[Linux-Anyway] Re: Heh. I can be German;-)
- From: horrorvacui@xxxxxxx
- To: Linux-Anyway@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2003 23:17:18 +0200
On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 01:21:08 -0700 (PDT)
Meph Istopheles <Meph@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hey,
>
> Still researching possibilities for my move to Europe. Turns
> out that, as the grandson of a German (in spite of the the fact
> she'd immigrated to the US & is dead now), I'm eligible for a
> German passport.
>
> Waiting on word from my father on who has all the documents
> (birth cert, immigration stuff, etc) -- him or his sister.
>
> I'll be a European eventually;-).
Hell no - you're a Yank and will stay one for ever. Well, for years at
least...
Needless to say, if you turn out to be German, that'll be the end of
european culture and civilisation ;-)
Serious now: yes, you're very likely a german. The regulations of
citizenship that to this day no government had either the will or leverage
to alter into something more appropriate for the 21st (or for that matter,
the 20th) century, say that you're a german if you're of german origin.
It's a kind of a mild race-principle that is still the law thanks to a
peculiar dynamism that often develops in democracies. As far as I know,
neither the politicians nor the people agree with this, but whenever the
law's to be changed, something comes in between - catastrophes, political
scandals, coalition strategies, economic crisis, etc.
This creates a peculiar situation where "immigrants", born in germany in
the third generation are de jure still "Turks" or whatever, whereas de
facto they're very obviously quite as german as it gets. Conversely, there
are whole provinces in the former USSR that had been populated by germans
at some point in history - since the collapse of the USSR there's been a
steady and quite considerable stream of "german" immigrants from these
areas. "German" in quotes, because however you try to look at the matter
they're russians, with russian names, not speaking a single world of
german, not having any more an idea of germany and its culture than their
de jure non-german russian fellows, and above all considering themselves
russians. They get a citizenship and all social benefits. The 3G "Turk"
meanwhile, who would for example have gotten a french passport
automatically if born while his parents are living in France, has to go
through a long procedure and might still be refused a german citizenship -
he has no right to it.
So go on and profit from this idiotic legislation - that way, something
good would come of it. And wherever you choose to live, avoid Bavaria.
Cheers
--
Horror Vacui
Registered Linux user #257714
Go get yourself... counted: http://counter.li.org/
- and keep following the GNU.
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