In all the posts we have done about freedom of speech and Germany, we forgot one important note.
When you have enough immigrants in a country, there will be some who turn into the staunchest defenders of what is often called very conservative, even xenophobic ideas.
In Germany, Mr. Pirinçci, a son of immigrants and a well known author of fiction, has fired off a book American fans of radio host Limbaugh or Alex Jones of InfoWars fame would easily recognize.
And large segments of the German media have a hard time handling his anti-immigrant, anti-gay, anti-a-lot-more rhetoric without resorting to attacks on the author.
Our opinion, hardened by American public discourse, is simple: At the end of the day, this book will fade away, too.
Sure, he rants like there is no tomorrow, but that's just it. The book is more like a German South Park As A Book than anything else.
There is no real claim of a scientific foundation (even if we include philosophy under the broad umbrella of science). Where an article in the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine calls his views "Sarrazin on speed", we think he is just so far out that there won't be much impact. Mr. S's books may be a different matter in this regard.
As to any person or institution feeling insulted to the degree that they will take Mr. Pirinçci to court for slander or libel, we'll keep you posted if we come across any such news.
[Update 2/10/2016]
Frankfurter Allgemeine has a good article on unease of long time immigrants in Germany towards the recent refugees. While the article really only confirms the obvious - at least to folks like the blogster, a migrant, too - it is laudable to see the perspective of the older immigrant population and their children published.
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