spent years being ashamed of who I was - now I am here in an America that has gone insane. And the interesting thing is I cannot even fathom what is wrong with people who act like this. What in us allows us to hate this much?

in Weisbaden. I never had a German elderly person (this in the 1970's) get indignant because I (a young black little girl) had just reached my hand into a candy dish at a restaurant. I did in Rochester NY though.


Don't you dare be ashamed of being German - those folks learned and said Never This Way Pass Again. And those elderly Germans fawned over those Army Captain's two bi-racial little kids whose American mother was of obvious German (my mom's maiden name was Von Bargerstock) descent.

I was born here in the USA and had several uncles who fought in WWII so yes I had no reason to feel that way. But for the fact that my ancestors migrated to the US in the 1850s I could have just as easily been a Nazi supporter as not. Maybe it is more fear of what is possible than shame but it is there.

I am glad that the German people have changed that does not help what some of us here felt when we heard what had happened over there. That is something I will live with until I die. The fear of just how low humanity can go.

My german ancestry came here around the same time and settled in what is now Pittsburgh. You may be a bit older than me perhaps? I know my grandfather (WW II Vet) of all German American heritage had a deep dislike for those like him on the other side of the pond. And it was brutal for my Great Grandfather during WW I.

If it makes you feel better - long story short - the German Veteran elite (read in between the lines) officers had a little club in Weisbaden and they welcomed my dad and Green Berets of all 'colors and creeds' in - because 30 years later . . . it was an acknowledgement of being elite. Nothing more and nothing less. They had 'respect' for them. My mom's dad and her maternal grandfather (French immigrant who fought in World War I) didnt' really appreciate my dad going there . . . but it wasn't their time or place to chastise him. And my mom has said deep down her father actually kind of liked that they acknowledged that a black man was their 'equal'.

one with German 'blood' on both sides of my family. My ancestor on my fathers side came here in 1750 from Holland. My fathers mother was French. They migrated down from Canada in the late 1600's (from what my research unfolded so far) which of course can be assumed they may have had a hand in murder, torture and removal of Native Americans, in gods name, I might add.

So both sides more than likely had family who are associated with horrid acts toward other humans. My Dad fought in WWII in the Pacific theater. His stories of what he did and saw were heartbreaking.

So I can fully relate to what you are feeling. We can't change the past but we nee3d to continue teaching it so it won't happen again. Hatred is part of the human trait but we aren't born with it .... it's taught. Children, as innocent as they start out, are so very vulnerable and when they're brought up with negativity all around them, it's no big surprise that it spreads through them generation after generation. Such a pity.

What really gets my goat is when those who act out their hatred while proclaiming to be religious (it matters not what organized religious sect) they somehow believe they're doing what their god wants. One of the many reasons I am no longer affiliated with any religion. One doesn't need to be part of a 'group' to believe in the Creator.

with what blood runs through our veins as with what we are taught. Let those of us who remember continue to teach the lesson that hatred is not the answer for either side.

was stationed in Germany (Weisbaden, also I believe). When his hitch was up, he returned state-side, just long enough to get his affairs in order to return to Germany. That was better than 30 years ago and he has only been back to the states, twice in that time.

Seriously.

There were no Nuremberg trials to punish worst of slave owners and take back their wealth made with stolen labor.

Instead, they were allowed to continue business as usual except after the harvest their former slaves owed them money for the privilege of picking their cotton.

The parallel would be if there was no de-nazification in Germany and the gates of the slave labor camps were open and inmates were free to go--as soon as they paid the camp for room and board.

I am also of German descent , and I am, appalled of those hateful actions . They occur mainly in the Southern states , because they are still fighting the civil war and the abolition of slavery . They seem to be unable to overcome their prejudices and hatred against those of a different race . So sad !

They are disgustingly RACIST!! I would not be surprised if representatives from Mississippi claimed this was an improvement because at least they are not actively lynching African Americans now just simulating it.

I was born, raised & unfortunately still live in the deep south & racism down here is alive & well as it has ever been...Just now it is hidden & only comes out in racist legislation or when folks think it is "safe" to express how they really feel & yes occasionally with racist pranks & vandalism! SAD but 100% TRUE!!!

Wait for it -

The 50 responses saying that it happens to white statues at Ole Miss too!

All snark aside - that's sick.

"Why is everyone so serious that they can't take a joke?" -defense

But I was an asshat when I was in college and it never dawned on me to do something like that. Move a priest's car? Yes. But hang a noose around the neck of a statue on campus? That's rotten.

when sober, I tend to be of few words and anti-social, mainly as a defense ploy. Get some beer in me, and I am the friendliest guy in the world.

That's why it's called courage in a bottle.

You, I'd like drinking with. Angry racists, not so much.

solve all the great mysteries of life while drinking, but we forget by morning

I wouldn't be shocked at all if it were drunken fraternity prank. However, that does not lessen the fact that it is still a racist act of terrorism against an ethnic group.

I'm sure the intent of your post was not to waive it off as a prank in the same vein as "boys will be boys" has been used with regards to waving off bullying and even sexual assault in the past.

making a criminal charge stick, given first amendment issues.

if there is a relevant criminal statute that would survive such a challenge, book 'em.

The longer I live - the more I believe that smacking the the folks who did this with Vandalism will get them in more trouble with the law than hate crime/anything race related will.

require physical damage.

No vandalism unless something is completely destroyed is 'forever'. I.E. You can paint over and remove graffiti. You can remove a noose and a You're A Bunch of Losers flag.


I can't get over how tied to a symbol of getting one's butt whooped by the righteous some of these white supremacist types are. The last thing I wanted to do in the 1990's was drive around with a Buffalo Bill's bumper sticker on my car.

There's always going to be a few in any crowd of sufficient size.

Cut the rope, throw it in the evidence locker, keep the investigation silent (and an FBI-arrests-you-in-the-night hate crime if you find the culprit), and go on your merry way.

Pay them attention, and they win. Big yucks all around the circle of assholes.


Think of it like feeding/not feeding the trolls. Don't feed them and it discourages them, and makes it easier to find and ban them when they act out seeking more attention.

reviled publicly.

...to end this shit, just as the way to have the State of Florida's legislature, and Governor, to rise up and dump their 'Excuse To Murder Black Folks' (aka, Stand Your Ground) law, is for young, fast, big (and black) athletes to boycott all their respective State Universities until this crap is brought to a, final, close. Hell, the KKK would probably agree to lynch the next white guy that pulls something that might trigger such an action...yeah, the thought of having to 'field' an all-white football or basketball team would do the trick. Fact is, I'm still wondering why the families of black athletes would allow their kids to attend a place that still plays Dixie and waves the 'stars and bars' at games.

I wouldn't ask black athletes to turn down scholarships, but a student athlete strike might get some attention. Just sit on the bench and refuse to go into the game, like a wildcat strike. Then let the administration try to punish them and watch the media firestorm of negative publicity.

Their parent and I wanted them to live.

Ok, maybe I would.

for the Klu Kluxa Klan frat house.

Hey, maybe they're the ones who set out all those extra traffic cones in New Jersey, too!


rocktivity

...probably an AFRICAN-AMERICAN left-wing provocateur...

...just trying to:

1. "Make them look bad;"
   
2. "Stir up trouble;"
   
3. "Play the victim card and stir up sympathy," or
   
4. All of the above.

but the smart money would be on drunken white frat boys.

It was back during the 2008 election, embarrassing and infuriating.

Drunk is not an excuse either!

I thought it was a very powerful show.

Here's a link to it: http://espn.go.com/30for30/film?page=ghosts-of-ole-miss

Some malcontents are stuck in past. Shameful.

The current Mississippi flag has the KKK flag right up in the upper left corner.