugh at stereotypes since they are generally true (from a very high level) but being called or inferred as being a Nazi is not stereotyping. Thats what makes it different.

Certainly I agree,however I don't think this is the case 90% of the time.Again hyperbole and hypersensitivity.

Don`t get me wrong, I do love Ireland and most of the people are nice and friendly, but since the bailout I am met more and more with awkward silence when I get introduced by my partner as his partner from Germany. Before they were all very interested and wanted to know a lot. Now I am just politely acknowledged.

This is a shame and a very idiotic thing to do.It would never cross my mind that you had anything to do with a bailout,a lot of people in this country get sucked in to the blame culture so I wouldn't worry about it,it will pass when something or someone else needs a good blaming!

niallcon4re · 14-03-2011 3:04pm

Germany is screwing Ireland over , yet they complain that we complain.

Their banks lent to our banks but they expect us to take all the it.

Screw Germany!

Fuinseog · 14-03-2011 4:52pm

niallcon4re wrote: »

Germany is screwing Ireland over , yet they complain that we complain.

Their banks lent to our banks but they expect us to take all the it.

Screw Germany!

yeah, they should just give us the money with no strings attached, like they always have been doing.
in the height of the boom we did not need the EU and thought them stupid for giving us free money, which we and our government pissed away. Now we are forced to beg at their door and still we want to dictate the terms.
The Irish who are anti EU are either completely irresponsible or read too much of The Sun.

Fuinseog · 14-03-2011 4:58pm

SteeveeDee wrote: »

Certainly I agree,however I don't think this is the case 90% of the time.Again hyperbole and hypersensitivity.

This is a shame and a very idiotic thing to do.It would never cross my mind that you had anything to do with a bailout,a lot of people in this country get sucked in to the blame culture so I wouldn't worry about it,it will pass when something or someone else needs a good blaming!

in Germany people would accuse me of being an IRA member or aggressive(apparently the Irish like to fight) once they found out where I was from.
i will go to Germany ove rteh summer and will be surprsied if strangers there do not make reference to our poor economy.

Stupid people are in no short supply in Germany either.

Regarding the heil hitler jibes, if a school principal did not take that seriously I would report him for inciting racial hatred.

Fuinseog · 14-03-2011 5:02pm

alois wrote: »

i'd imagine fuinseog meant irish schools. teachers generally ignore that kind of stuff...

true, but if it is explained to hem that it is racial abuse on a par with the N word and that if it continues external action will be taken, that will implicate them, action will be taken.

having said that I was working with Brits in Germany who regarded me as an IRA sympathiser, because I have a Gaelic name and the German management did not take my complaint seriously, claiming I was being oversensitive.

niallcon4re · 14-03-2011 5:09pm

Fuinseog wrote: »

yeah, they should just give us the money with no strings attached, like they always have been doing.
in the height of the boom we did not need the EU and thought them stupid for giving us free money, which we and our government pissed away. Now we are forced to beg at their door and still we want to dictate the terms.
The Irish who are anti EU are either completely irresponsible or read too much of The Sun.

If a german pension fund lent money to a public limited company (which the banks were) then why is the Irish tax payer liable?

the pension fund made a bad investment and in capitalism sometimes you lose. This is not the debt of the Irish nation.

Germany is screwing Ireland over to protect their pension funds and their banks that made bad business decisions. they did NOT loan to the Irish state

alois · 14-03-2011 5:46pm

the problem being of course, that some stupid IRISH plank decided to put the bank guarantee in place. We voted for the government, we elected them, they were our elected representatives.

as to why you keep referring solely to Germany I don't know, France was part of it too were they not?

niallcon4re · 14-03-2011 5:54pm

alois wrote: »

the problem being of course, that some stupid IRISH plank decided to put the bank guarantee in place. We voted for the government, we elected them, they were our elected representatives.

as to why you keep referring solely to Germany I don't know, France was part of it too were they not?

Yes, France are part of it too. Between the two of them, with Germany being the bigger player they are determined to hold down the Irish taxpayer to ensure their pension funds which invested in public limited companies get their money back. The French finance minister told Lenihan (as if she was his boss) that he is not to allow an Irish bank fail.

They MUST take a hit, they are NOT bailing Ireland out as the debt is not our debt. Germany and France have teamed up to try and dominate Europe financially they way they both tried to do militarily.

Germany needs to remember that they were bailed out massively just a number of decades ago. They should also remember the damage that is done when people feel that foreigners have screwed them over (like the end of WW1 in Germany)

axer · 14-03-2011 6:38pm

niallcon4re wrote: »

If a german pension fund lent money to a public limited company (which the banks were) then why is the Irish tax payer liable?

Because our government did a stupid thing and made a guarantee.

Don't forget that Merkel is of the opinion that sovereign-bond investors should be shouldering the costs of future bailouts.

Ireland messed up on so many levels regarding regulation of banks and guaranteeing the debt. Why should the German government fund us to fix our stupid mistakes without getting anything of benefit back? What if the shoe was on the other foot? Would we be happy funding a country like Ireland?

peasant · 14-03-2011 7:43pm

niallcon4re wrote: »

Germany needs to remember that they were bailed out massively just a number of decades ago. They should also remember the damage that is done when people feel that foreigners have screwed them over (like the end of WW1 in Germany)

They need to remember none of that ...because they have moved on massively in the last 4 to 10 decades. Unlike other nations I could mention.

As for discussing the terms and conditions of the Irish bailout deal ...we do have a politics forum and an Irish economy forum as well.

Inkblot · 15-03-2011 1:17am

Coming back to the topic, I am German as well, studying here and I have to say that so far, I haven't encountered one single remark about the N-word or the bailout.
On the contrary, it is usually I who makes the jokes and quite frankly I cannot completely say that I like how Germany now behaves in the bailout. The thing is actually about togetherness and not national interests, if the EU doesn't want to fail.

But I think if somebody would make that remark, I'd probably go along with it, because I know that many countries just don't get the background as much as we do and see it as funny. As soon as one acts hurt, it is a reason to continue.

connewitz · 15-03-2011 11:03am

Inkblot wrote: »

Coming back to the topic, I am German as well, studying here and I have to say that so far, I haven't encountered one single remark about the N-word or the bailout.

Hi there, I am German myself and live since 9 years in Ireland!
I do agree with you, this whole thing is about power in mainland Europe. The "rest" is not included. But Germany and France can not loose Ireland. If Ireland falls, so will Greece, Portugal, Spain and so on.
At the moment it is not easy here. I am torn between Ireland, Germany and Austria. Being unemployed now for 3 years running has brought us to near ruin. My partner had to give up his business and is only few months in the year working. We could move to Austria (my daughter lives there) or go back to Germany, but in our age is a new start not easy. (Mid fifties).
But this aside, I do wish you all the best in Ireland. Enjoy being young and a student! Dublin`s night life is amazing!;)

Tora Bora · 18-03-2011 3:28pm

axer wrote: »

Because our government did a stupid thing and made a guarantee.

Don't forget that Merkel is of the opinion that sovereign-bond investors should be shouldering the costs of future bailouts.

Ireland messed up on so many levels regarding regulation of banks and guaranteeing the debt. Why should the German government fund us to fix our stupid mistakes without getting anything of benefit back? What if the shoe was on the other foot? Would we be happy funding a country like Ireland?

The nub of the issue, is whether or not all the stupid people in involved in the banking crisis should share the pain.
As it is now constructed only the stupid Irish shoulder the pain, the stupid Germans and the stupid French, who are involved shoulder no pain.
Mrs. Merkel's position is that this time only the stupid Irish should pay. The stupid Germans and stupid French should not pay.

In the future however she wants to change the rules so that ALL STUPID people pay.

I just dont get it!

Let every stupid fckuer, pay now and in future. Stupid Irish should pay now and in future. So too should stupid French and Germans.

peasant · 18-03-2011 7:28pm

Tora Bora wrote: »

Let every stupid fckuer, pay now and in future. Stupid Irish should pay now and in future. So too should stupid French and Germans.

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After hours is that way

dubbie82 · 24-03-2011 10:48am

Let's look at this from another side. I am working with German tour groups to Ireland and it's quite fascinating how the general opinion shifted.
Most of them loved the laid back attitude of the irish, the liked how they socialise in the pub and the atmosphere there etc. Now this year they call the Irish lazy, wasters they wonder how and why they spend money on a a pint instead of paying more taxes etc.
They look at those signs with the EU flag that says this road project was part sponsored by the EU and say "ha this is where our german tax money went."
I also know plenty of Germans living here and some of them have a fairly high opinion of their ways that I wonder why they are actually chose to live here if everything was so much better and cheaper in Germany?

There are always at least two sides of the story it's just a matter of perespective. Does that give someone the right to call another individual a nazi or a Irish terrorist? No and it's wrong in to many ways.

connewitz · 24-03-2011 11:14am

dubbie82 wrote: »

I also know plenty of Germans living here and some of them have a fairly high opinion of their ways that I wonder why they are actually chose to live here if everything was so much better and cheaper in Germany?

There are always at least two sides of the story it's just a matter of perespective. Does that give someone the right to call another individual a nazi or a Irish terrorist? No and it's wrong in to many ways.

I do agree with you. But it is hard to explain why we Germans are like this. It has a lot to do with growing up in Germany. Everything is organized from the moment you go to the creche until you die. We are no time wasters. Punctuality is a key point and we are very tidy people. It comes as a little shock when you see the littering here, people are often very unreliable and have little or no sense of organization. So we do love Ireland in one way very much and dislike it in another. Sorry, but I can not put it better.:o

axer · 24-03-2011 11:27am

connewitz wrote: »

I do agree with you. But it is hard to explain why we Germans are like this. It has a lot to do with growing up in Germany. Everything is organized from the moment you go to the creche until you die. We are no time wasters. Punctuality is a key point and we are very tidy people. It comes as a little shock when you see the littering here, people are often very unreliable and have little or no sense of organization. So we do love Ireland in one way very much and dislike it in another. Sorry, but I can not put it better.:o

I think it is because Ireland is the exact opposite of Germany and many Germans find it a breath of fresh air not to have the constant worrying/stress that you find living in Germany. But like with everything the "ah sure, it'll be grand" attitude of the Irish that many Germans like comes with a price - and it is called uselessness. I do see many Germans that find Ireland a bit too chaotic for their liking though but they are mostly older generations from what I can see i.e. the ones that really like having the safety of structure and rules.

It is such a difference in Germany with regards punctuality - you say a time and you stick to it no matter what unlike the Irish who work in the GMT+whatever time zone.

Lawrence1895 · 24-03-2011 5:40pm

connewitz wrote: »

I do agree with you. But it is hard to explain why we Germans are like this. It has a lot to do with growing up in Germany. Everything is organized from the moment you go to the creche until you die. We are no time wasters. Punctuality is a key point and we are very tidy people. It comes as a little shock when you see the littering here, people are often very unreliable and have little or no sense of organization. So we do love Ireland in one way very much and dislike it in another. Sorry, but I can not put it better.:o

I can only say, people in my workplace highly regard my sense of organisation, time keeping and efficiency...but also can't understand, why I'm not really able to relax.

Surely, both countries are different, so are people as such...but why can't we just learn from each other, rather than labeling the other side of the coin...for example calling me 'weird' or 'mean with money' simply for the reason that I prefer renting a house rather than buying one?

connewitz · 25-03-2011 10:42am

axer wrote: »

I think it is because Ireland is the exact opposite of Germany and many Germans find it a breath of fresh air not to have the constant worrying/stress that you find living in Germany. But like with everything the "ah sure, it'll be grand" attitude of the Irish that many Germans like comes with a price - and it is called uselessness.

You hit the nail on the head! I always loved to come to Ireland for this laid back attitude and was sad, when I had to leave for Germany again. But it is a complete different kettle of fish when you live here, which I do now for 9 years and running! Then this laid back thing becomes uselessness!!!! So here I am, loving the country and hating this so called laid back attitude.
But when I try to talk to people about this, all what I hear is "RELAX"! They think that I am too stressed out and try to force efficiency upon them.
My partner lived many years with me in Germany before we decided to move to Ireland for good (his parents needed him) and he has a 50/50 German/Irish attitude. But even he is fed up with the people now. It seems, that this "wait and see" behavior is still well accepted. This will not change the situation we are in at the moment. The thinking has to change and when this happens so will Ireland.

peasant · 25-03-2011 8:46pm

Am teutschen Wesen soll die Welt genesen, oder wie ?

Noe ..lass mal stecken, das will ich nicht ...wenn sie hier die Kehrwoche einfuehren, dann wandere ich aus ...genau davor bin ich schliesslich gefluechtet

Lawrence1895 · 25-03-2011 9:09pm

peasant wrote: »

Am teutschen Wesen soll die Welt genesen, oder wie ?

Noe ..lass mal stecken, das will ich nicht ...wenn sie hier die Kehrwoche einfuehren, dann wandere ich aus ...genau davor bin ich schliesslich gefluechtet

Ich habe immer fuer die Nachbarn mitgekehrt, eine gute Gelegenheit, Geld dazu zu verdienen, oder sich selbst zum Essen einzuladen

EGAR · 25-03-2011 9:55pm

Punctual..? Tidy...? Organised...?

ICH ?!?

Wohl eher nicht

- komm ich heut nicht, komm ich morgen... And a tidy house is a sign of a wasted life

.

It is beginning to grate

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