jump to content
my subreddits
more »
Want to join? Log in or sign up in seconds.|
[-]
use the following search parameters to narrow your results:
subreddit:subreddit
find submissions in "subreddit"
author:username
find submissions by "username"
site:example.com
find submissions from "example.com"
url:text
search for "text" in url
selftext:text
search for "text" in self post contents
self:yes (or self:no)
include (or exclude) self posts
nsfw:yes (or nsfw:no)
include (or exclude) results marked as NSFW
e.g. subreddit:aww site:imgur.com dog
this post was submitted on
5,353 points (93% upvoted)
shortlink:
reset password

worldnews

unsubscribesubscribe9,806,032 readers
16,216 users here now

Filter out dominant topics:

Welcome!

/r/worldnews is for major news from around the world except US-internal news / US politics

Worldnews Rules

See the wiki for details on each rule

Disallowed submissions

  • US internal news/US politics
  • Editorialized titles
  • Misleading titles
  • Feature stories
  • Editorials, opinion, analysis
  • Non-English articles
  • Raw images, videos or audio clips
  • Petitions, advocacy, surveys
  • No all caps words in titles
  • Blogspam (if stolen content/direct copy)
  • Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr
  • Old news (≥1 week old) articles

Disallowed comments

  • Racism
  • Sexism
  • Homophobia
  • Other offensive content
  • Unlabeled NSFW images/videos
  • Memes/GIFs
  • URL shorteners
  • Personal Attacks on other users
Continued or outstandingly blatant violation of the submission or commenting rules will result in your being temporarily banned from the subreddit without a warning.
Please don't ever feed the trolls.
Downvote, report and move on.

Sticky Posts

a community for
you are viewing a single comment's thread.
[–]ThE_MagicaL_GoaT 510 points511 points512 points  (62 children)
Honestly, I was 100% supportive of helping the refugees, and I looked down on people who thought they were all thugs. I couldn't understand how people could be so ignorant, that they feared these refugees were all violent animals.
I now understand that I'm actually the ignorant one.
[–]macksdowntownsong 184 points185 points186 points  (6 children)
Been there before, I was raised in an area where we had Black, Asian, Indian, White, and Hispanic people that got along just well. Thought that all of this racism towards Arabs and North Africans was just pure bigotry, then I had some experience interacting with men from these cultures and realized why most people dislike them.
[–]pussyvampirelol 57 points58 points59 points  (4 children)
i was raised outside of berlin, went to a school with only white people and the only ones looking for trouble were the neo-nazis.
i considered myself on the left in sense of politics.
i moved to berlin neukölln for studies and a job... and oh boy... it really changed my view.
i am i no way radical oder hate spreading, but i feel so much disgust, when walking home from work ... it really saddens me.
i know that there a lot of people who try hard and intregrated really well, but that seems to be a minority.
[–]ShibuRigged 20 points21 points22 points  (0 children)
When you move, en mass, there's no impetus or drive to integrate.
If you come to a country alone, or just with your family, surrounded by natives. You're going to assimilate extremely quickly, picking up local culture and language, because you're not going to survive otherwise. Or you'll find it extremely difficult. Your children will adapt and learn even quicker.
If you come with 1,000 others, not even the 1,000,000 that have come to Germany, just 1,000. You already have a community. The people that can speak, can start businesses for you. You can work for them. You don't have to learn a new language, or adopt a new culture. You can stay the same as you were, but in another country.
The universe has a thing of tending towards the path of least resistance or lowest energy. You will find it in electronics, chemistry, physics, whatever. Humans are no exception.
[–]Deformed_Crab 2 points3 points4 points  (2 children)
So how scary is it actually living there? I will probably move there next year for a job and I'm wondering.
[–]fjonk 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
It's not scary at all.
[–]Craggy_Island 7 points8 points9 points  (0 children)
It's bizarre. I moved to London a couple of years ago, and almost any time I've been bothered or harassed by a man, it's been someone from the Middle East or North Africa. I was followed home on a bus by someone, until I very loudly called and spoke to my male flatmates to come and meet me.
It's all definitely jaded how I think about these things.
[–]irerereddit 20 points21 points22 points  (0 children)
Better late than never. Europe can support people in crisis with money. They don't need to destroy the continent by bringing in groups of people who will always have large percentages of them supporting terrorism.
[–]NSACOP 17 points18 points19 points  (0 children)
I have to agree. I was planning on immigrating to Germany temporarily after I completed my RN degree... Now I think I might just stay in America.
I used to be all for refugees, and labeled anyone who wasn't ignorant- but it's clear Europe is damaging their own society by allowing immigrants who don't want to change their toxic ways.
It's clear these people want too flee the war, by don't want to let go of their ideology, disrespect for women, other religions/cultures, and every other problem that caused their homeland to end up in war.
You can't help someone that doesn't want to be helped, unfortunately in this case it's the society and customs that this group of people have.
[–]flyfre 20 points21 points22 points  (0 children)
You aren't alone, I was upset the US wasn't doing more. As a women in the US, reading this is definitely a wake up call
[–]elosoloco 48 points49 points50 points  (8 children)
It's not that anyone thought they would all literally be thugs, its the fact that there is NO way to actually know what kind of people they are, and that protecting yourself, and your family, takes priority over a stranger.
Also, it's the question of if these people even are actually refugees, or are they people envious of what we, as a western civilization, have worked hard for, and are using Syria as a reason to immigrate. Also something we can't really know, because their country(ies) are not honest or organized.
[–]time_to_despair comment score below threshold-24 points-23 points-22 points  (7 children)
Yeah, can't really know. They might just be lying about Syria being strafed to all fuck. No way we could search for images of Syria on the internet and see for ourselves that, well shit - there's no there there anymore.
[–]innocii 12 points13 points14 points  (0 children)
You missunderstood him (perhaps on purpose?). He meant that the people lie about their origin and the countries don't help by providing immigrants origins.
[–]Mozambique_Drill 9 points10 points11 points  (3 children)
That's not at all what he means. There is a significant amount of evidence that people from countries other than Syria are emigrating to Germany under the guise of being Syrian. When questioned, many "Syrian refugees" don't know the capital of Syria and don't speak arabic.
[–]user_of_the_week -3 points-2 points-1 points  (2 children)
That is probably true (even understandable). We need to identify these people and treat them according to the law, which means denying asylum and deporting them in many cases. Very few people / politicians argue against that, even in Germany.
That does not mean that all of a sudden, everything changes and you're now right when you say "these refugees are all violent animals".
[–]ArchNemesisNoir 2 points3 points4 points  (1 child)
Nobody said that. Well, except for you.
[–]user_of_the_week -2 points-1 points0 points  (0 children)
This is what "ThE_MagicaL_GoaT" said, further up in this thread:
I couldn't understand how people could be so ignorant, that they feared these refugees were all violent animals. I now understand that I'm actually the ignorant one.
[–]dragnu5 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
Most of the "Syrian" refugees aren't even Syrian.
I think it was something around 70% were just claiming to be Syrian.
[–]elosoloco -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
You see what's published and pushed. If it was that give to shit already how did these millions if people not already starve to death?
I'm not saying Syria isn't ugly, I'm saying a decent percentage isn't from Syria
[–]darienrude_dankstorm 7 points8 points9 points  (4 children)
I'm in the same boat - I used to believe you can't deny the chances of millions because of a few bad apples, but now that it's evident there are thousands rapey bad apples I'm starting to wonder how legitimate my position was. I still firmly believe the legitimate Syrian refugees absolutely deserve every chance they can get.
[–]sickpharaoh 3 points4 points5 points  (3 children)
Too bad the socialists already got what they wanted and let in who-even-knows-how-many people with little to no real screening.
[–]gsloane 0 points1 point2 points  (2 children)
It's not that easy. What do you do with thousands upon thousands breaking in every day to the continent. It's not that most people don't want the strictest best screening. I mean look at the US where this immigration problem can be very deliberate and selective. Even people who support taking in refugees want years of checks, multiple screenings, 13 years until getting citizenship. Now, nothing is fool proof, but even the most supportive if helping refugees want to be able to do it sensibly with security. There are legitimate questions if that's actually possible.
[–]sickpharaoh 3 points4 points5 points  (1 child)
I think the US model is perfectly reasonable. No one is entitled to enter a country just because their own country is a shitty place to live.
They are lucky to be accepted at all, after any length of time spent waiting. But the European model has made them brazen. They think they can come to Europe and behave however they want.
If you ask me, it's not the West's responsibility and these people can stay in their home countries forever for all we should care. Say what you want about our interventionist policies, WE didn't do that. Our leaders did. The common people of the West shouldn't have to pay for the mistakes of our leaders, and that's exactly what they're asking us to do. We are where they get the money from, whether it's for bombs or for welfare checks.
[–]gsloane 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
I was just saying how this group of war refugees is almost impossible to contain. I mean you could round up everyone that comes and put them in camps. Given Europe's history this is obviously a scary prospect for lots of Europeans. So there are just realities on the ground to contend with, the reality being they are there. They are coming in masses of people. Now, you can tell that a lot of Europeans are very well intentioned. They want to believe this can be managed, that liberal attitudes can prevail, that these can be a new productive group in society if just given the right support. At the same time there's complete denial from an influential set of people that there is a real cultural clash here, that any talk of arab cultures being absolutely gross toward women is a myth and no different than white men. So what is needed is truly sober dialog, no scare tactics, no whitewashing. Just be up front an honest about what this challenge means. I really don't know what the answer is, but like I said there has to be one between just a free for all and prison camps. As for the US, this Syria refugee crisis is not a huge problem for us this far away. We have other immigration problems, which I also hope get addressed sensibly without the fear tactics. There are serious problems no one can deny that, the majority of people in the world are good, that doesn't mean there aren't problems to address.
[–]Shirohige 9 points10 points11 points  (1 child)
There is a middle ground here. You do not have to be on one of the extreme side of that argument. You can support to help the refugees and still be critical towards the situation.
[–]poperising 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
A lot of people have been calling for hotspots on the outer border of Europe when all of this started months ago. Help them, yet protect our own. The most realistic and humanitarian thing to do. But we were cast out from here and had to move to r / europe an. I'm glad people are finally opening their eyes. But I'm sad it had to be in such a terrible way.
[–]Chonn 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
Thank you for admitting this.
Now please try and convince others of it.
[–]arificial_nation 6 points7 points8 points  (0 children)
After years of acceptation the Greeks and living with such things as child tax and slaves in their own land, till they managed to finally get rid of the turks. The ripples are still causing havoc in the balkans and in the recent wars in Bosnia, Kosovo etc. Now they are all forced to just open their borders and let them all in! It's madness, the wounds are not healed yet, I can't foresee a peaceful end to this! Could you imagine Russia or Armenia doing the same and opening their borders to muslims and turks? NEVER!
[–]sickpharaoh 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
Too little, too late.
The people of Europe are paying for the whims of their "democratic socialist" leadership.
[–]MurrayTheMonster 22 points23 points24 points  (3 children)
You're experiencing what a lot of us experience as we really open our eyes. The young tend to lean left and believe in an ideal world, while the old tend to lean right because they've learned how the world really works.
[–]bbrpst 2 points3 points4 points  (1 child)
Thats so black and white and wrong. Most of the progress of the west has come from the younger generation being more progressive than their parents, theres not that many years ago that being homosexual was illegal, was that also pushed by "those who really know how the world worlds" because they were older?
[–]liptonreddit 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Progressive ? Greek were cool with homosexuality before church even exist. it's not like youth and modern time invented tolerance. From what I see, i'd even say the recent generation are way more traditional than the previous one.
[–]the_one2 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Old people tend to be conservative because the world moves left faster than they do.
[–]Scratch98 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
I thought the same to start, now I'm not so sure. Ideally, refugees should be willing to integrate, however Arabic culture is one that has really lagged behind in progression compared to most of europe/the west.
I don't like what's happening, but then it does come down to what is the value of a human life versus the value of Western quality of life.
I do wish governments would take the kid gloves off with refugees though.
[–]birdmanisreal 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Imagine how I feel. I was against this from the very beginning. And had the evidence to prove it too. Looking at how muslims integrate in our society. They live very clustered. Pretty much keep to themselves and hold on very tightly to their traditional views.
I will say that Turks are probably the only people that somewhat do their part and assimilate better than other Islamic nationalities. Or maybe I happen to know the minority that do.
[–]ImMPrince 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Welcome.
[–][deleted] 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
Too late now.
[–]AbigailLilac 5 points6 points7 points  (3 children)
I still don't know how to feel about it. I'm all for helping people who need to be helped, but who knows which ones are good and which ones are bad?
[–]BigBearKitty 8 points9 points10 points  (2 children)
what about helping them with money to be used on refugees centers in the middle east? it seems to me that that should be the larger part of the solution, not europe taking in millions.
[–]bbrpst 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
Theres limits to the amount of people the closest countries can take, compare the amount of people that gets to europe with how many are in the neighbouring countries. The main problem is the war, theres what, like 8 million who flees just from the civil war in Syria alone..
[–]BigBearKitty 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
some of the neighboring nations aren't even trying.
[–]Danielfair 8 points9 points10 points  (0 children)
You've been red-pilled.
[–]snickers_addict 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
Wow at least you woke up.
[–]_PM_ME_YOUR_PELVIS_ 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
Welcome to your first day in reality. Pull a chair, make yourself at home, we have much to discuss.
[–]gsloane 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
These people can still be helped, for their sake and Europe's being right next door. But it requires way more order and sensibility. For instance, why not carve out a safe zone in Syria in neighboring countries and build safe refugee camps. Instead of letting in thousands of military age men, let them fight for their country not go plunder around Europe. Then of course war is bad but this fight for Syria and Iraq has to be waged and the world needs to win that and let the refugees return home. So you can support the refugees while also recognizing that millions of them resettling Europe is potentially catastrophic.
[–]The_Real_Harry_Lime 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Props for being able to admit your weren't 100% correct. It's a virtue displayed by too few in the real world and nearly nobody on the internet. By the way, Socrates is considered the wisest man in Western thought and his big breakthrough was that he knew he knew nothing, so you're in good company.
[–]YouCan_Not_Doge 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Yea.. I'm all for refugees and giving people a chance but shit like this, if it happens on so large a scale sorry, that shows that you have way too many assholes in your population. It sucks that everyone else has to be lumped in with them but they need to be penalized/sent away until theyre ready to not be a fucking asshole to the guy offering them help
[–]onehundredtwo 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
I'm curious why you would change your mind over this incident. Is it just this incident? You weren't aware this could be an issue?
[–]sonny_sailor 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
RemindMe! Give this man gold
[–]WoollyMittens -5 points-4 points-3 points  (2 children)
these refugees were all violent animals
You really believe now that ALL refugees are violent animals?
[–]ThE_MagicaL_GoaT 6 points7 points8 points  (0 children)
Um, no.
EDIT: So that made me sound like an asshole, and I'm sorry about that. What I'm saying is that I now believe that allowing these refugees into the country, there is going to be a DRASTIC increase in violent crimes. Its like OP of the thread said, its not just a small group of criminals, it is literally in their culture.
[–]Kemanisan 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
i think that is really a problem now. I live in germany and always was happy that we could help the refugees and I always thought we do the right thing. Still I belive for the kids that will go to school here and learn with other kids it is the best decision. But Aáfter all that happend (in Paris and now this) I can´t shrug off the feeling that when I am walking alone and e.g 2 arabic looking man walk behind me, I do not feel safe. and I know that is a terrible way to think, but I just really don´t feel safe anymore when I am alone.
[–]idriveacar -1 points0 points1 point  (2 children)
You weren't ignorant, you didn't have the predisposition of fear or hostility. Now, in light of evidence, you have changed your position.
[–]nillut 2 points3 points4 points  (1 child)
He held an uninformed opinion, that is the very definition of ignorance.
The condition of being uneducated, unaware, or uninformed.
[–]idriveacar 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
I apparently didn't have my brain on last night.
[–]smokinJoeCalculus -2 points-1 points0 points  (2 children)
In what way? You now think they're all animals??
I mean, it's silly to assume you take on refugees and that's that. There absolutely needs to be some sort of plan, whether assimilation for those that want to start a path to citizenship or the creation of communities so they aren't completely fish out of water.
And you fucking make sure that these types of acts are known as absolutely unwelcome.
Of course how that is done gets tricky, but that's why the discussion takes place.
[–]dragnu5 2 points3 points4 points  (1 child)
It's going to be hard to assimilate them to the new society. Arabs tend to form their own communities and just stick to that.
There are many people in the UK/Sweden/Germany for example, that have been there for decades and don't even speak the language. They just go to local arabic stores and interact solely with other arabs.
It's only their children that adapt properly into the new society.
Not sure how it's going to work out.
[–]smokinJoeCalculus 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
Well, to be frank I find that to be a tendency of a lot of immigrants.
[–]CptFixIt -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
I'm affraid that this day may come soon for myself too
[–]E_mE -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
There is no evidence to link these events to Refugees. Koeln and surrounding areas have had a lot of Arab/North African populations since the 1950s.
[–]peisistratid -3 points-2 points-1 points  (0 children)
Are you saying the refugees are all violent animals and thugs? Seems like your initial view was a bit more reasonable, though if you thought there would be zero issues then not to much.
Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy (updated). © 2016 reddit inc. All rights reserved.
REDDIT and the ALIEN Logo are registered trademarks of reddit inc.
π Rendered by PID 28187 on app-401 at 2016-01-08 02:50:15.288974+00:00 running 11f0405 country code: DE.
Cookies help us deliver our Services. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies.  Learn More
0%
 
10%
 
20%
 
30%
 
40%
 
50%
 
60%
 
70%
 
80%
 
90%
 
100%