Tyskland forum < Are Germans rude??

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    Germans are as human as anyone else... so yeah...

    innsent av  Joe W i Tyskland forum 

    Hey guys! Just thought I'll throw in my 2 cents into this topic.
    I was born in Singapore, but i grew up in Sydney, Australia. (Hence, my singaporean nationality and aussie permanent residency). Anyways, if I were to compare these three countries, I wouldn't see much of any difference. I've met my share of rude and nice Germans, Singaporeans, and Aussies. In Germany, imho, the good outweighs the bad. I've lived here for nearly two years, and my opinion about the rude germans ive met does not represent the average german. Sure, I've been stared at ferociously by a man down at the store for no apparent reason, but these are people you'll find anywhere in the world. People have different ways of expressing their emotions that unfortunately could be immediately described as rude, when in reality, they clearly don't mean it that way. Furthermore, I really think that a person's nationality has no bearing on his or her character.

    I'm half Chinese, a quarter Taiwanese and a quarter Japanese by descent, so I may experience things a little differently than others. I remember there was a nice lady behind the counter at the Auslaenderbehoerde who failed to pronounce my middle name (I've an English first name and a Chinese middle name). She gave up after her first try and said "ching chang chong". I was taken aback. My heart dropped and I felt a little offended, but deep down, I knew she didn't mean that. She wasn't a racist. She was just trying to lighten the mood, but came up with something she didn't know was inappropriate. I let that slide. In fact, we had a really nice conversation thereafter. She even wished me a happy birthday (I was there on my birthday, sad really...).

    I've not met any racist germans (at least, not to me), and I don't intend on meeting one. Most Germans I've met are really friendly. Narrowing it down, it's really a cultural thing: if they know you better, they'll tear down the wall of stereotype themselves. When you first see a person youve never met, you'd form an immediate opinion about him based on his race etc. Unless you're willing to talk and get to know that guy better, you'll never break that first impression. It builds up until you convince yourself that that is the truth. People do that - Americans, Australians, Singaporeans, Germans, Japanese etc alike. The media has been the main propagator of stereotypes - the things we watch on tv has a huge effect on our perception of the world. So if you've met a German who has never seen your kind before, don't be so quick to judge him and call him rude. I had a lot of strangers in shops and cafes ask me if I was from China or Japan (out of the blue). They didn't ask that question rudely; rather, they were just curious. When I told them I came from Singapore and Australia, they got really excited and wanted to converse with me. Just a few weeks ago, while on the ICE, I sat next to a police officer from hamburg who offered me a peach and began a really nice conversation with me.

    I tend to do this a lot, and it has never really failed me. If you make an effort to smile at a stranger, chances are, he or she is going to do the same. Makes the world a happy place...

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