anders deutsch

The freedom of speech is a difficult issue. I am absolutely convinced that it is a fundamental right, which is especially needed as tool to fight totalitarian tendencies. But if one grants the freedom of speech, one also the grants the freedom of not only stupid but also discriminatory speech. This has to be tolerated to some extent. But to which extent. When are other fundamental rights hurt by the freedom of speech? This is a very difficult topic, which needs careful examination in each field.

The commotion about the carricatures of the prophet in a Danish newspaper, however, seems to have its roots less in this assessment of conflicting rights. It seems rather to be the perfect issue to mobilise on the basis of prejudices against the other on both sides. The 'Western' exponents of the controversy can show how 'Islam' and human rights are not compatible. The 'Muslim' exponents can show how the 'West' disregards their religious feelings. The same as in the Rushdie affair.

yeahpope has also blogged about this.

Finally I understand, why it so important that the children of 'migrants' speak German in their school breaks. Their 'German' fellows will be discriminated otherwise, because they only understand German. An 'expert' explained this to me in the newspaper today.

I just wonder, what about the globalisation, what about the need to learn foreign languages to compete on a global market, etc. Won't the monolingualism discriminate the 'German' kids even more in the future?

If you are deported from Germany, there is still a way to come back. You can pay the amount the state paid for your deportation and then you have the chance of getting a visa. This just happened to a 20 year old, who wanted to finish school in Germany, but was deported just before.

Does this make sense?

"Anyway, life is still exiting and good. I still fight with German society and lately with a Bank, but life wouldn't be good if we couldn't complain."

My Mexican friend fights already since a few years. Much more in Germany than she had to in London, where she lived before.

But she seems to have adopted the best strategy. Don't let them annoy you too much.

In most of South Asia a colonial law still criminalises homosexuality. The societies do hardly accept homosexuality. Queer people can only with difficulty live their sexuality.

The German internet portal Südasien Info has put a collection of articles on the topic of Queer South Asia online. Some few of them are in English.

Two small stories out of todays newspaper:

If you are a talented handball player, member of the Belaruss national team and living in Germany, then you will be given the German citizenship and a place in the German national team. You will be one of 'us', especially if you proove it by playing despite being injured.

If you are a conscientious objector from Turkey, do not want to injure anyone and apply for asylum in Germany, then you will not get it. It is not of further concern to the German courts that you will be imprisoned as soon as you are deported to Turkey.

The political discussion in Germany shows weird coalitions at the moment: Homophobic and sexist conservatives want to prevent 'Muslims' getting the German citizenship by testing their supposed homophobic and sexist attitude. At the same time a conservative minister has to resign, because he defended his patronage of a gay pride festival against critique from the Catholic Church. Gay and women activists join the conservatives in arguing for the special discriminatory treatment of 'Muslims'. And all agree that none of this is islamophobic.

Even if some of the 'Muslims', who want to obtain the German citizenship, are homophobic and sexist - which is quite probable as this is true also for most of the German citizens -, that problem is not solved by refusing their naturalisation. This refusal just prevents the political participation in Germany of the applicants, and continues their othering. More on the history of the restrictive naturalisation policy in Germany on urmila.de.

A recent discussion on the internet portal theinder.net. was about 'Germanised desis'. One of the users wanted to know what the others thought about them. And got quite controversial answers. Most others, who posted, did not seem to share his concern about Germanisation.

The internet portal is like many other virtual spaces a place to hang out and chill. But it is also a space to negotiate the own ethnic identity as second generation 'Indian' in Germany. More on it on urmila.de.

I do not know. At the workshop for the first time I called myself a Black researcher. The others accepted this, more or less at least. But what does Black really mean? I know that I am not really White. As little as I am really 'German'. But is this enough to be Black? I can pass so easily as White.
The best term would probalby be Person of Colour. But what does this mean exactly?

It is really a burden to be white, male and heterosexual. Constantly one is put into this categories although one ist different. This categories - not the White male heterosexual - create boundaries.

Yesterday I discussed long with one of this poor species. After presenting a paper on Critical Whiteness Studies. Somehow I was not able to make him understand that Whiteness needs to be named because it is connected with structural advantages and privileges.