Is that why the far right made such a stink about genital inspections and bathrooms?

No, I think I’m far enough on the left to be aware of capitalist propaganda. In all fairness to you, my statement did not treat the subject with the appropriate nuance the subject should require.

The DDR was socialist. However, it was state socialism, which in my opinion is not ideal and not something we should strive to replicate. Yes, the means of production were “owned by the people,” but the state tasks itself with protecting the people. And therein lies the problem with state socialism - the state is easily commandeered by a corrupt minority who then uses the governmental apparatus to run an authoritarian regime. Precisely what happened in the DDR and the USSR.

We should be able to recognize the imperfections in prior socialist attempts, without immediately calling it “capitalist NGO propaganda.”

Even the DDR wasn’t doing socialism. The public had to be all-in the idea, or they were discredited or arrested. It was an authoritarian autocracy acting in the name of socialism.

Lol. Nice erasure of the existence of McCarthyism.

Communism pwnd itself bruh - shit sucked so hard they didn’t need Anti-Propaganda like:

Is This Tomorrow? America under communism!!

Shit was so bad, that the US didn’t need to run any covert operations to subvert, discredit, arrest, jail, or even, allegedly, assassinate the prominent figures and leaders of progressive, socialist, and communist movements – I mean, if they did, they certainly wouldn’t have called it COINTELPRO. It’d be a dumb name anyway.

Pfft

What do you mean by “police speech?”

Not if Ianthe has anything to say about it.

Yes, but …

Setting aside the polarized nature of named generations, as a class; for these are entirely arbitrary and designed to create polarization …

There’s fun theory on the “Gen X are forgotten” meme. Yes yes, you Gen Xers got shafted, here’s a cookie 🍪 Please hear me out.

Most people fall on the cusps of their “generation” and Gen X is no different - in this case, you’re either old enough to identify with boomers, and are shouting “snowflake millennial” with them; or you’re young enough to identify with millennials, but still too old to identify with Gen Z, so you’re shouting “cringe zoomer” with the millennials, they who are cuspers themselves and too old to identify with Gen Z. The quintessential Gen Xer is uncommon, but exceptionally kind. You always know when one is around though, because they are quick with a self deprecation point out that Gen X was “forgotten again.” 😉

The sad thing is that many of the so-called boomers are being replaced by Gen Xers. And the millennials shouting the same inter-generational slurs will eventually take the throne of generational bully.

On the other hand, there is hope inspired by this meme - all we need to do to stop inter-generational trauma is stop perpetrating it.

If they’re thinking at all… it’s likely less drone, more “leather trench coat, sleek sunglasses, uzis, katanas, and bullet time”

I kinda wish these schmucks would spend their billions on Mechas and battle it out anime style.

It’s an entirely pointless undertaking, but think about it - it would be an outlet for their sociopathic and narcissistic need to win; it would keep them relevant in headlines as they desire, yet far enough away from the political sphere; the news media gets their headlines; the people would get both work and entertainment out of it.

He really would have done well as the lead in a fictional Michael Jackson biopic that’s an alternate retelling of how his life took a turn in the mid/late 90s, when he discovers that he’s actually in the Matrix and is the one. And instead of Annie, we’re asking “Neo, are you okay? Are you o.k. ne-o? – Sha-mona”

Hmm, well, best to avoid watching the “how it’s made” about sutures then.

“An exceptionally small minority of people…”

You dropped this.

Seriously, who calls it the Fourth Reich?

It’s literally the capital of your country and the seat of your government. How that “isn’t Germany” is beyond me.

No, I fully understand the point. By “German” you mean Fachwerkhäuser, Oktoberfest, Lederhosen and Dirndls, Bier Steins and Weißwurst, and you’re correct, these cultural symbols are not characteristic of Berlin - these are Bavarian. There is so much more to German culture than Bavaria though, despite what the Bavarians think.

But that’s not what OP said. OP Made a stupid claim about how only visiting Berlin means one hasn’t really visited Germany.

To your point, my analogy works quite well - If you go to NYC expecting to find the stereotype of cowboys, massive steaks, and barbeque, you’ll be disappointed, because that shit is in Texas.

It’s all relative to how one defines a country’s culture and the lens it creates. Just because someone has myopic expectations does not mean that NYC is less American than anywhere else in the US. The same holds true for Berlin and the rest of Germany.

Lol.

It’s like saying you didn’t visit the US because you only went to NYC, but not Texas.