As a German, I was raised to be shy & a little bit suspicious about symbols of nationhood & patriotism (flags, anthems,Β pledges, etc.). I remember travelling to the UK in the 80s & 90s, & noticing the difference. But while the same display of flags,
2/
buntings & colours would have astonished me at home, in the UK (England, I should say) it seemed a bit quirky (but then that was deemed part of Englishness), but on the whole 'normal' - part of an attitude confident, undamaged, uncurbed by disastrous history.
3/
Since then, in Germany, things have changed a bit, with unification, the World Cup, etc. We've become a little less shy about our colours. (I wonder whether my German/-based readers feel the same). But we still feel rather uncomfortable about displaying them most of the time.
I was an #Australian#migration officer before #immigration became exclusion, before the Border Protection Bill, before Nauru. When the spirit was to invite people in, not keep them out - good people, loved ones, & those in need of protection.
I understood (& applied) migration
2/ rules as a silent contract with Australians, who accepted & welcomed foreigners, knowing & trusting that procedures & numbers were a balance of needs & requirements, a give & take. A system that argued its case year after year, wooed for support, accountable to all.
3/ Where rules were clear & fair, & so were services. Not once have I had a case of refusal that did not have a reason I couldn't explain, & those denied entry might not have liked, but understood it & why it made sense.
It's been painful to see immigration hijacked, usually by
@CNN are repeatedly mentioning -rightly & proudly- the fact that for the 1st time a woman, of both colour & immigrant descent, will be VP.
I, too, am punching the air. At the same time I wonder why, in 2021, this is still a 1st. Any why none of her accomplishments are mentioned.
@KamalaHarris is not 'just' the 1st female VP of colour and immigrant descent. She is also a lawyer, a fmr State Attorney & Senator. Maybe mine is a European view & to US viewers this is obvious? I don't know.
I know all these 'firsts' are important. (I wish they weren't 'firsts'). They're not *not* important. But maybe they're not *all* important? They're part of her. What makes her. Like her academic & professional accomplishments, her kindness & determination, perseverance & drive.
Got up.
Had coffee.
Doctor's appointment no. 1
Shopping
Doctor's appointment no. 2
Took cardboard boxes to recycling bin
Collected old family diaries & photo albums from my stepdad
Took them home, looked at cover
"My Poland Campaign 1939"
π³
Trying to breathe
2/
Just going through the material. Most of it is from my stepdad's dad who joined the German army in 1936 and went on the Poland, Belgium, France & Russia campaigns. Where he was killed.
There's a beautiful letter to his 2-yr-old for Christmas 1942. And photos of war dead.
3/
I rang my stepdad. He says, you look after this for me.
I want to cry. So much trust. So much pain. And quite a burden just to look at.
Remember Rees-Mogg's far-right German friends? (β¬οΈ)
Last week, they asked parliament to appoint a 'Federal Commissioner for the Persecution of Christians'
Transparent & populist, their move prompted one of the best debates the Bundestag has seen in a while bbc.com/news/world-eurβ¦
2/ One after the other, MPs from all parties rose to tell the AfD they are not Christian & neither embody nor defend any Christian values. That cynically they will invoke & use Christianity only when it serves to incite division, resentment & prejudice against Muslims & Jews.
3/
Down to the point & not mincing his words, here's @helgelindh's speech, uncovering the far-right's bigotry: