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More German than many Germans

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Re: More German than many Germans

#111

Post by rmoriz »

rglullis wrote: post #46
dot_treo wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is actually an insurance kind of thing as far as I understand. I've had plenty of cases where the bus couldn't continue due to being in a traffic jam, and people who would have happily get off the bus couldn't either.

But it just goes to show how idiotic this culture of strict adherence to rules can be. I've been more than once been forced to sit on a bus for 10+ minutes, with the bus literally stopped by the sidewalk, and the driver still wouldn't budge when I said "I can just walk from here". It's feels worse than talking to a robot. At least I know robots have been programmed.

30 years ago, when the train broke down, you got a clear statement what happend and what will happening next. Nowadays everyone is treated like a small child. They just tell the obvious leaving the people hanging in uncertainty hence people get mad and question everything without understanding the cause (because they don’t get that information)

Re: More German than many Germans

#112

Post by dgellow »

expedition32 wrote: post #48
schmorptron wrote: post #5

What a nice and heartwarming read! I'm german, and really hope we can pivot away from the rise of the far right. How that can be done, I don't know. I just hope we can do so before we start scaring away people like him who would otherwise come here, decide they like it, become germans, and end up making it a better place for everyone. (Part of it is I think we should make it easier and more incentivized to learn the…

When people came from Algeria, Jamaica and Suriname to Europe they were not foreigners they had French, British and Dutch passports. Germany's lack of such a colonial empire kept the country from transitioning into a true multicultural society. It explains Germans special branch of racism.

> When people came from Algeria … to Europe they were not foreigners they had French … passports.

That’s not true at all for France with Algerians. The history of hate towards them has been horrible and is still very recent: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Paris_massacre

Re: More German than many Germans

#113

Post by juliendorra »

bambax wrote: post #13

The first time I was in Berlin I had to take a bus. It was just leaving the stop as I was getting there, but stopped at the next red light. So I ran to the bus and knocked on the door. The driver looked at me with a concerned look to see if something was wrong, and once he understood I was just asking to come onboard outside of the regular stop, he laughed. Not ironically or in a mean way: it was a genuine laugh like…

For context in Paris (and probably other French cities) you would try that and the result would heavily depends on the driver and their mood of the day ! Because they too are not allowed to do it, but of course France is all about flexing the rules (a bit, not so much, and after some pleading)

Re: More German than many Germans

#114

Post by PfizerJaa »

Propelloni wrote: post #105
PfizerJaa wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Hey newbie, I'm sorry my comment hurt you. But you don't have to be able to read German to apply the charity principle [1] and be a decent human being. Love you, too. [1] https://principle-of-charity.net/

What kind of person comes to an English speaking forum, drops a quote in a foreign language without any translation and pretends to not get called out?

Re: More German than many Germans

#115

Post by matsemann »

Akashic101 wrote: post #3

As a German I am super happy to hear that you are having such a good time in my, or now our, country. So often the news focus only on the bad things which sometimes blinds me on how nice people can be to each other and help each other out as one big community.

I also enjoy reading about how the colleagues and him genuinely like each other. So often on US forums I read a sentiment along the lines of "shut up and just do your work", but since I spend 8 hours with these people each day I prefer us to be as close to friends as possible.

Re: More German than many Germans

#116

Post by holowoodman »

KellyCriterion wrote: post #89
bambax wrote: post #13

The first time I was in Berlin I had to take a bus. It was just leaving the stop as I was getting there, but stopped at the next red light. So I ran to the bus and knocked on the door. The driver looked at me with a concerned look to see if something was wrong, and once he understood I was just asking to come onboard outside of the regular stop, he laughed. Not ironically or in a mean way: it was a genuine laugh like…

No, it is because in Berlin you do not run for a bus and trying to get onboard if you missed it, you just wait for the next one which arrives usually a few min later, so yes, from a Berliners perspective, this is really wierd, because nobody does this usually :-)

Yes, I'm also guessing it is a big-city vs. small-town thing. When the next bus is in 2h, then the driver feels your pain and maybe lets you in anyways...

Re: More German than many Germans

#118

Post by rmoriz »

glimshe wrote: post #91
asdf88990 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The German Engineering is a byproduct. The culture that created is also the one that is holding it from becoming competitive with Chinese automakers. Like almost everything, utility and efficiency is relative and dependent on the environment and external factors. People often overlook the “fit”.

I'd like better understand the German engineering culture. Why was it special in the past? What about today? As a kid in the 80s, I had some things from Germany and their quality was astounding. Fast forward to present time, our Volkswagen car made in Germany is the worst car I've ever had in terms of reliability. PS: an honest question getting downvotes?

There is no incentive to build a reliable product that can‘t compete in price. People are trained to consume and throw away. People are getting used to throw away cloths and household appliances after 1-3 years.

Miele once built washing machines that outlast 30 years. They offered spare parts and regional service hubs. But the market decided to just buy the 50% cheaper ones every 5 years.

Re: More German than many Germans

#119

Post by tasuki »

inatreecrown2 wrote: post #54
bambax wrote: post #13

The first time I was in Berlin I had to take a bus. It was just leaving the stop as I was getting there, but stopped at the next red light. So I ran to the bus and knocked on the door. The driver looked at me with a concerned look to see if something was wrong, and once he understood I was just asking to come onboard outside of the regular stop, he laughed. Not ironically or in a mean way: it was a genuine laugh like…

This was such an unusual thing for me coming from Germany to Italy. The Bus driver would stop at seemingly random places to pick up or drop people off. Once he stopped at the cafe to pick up his newspaper!

> Once he stopped at the cafe to pick up his newspaper!

The horrors!

Re: More German than many Germans

#120

Post by germanae »

servo_sausage wrote: post #43
petesergeant wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

UK and Australia are also very rule-loving and have their own problems, but not the same disease you’re describing here.

It's interesting, as an Aussie, the decline in rule following is honestly a bit upsetting. Part COVID, part mass migration, but the general decline in social trust is something that I really feel. I guess I see breaking rules as fundamentally a lack of empathy.

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