German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has instructed his countrymen to weed out all of their subconscious bigotry, real or imagined, declaring that the nation must take up arms against racism.
In televised remarks on Tuesday, Steinmeier took a somewhat inflexible stance on how to ensure equality in Germany.
“No, it’s not enough not to be a racist. We have to be anti-racists! Racism requires taking a counter-position, counter-speech, action, criticism and – perhaps most difficult – self-criticism, self-examination,” he proclaimed.
The German president went on to pontificate that “anti-racism must be learned, practiced and lived.”
Cities across Germany have already seen large anti-racism rallies inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. Steinmeier’s comments seem to suggest that he wishes to see more of these kinds of vocal, pro-active actions against racism – as “not being racist” is (apparently) inadequate.
The German president is far from the only world leader to show militant support for the global campaign aimed at rooting out racism in all its alleged forms. Earlier in June, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “took a knee” in solidarity with BLM protesters and even declared that discrimination in Canada is “a lived reality for far too many of our fellow citizens.”
Similar sentiments have been expressed by European leaders as well as US governors and mayors across the country. While following a noble goal, “self-examination” in some parts of the world has already reached extremes, with everything from films to statues being targeted for their racist connotations.
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