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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe depth of stupid in my family, I'm embarrassed to say. RW relative says Germany is "socialist"
And England too. The subject arose because we were discussing a friend's daughter who lives abroad.
The comment was: "There're more socialist than they are here!"
I said: "I don't think so. And anyway the people who live there like it."
Then the comment was: "No they don't not all of them! People in England don't like it!"
I said: "But England is not Germany"
Then the comment was: "Well those places are all socialist!"
And her statement is full-on BULLSHIT.
GERMANY is a democratic, federal parliamentary republic. NOT a 'socialist' country.
And England is a constitutional monarchy. NOT "socialist".
So the attitude is that countries that have more robust social safety nets than the US are "socialist" - I guess?
To damn much Fox "News" playing in that house.
They're all having a mad because Biden won. This person goes on about all the wonderful things Trump was going to do. They probably had a hemmorhoid-busting hizzy over Biden exiting Afghanistan even though it was TRUMP's damn Taliban dealmaking that forced him to either do that or send a shitton more troops over there (which was even more unacceptable).
DUMB!
WHY AM I RELATED TO PEOPLE WHO ARE SO GODDAMNED DUMB!
Croney
(4,646 posts)WHY DO YOU WANT TO KILL BABIES!!!
So the dumb takes many forms.
Mopar151
(9,965 posts)When you look at the numbers (infant, maternal mortality), it gets pretty obvious that "Pro-Life" is really "pro-death, agony, and suffering", and anti-child.
Zorro
(15,691 posts)Enter stage left
(3,389 posts)but you can't pick your relatives.
Mopar151
(9,965 posts)STOOPID! #1 nephew is unvaxed, just came down with COVID. But Regeneron is "just my opinion", there's "nothing you can do for COVID". Not quarantining, might go to the doctor "if he feels worse".
Parents live in same house, are vaxed, but comorbidities out the wazoo........
My BIL are both retired nuclear engineers, and it's an article of faith to their sisters that they're "stupid".
CousinIT
(9,151 posts)Ignorance is contagious.
dflprincess
(28,057 posts)a country having a decent safety net for its citizens and being "socialist".
They also like to moan about how high the taxes are in countries like Sweden (never mind that Swedes get something for the taxes they pay, mostly all we get is weatlhy defense contractors).
Here's a fact to really make their heads explode.
For every 1 million people the U.S. has 1.853 billionaires. Sweden has 2.987, Norway has 2.226, Iceland has 2.713
Germany "lags behind" with only 1.553.
The complete list is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_billionaires
Mopar151
(9,965 posts)Cuts the cost of hiring new people by orders of magnitude.
Haggard Celine
(16,820 posts)European countries are socialist have never been to Europe. Many of them haven't even traveled much in the U.S. They watch Fox News and some YouTube videos and all of a sudden they're experts in economics and political science.
CousinIT
(9,151 posts)Pachamama
(16,875 posts)We arent a Socialist country? Really?
Thats news to me
everything about our system is socialist.
Yes we are a democracy. Yes we are a Republic. But we are a Socialist society and if you ask every German they will say the same.
I am not saying your relative is not a right wing idiot
.but I dont think you should be so hard on the relative on this one. They actually are right.
drmeow
(4,996 posts)equate social/economic systems with political systems because our education system does not do a very good job of distinguishing the two.
Pachamama
(16,875 posts)Did I mention University in Germany is free?
roamer65
(36,739 posts)You folks over in Germany just pay higher taxes so that education is available to everyone. We could have the same here in the USA, if we paid more taxes.
Thats why I advocate a minimum 50 pct income tax rate on any income over 1 million dollars over here.
CousinIT
(9,151 posts)--- besides wealthy defense contractors.
CousinIT
(9,151 posts)And the relative does that too.
But I can tell from Marxist/communist socialism and Democratic socialism (which are economic systems somewhat separate from what kind of gov'ts they have in Germany or England or elsewhere).
And unlike my relative I don't see tax paying as a bad thing providing taxpayers get something back for it: public transport, healthcare, a robust education system, free university, etc.
This is what RWers call "socialism". I call it just civilized society.
But in America all we get for the taxes we do pay, is more billionaires and wealthier insurance companies, big pharma companies and defense contractors.
Our public education system is being gutted - moreso with COVID and in fact I think this pandemic will completely kill it (and I think this endeavor on the part of the RWers has been an objective of theirs for years -- the grousing about mask-wearing and CRT is just a cover for that + getting more RWers to run for school boards. Not to 'save' public education. But to KILL it.
Our "wealthcare" system is an absolute shame and is not about health or care, just a parasitic pretense for corporations to make massive profit off of the sick, injured and dying.
Our public transport is still in the 1950s
Our student loan mess is punitive and higher ed is increasingly unattainable + Federalist Society/John Birchers/Koch, ALEC are trying to destroy both public primary education system and universities - for private corporate profit and for the purpose of union-busting of course.
But people like my relative are brainwashed into thinking all this is...better. Some days I just can't with it. I had to lie that I had something else I had to do and hang up.
drmeow
(4,996 posts)Because the news media and the politicians (in particular the right wing) all use them wrong. It takes too much time and people who need to don't want to hear what the difference is so we all have to rely on shorthand even if that shorthand is inaccurate.
If you tried to explain to your relative that, yes, Germany has a much stronger socialist base to its economy while being a democracy, you probably would have been met with something along the lines of "HAH - I'm right, even you agree." You know what your relative was trying to say and it was wrong even if words used were actually accurate.
CousinIT
(9,151 posts)because I don't think the 'socialism' being referred to by this person is what Germany has. (and in fact if Germany is a socialist country I wish the US was a bit more like it!). I mean there is Marxist socialism, communism, and then Democratic socialism - I think the former two are what they think Germany is.
I'm curious: do you like it in Germany? Or would you prefer to live in a place like the US that doesn't have all that "socialism" / social benefits?
The relative claimed that people who live there don't like it.
Pachamama
(16,875 posts)I love it and am so happy here and feel sad about what I see happening in the US where I also have Citizenship.
Housing costs less, I have 10 weeks vacation, great healthcare, food costs about 1/3- 1/2 of what it costs in the US, public transportation is great
CousinIT
(9,151 posts)I guess it's called Democratic socialism. Where yea people pay more in taxes but they get so much more in return - and the peace of mind you have about healthcare, affordable necessities, public transportation, etc.
This relative thinks - apparently - that this is the Marxist or communist type of socialism. Doesn't know the difference. But - as I say - too much Fox "News" in that house.
Ugh.
Response to CousinIT (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)Instead of using the tax system as an instrument of wealth distribution from the poorest to the richest.
róisín_dubh
(11,784 posts)And has been for much of the last 40+ years.
RobinA
(9,878 posts)with a friend about two years ago and as part of the the discussion I casually said I could live in Europe for a couple years. She got a quizzical look on her face and said, But they open all your mail over there. I was speechless, but I did manage to get something out of my mouth to the effect that they did not open everybodys mail in Europe.
ck4829
(34,977 posts)Anything north of the United States: Canada and Canadian socialism
Anything east of the United States: Socialism and, uh, Africa. Further east is Muslim-land
Anything south of the United States: Mexico and where illegal immigrants come from
Anything west of the United States: Communism.