Re: do germans find it offensive to be called krauts?

quoting "the captain" <domination@xxxxxxxxxxxx> :
> i play online games and many of the people who play are german.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
oh well... and the game you came here to play is which?!?

> i always call them krauts and they don't seem to mind because i say it with love.

<chuckle> no, not because "you say it with love" (how would you know? and how
would they know that, in the first place, why should they care? never mind,
don't answer that, it's not important) but rather because they either don't
know the stereotypical usage and meaning, or because they roll their eyes and
ignore "the Ami"...


> they in turn call me a fat north american who gorges on GM food and loves guns.

well, they got you figured right then, right ?!?... }:-)>


> i laugh about it of course and i figured we were all good.

your perception capabilities are clogged up by all those burgers or
disabled by all the NRA brain-washing. They held up a mirror to you
telling you what they think of someone who'd call a perfect stranger "Kraut"


> but last night this one guy said that he found it offensive.

he took pity...


> does anyone here find it an offensive term?

YES! Not necessarily so, but in the general context... YES!!!


> i like germans and i don't want people to think i am trying to be mean.
> to me, the word kraut has little impact.

I read your interaction with Christa and can't quite make up my mind if you
are an innocent or an ignorant "Ami" (said with love, not meaning "fool"
necessarily), unwilling or unable to 'get it'...

to me it showed, that you hadn't presented your concern here ready to "hear
the bad news" (confirmed, as you actually had heard it already from "this
one guy"), ready to be enlightened and disposed to have it confirmed that
you have reason to be sorry (and that doesn't mean "sorry for yourself")
....rather because you are a graduate of the school of "if I tell them about
it, phrased as a question and with an innocent lifting of my eyelids, I've
done all the thinking that needs doing about the matter, and they'll love me,
cheer me on, are ready to do me all kinds of favours"...

the issue, as in all communications, is not what it means TO YOU, but what
the receiving end makes of it. That finally someone "cared enough" and tried
to alert you to the fact that you were coming across as an offensive oaf
should have gotten you to realize that "oh, that's why they called me
'a fat, stupid, gun-totting slob' back"...
....because that's what they did --some, at least, and too large a percentage
to feel comfortable-- some with more, some with less fondness or "love"...


here a war story, to draw the picture for you another way: many decades ago,
there was this German kid, spending a visiting exchange student year in a
small US town. He had heard the word "Kraut" used here and there and thought
to himself 'Odd. We Germans don't eat that much (Sauer)kraut to merit that
as a nickname' and gave it no further thought. Then one day some high-school
kids he barely knew addressed him as "Kraut" to his face, and, he could tell,
were kind of expecting a violent reaction in return; so he asked them: What
did you just call me? ...and he could see that this seemed to increase the
alertness in their eyes even more. And to lessen the obviously building
tension somewhat, he followed that up with: And why would you call me that?
I don't understand... The response was (a more relaxed): You Don't Know?
Don't you have 'Hogan's Heroes' and 'Rat Patrol' on TV?" ...to which I <cough>
replied: oh, that, well... yes, I have seen it on TV here. But given the
content, do you *really* think that it would be shown German TV, not to think
of be a success? And why, do you think, is it so popular in the US?!?

well, I figured they were football players and that it would not be a good
idea to react to being called "Kraut" in the way it deserved, probably...
So I laughed it off and ever since have told Americans (especially when they
appeared to have a spelling/pronounciation problem with my name) 'Just call
me "Kraut" and I'll know you mean me!' to break the ice and put them at ease.
....AND to never be put into the situation where I would be expected not to
chicken out when one of the jocks seemed intent to insult me that way.

so you can call ME "Kraut" all you want, just don't pretend in the future
that you don't know what it means when someone responds ...<whatever>...
....or fails to respond at all.

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Relevant Pages

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    ... >i play online games and many of the people who play are german. ... >call them krauts and they don't seem to mind because i say it with love. ... I suppose the same goes for kraut, but so far I've never heard it said ... stranger in the course of an online game, I suspect many genuine Germans ...
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