In recent history, Europe’s top exports have been good dance music and bad ideas. For every ABBA and Avicii, there is a Hume and Engels. The latter was German and very wrong about many things. He’s not alone.
Germany has been ground zero for some of humanity’s best (read worst) ideas. It seems like Germans are always up for something dumb, whether it’s fighting a two-front war, fighting John McClane, or letting mustachioed Austrians run their country.
Despite this reputation for low-IQ thinking, Germans are very successful and even execute their bad ideas to some success. They almost won a two-front war (twice), and Hans Gruber was this close to stealing $640 million in negotiable bearer bonds from Nakatomi Plaza.
Even that Austrian guy wrote a book you know the name of. Name one of Joe Biden’s books right now. I can’t, you can’t, and he can’t either. (This is a serious digression, but I wonder if Hitler’s family gets a cut every time his likeness is used in a movie or video game. They would make a killing.)
It’s a good thing Das Deutschen often succumb to bad ideas because when their natural ability is productively applied, they are borderline unstoppable. Leibniz simultaneously invented calculus independent of Newton, Bach and Beethoven go hard, and not even Rome could cross the Rhine.
This brings me to the unlikely confluence of electronic dance music (EDM) and growing anti-foreigner sentiment among Germany’s youth.
Germany is steeped in EDM’s history and development, claiming the genre’s pioneers like Kraftwerk, which began cropping up in the 1970s. For the last 50-plus years, EDM and Germany’s penchant for self-destructive politics have remained at arm’s length — until now. In one of those fascinating accidents of history, a decades-old EDM anthem finds itself a key player in the discourse surrounding Germany’s migrant crisis.
Recent videos of German 20-somethings chanting nationalistic words to the tune of Italian DJ Gigi D’Agostino’s 2000 hit L’Amour Toujours resulted in the song’s ban from music festivals and a police investigation.
You should go listen to the song on YouTube because (1) it is really good, and (2) you can put the words to the tune of the song. Here are the new words younger Germans are singing:
Auslander raus!
Auslander raus!
Deutschland den Deutschen!
Auslander raus!
Which translates to:
Foreigners out!
Foreigners out!
Germany for Germans!
Foreigners out!
The mass influx of foreigners, largely from the Middle East, remains an increased source of tension in Germany, especially among younger citizens, it appears. Things were not made better when, earlier this month, a 25-year-old Afghan stabbed six people, killing one cop, at an event protesting the spread of political Islam. Five days later, a politician from the Alternative for Germany, an anti-Islamic, anti-immigration political party, was attacked with a box cutter while confronting a man removing party posters.
All this has only catapulted the popularity of L’Amour’s new tongue-in-cheek lyrics, with videos of younger Germans singing them going viral. As a result, L’Amour’s official music video on YouTube — which is 14 years old and boasts millions of views — was inundated with brand new comments, none of which were about the song itself. People across the European continent left comments encouraging Germany to assert its national identity and kick foreigners out.
“Love and support to Germany from Poland!” one of the newest comments said. I don’t know if you’re a history buff, but it’s been a long time since that has happened.
Unfortunately, the comment section was disabled right after I came across it, but I happened to take a picture of several of the most interesting — how’s that for some real journalism?
The song's banning, the investigation of people in the videos, and the disabling of the comment section show that this is not some blip on Germany’s cultural radar.
A while ago, I talked about how today’s youth are rejecting the political and cultural status quo in a way that is alarming to the Western establishment. It manifests in silly little ways, like adding words to a dance song, but could you imagine chants about throwing foreigners out of your country becoming not only popular but broadly supported even 10 years ago?
The West is in for a major political and cultural shift spurred by policies insisted upon by Germany, the U.S., and others. I don’t care how progressive you think you are; all politics are reactionary, and as much as the world has changed since WWII, it’s about to change a whole lot more.
Nick Treglia is a first-year law student.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819news.com.
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