Mod: I agree Susi.  I've always thought this thread was more for rants of a personal nature.  I have nothing against vigorous political discussion but maybe this should have it's own thread in the "Other" category?

I am at a loss as how to respond here. I feel uncomfortabel being German right now. Not because of a (what I find rather stupid) suggestion by a German politician but because of all those Third Reich comparisons that are made here and that are absolutely inappropriate.

I am sure everybody here can find a way to express their disagreement without that!

Thanks, ladies.
I felt uncomfortable myself and that as an English woman! So I can't imagine how you all felt.
I certainly didn't like Godwin's Law being broken and even that as someone who recognises it does occasionally have to be invoked!
We are in explosive political times and our Sherlock team are very political animals.
I know it is a rant thread, but yeah, we should rant with respectful language!

I do not agree with Mrs Keller's suggestion either, but I do think she has the right to state her opinion in a political debate. I don't know why that should make her a Nazi, a Herrenmensch or any of the other lovely terms that were used. Which, by the way, is not even an apt comparison as Nazis weren't especially keen to share their land and resources with brown-skinned people as far as I remember.

Last edited by kete (June 30, 2017 8:16 am)

kete wrote:

I do not agree with Mrs Keller's suggestion either, but I do think she has the right to state her opinion in a political debate. I don't know why that should make her a Nazi, a Herrenmensch or any of the other lovely terms that were used. Which, by the way, is not even an apt comparison as Nazis weren't especially keen to share their land and resources with brown-skinned people as far as I remember.

V4 people are brown skinned?

Nazis did not want to share their land, but they wanted to aggresively occupy Eastern Lands and replace their people with an "Arian Race". Vaguely reminiscent of what Keller had in mind - therefore she should refrain from making such comments in the future.

If people used the same terms to ran about Trump I would also complain. It is not a matter of what is discussed but of how.

besleybean wrote:

I would agree.
Except I think he is in more a position of power than this lady.
They are all allowed their opinions.
But how we respond to them and relate them here,  is important.

The history of Central and East Europe is maybe not taugh in big detail in GB, but Munich Dictate - where our land was forcedly split by four foreign countries - was one of the most humiliating episodes in the history of the former Czechoslovakia, reminiscent maybe of Pearl Harbour in the history of the US. The suggestions like Keller´s - defended here like "rightfully voiced" by kete - bring imminent historical reminiscence to that event and are extremely hurtful and insulting to all citisens of both countries that succeded CS. The same is the veiled threat that we will be "forced" by Germany to obey. Not only German feelings can be hurt, you know?

If some British politician used the same "suggestion" and rhetorics in regard to The Irish Republic, for example, you would probably notice right away how inappropriate that "suggestion" was. And I don´t believe it would not cause the same outcry.
 

besleybean wrote:

We are taught.
There is always outrage in all 4 corners of the UK and our Irish Republican neighbours have a massive influence on us...as does wider Europe.
I am going to miss you all.

I am not convinced you will really "leave"....
 

Today was not a very good day. I met with the two guys I'm doing a group project with for one of my classes. We met at 10:00 this morning and I was anticipating working until around 1:00. We ended up not stopping until close to 3:30. Yes, it was good that we got things done, but it felt drawn out and I was tired and hungry by the end of it. And I had other things to do, of course. And then that didn't go as well as I was hoping, probably in part because I was tired from the group project.

When I got home from the group meeting it felt like I had lost practically a whole day from it. Here's hoping that later on it feels like it paid off.

Actually writing this out makes it seem kind of frivelous, but I really don't feel good. I'm going to get ready for bed and read and hopefully I will start to feel better once I do that.

It that kind of thing listed as a possible side effect? If it's disrupting your sleep on a regular basis it doesn't sound good.

I have some stressful stuff looming over my head right now, actually it's been there for the past couple months, too, but it's just getting worse. I need to decide which universities to apply to for next year and just thinking of it can put me in a bad mood. I have to make decisions and I feel like I can't make any of them, one of the reasons being that I have too many other things to do in addition to the applications. I need to ask professors to write reference letters for me and get transcripts, but until I choose which school I'm applying to I don't know what to say to anybody because different schools have you send them in in different ways. And the thoughts of everything I haven't done yet (and if I want to apply for funding I have to do that by December 1st, even if the actual applications to the programs aren't until around January) are also stressing me out. The only thing I've really come close to completing is my CV, the easiest part.
I try to find more and more information to help me make the decision of where to apply (courses that are offered, the interests of the professors that match up with my own), but I am not getting much clarity. Some of the universities are near where I live with my family, others are not. A friend of mine who is already doing her Master's this year suggested I think about where I want to live, which schools are there. I thought that was a helpful suggestion, but at the same time I'm still not sure.
Nothing seems like the right decision. It's almost like I wish someone could choose for me, even though I know that's not a good or helpful thing in reality. 
So it just feels like every day that goes by I just think about it, then have to move on to something else, all with it in the back of my mind that I haven't moved forward in any meaningful way. It feels terrible. This morning I've been wondering if deep down I'm just incompetent, that I'm still a child who doesn't know how to do anything for herself.
I know I want to keep studying, but the road to getting there is not a happy one for me right now.

Last edited by Yitzock (November 8, 2017 6:04 pm)