It began anew to rain. Somewhere above the massive buildings whose arcades offered me shelter a gap of clear blue sky opened the evening sun a gate to shine on the shower illuminating the streams of water drops in the air. I took place on the flat stairs waiting for the next dry moments.
A long enduring night before stuck into my bones celebrating a birthday party together with a handful of Saxons. We, the locals, had to kind of defend our honor as to celebrate solid as rock. Not in that adrenaline driven teen mode. No. It was only about natural given rivalry: Both, Bavaria and Saxonia are free states possessing more autonomy than ordinary federal states. But hey, we're the top dogs. No way a Saxon tumbles after me.
We used the time also getting to know each other. Finding out the similarities. The differences. Suddenly in between the conversation the classic nasty stereotype appeared. Before I'm figuring out what exactly he said I like to remark that the guy was all in all an average dude equipped with compassion, understanding and awareness. The more I was surprised that he tried to sell me the foreigners-are-responsible-for-the-misery myth. Not joking.
So how do you avoid counterarguing using another myth? Not as easy, the seduction of generalizing our East German fellows as prone to ethnocentric behavior patterns is not to underestimate. Especially if the discussion becomes emotional. I tried to teach him carefully the look from above analyzing the whole situation so that he could empathize the wrong conclusion of a true grievance. It's our system which is vulnerable becoming exploited by each and everyone no matter of being a native or a foreign national. So why not remembering those being responsible to make decisions that they have to do something against that? Abiding the wet, of course. Our representatives, exactly!
Another way of describing democracy is labelling it as permanent under construction. Autocratic and repressive systems have abolished the natural percentage of doubt keeping the laws and rules alive. In autocratic leaderships those laws become cemented for eternity (in general the period a dictatorial regime survives before becoming toppled, replaced or cracking itself down). Permanently working on the improving of the mechanisms being also able to admit faults and wrong perspectives is nothing else but the necessary flexibility to uphold the democratical consensus. But instead we tend unfortunately to play the blame game pointing the finger to each other.
The rest of the night we rocked and celebrated the birthday of our guest host with the result that I sat down on the stairs a bit dizzy waiting that the rain would stop at least for ten minutes, that was the estimated time I would need to reach the appartment of my buddy who's on vacation allowing me to use his flat for this time. Lucky me. I was more than fifteen miles away from my home and not in the mood reverting to the public transportation system. My bike parked already there, I took the chance to visit another mate running an oriental fast food and shisha bar in the city to hand him out some flyers for a certain event, I promised him.
So we sat on the table having a relaxed chat when suddenly our attention was attracted by two young troublemakers, each one carrying a bottle of beer in his hand, molesting a Muslima with the question why she's wearing a Niqab. One of them thied to grab for the scared woman's shoulder as the most men sitting around jumped up making the guys clear that they immediately have to stop offending the woman.
My mate was also among the group showing civil courage by defending the woman impassionately telling the two drunken bullies with the Russian accent - probably Wolga Germans, got a lot of them here in the South - that their disrespectful behavior's not tolerated. In the meantime I stood also behind my mate's buddies, they were seven against two, attentively monitoring the events. Short before it came to a palpability the bigger one of both became reasonable pulling his friend back.
The next myth popped up in my brain: the typical-behavior-for-that-ethnic-group myth. Like a giant puddle it lays in front of our feet waiting that in a moment of not-reflecting we will trap in. But wait, wasn't that the myth I mentioned earlier being avoided? Of course. East Germans are latent ethnocentrists. Wolga Germans are fascist bullies. Bavarians are alcoholics. Women are these. Men are that. Nonsense. All statements are pure bullshit. The myth of generalization is buzzing around our heads like a moth around a lantern. It takes an amount of concentration to avoid it, especially the more emotional experiences and discussions become.
Besides displaying civil courage the men also defended the woman's honor in that moment by the way. Another myth? No. Just a small misunderstanding, that's all. In our Western culture of equality defending a woman's honor could become misinterpreted as a relict from paternalistic times. Defending the fellow human being's honor or more simply said defending the fellow human being might sound a bit more - equalized. But let's not forget that our way of life isn't a solution of striking simplicity. Especially when it concerns the familiar and the tribal aspects. So seen me and my fellows are also to be regarded as rural defending our honor as Made in Munich Bavarians being proud of our roots and our affiliation.
The rain slowly stopped and the next limited period of dry weather conditions started. I rabbed my backpack, stood up and left the stairs under the jutty ready to move on before the next wave of summer shower gained on me ..
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