PalenQ

Donald Trump just said the due to Moslem immigrants that "Germany is now riddled with crime".

Is this true - is it safe to travel in Germany? For women especially?

Or is Trump whistling Dixie as usual?

Greenway

You believe anything that Trump says?

I live in Germany -- in a small town, I admit. No more crime than usual, and most of that is committed by Germans or Russians.

If you are going to a big city, then just take the usual precautions you would take in any big city.

bilboburgler

P ;-) I think you know when you see a sentence that starts "Donald Trump said..." you just know you don't have to look far to find un-educated/ignorant nonsense.

I remember Hawkeye (of Mash) saying something along the lines of, "democracy doesn't stop people choosing people who cannot find their buttocks with both hands" (he used another word) another famous American (BT Barnum I guess), "no one ever got poor by underestimating the stupidity of the American public".

I seldom pray, but right now I say a little one every night before I go to bed.

nytraveler

Germany is way safer than the US - esp hotbeds of crime like New Orleans.

But I never see anyone one saying is it safe to go to NO.

But of course, listening to Trump guarantees that there is no factual information involved.

PalenQ

the truth as usually the case says Trump is wrong about Germany being 'ridden with crime due to refugees':

http://www.dw.com/en/report-refugees...any/a-18848890

Trump is sure Presidential - insulting other countries without looking at stats - now that's going to be a great ambassador for American good will!

Christina

Trump exaggerates tremendously, which means that even some small point he could be making gets lost and he makes himself sound ridiculous. Except to his suppoerters, of course.

But Germany not being riddled with crime doesn't mean everything is just wonderful there and all Germans think this is great, and that there isn't been some crime. And there is a rise of far right parties against the immigration. I think at least one guy recently got convicted of the sexual assaults in Stuttgart and he was a Muslim immigrant, from Morocco, I think.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-for-its-soul/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...say/?tid=a_inl

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/04/12...nt-murder.html

NewbE

I think he's taking advantage of the incidents in Cologne on New Year's to continue bashing Muslims and immigrants--Muslim immigrants, even better! Those incidents grabbed a lot of headlines, so uninformed people hear him say Germany is riddled with crime and think, yeah, that sounds right, they've taken in a lot of Syrians and look where it's gotten them.

He is a true demagogue, good at exploiting people's fears.

I am glad to hear the statistics don't bear him out.

PalenQ

I think that he read it in the National Enquirer!

sparkchaser

If this forum supported different sizes of font, I would reply to this question with a 64 point bold LOL

bilboburgler

I see he got the endorsement from National Enquirer, the first candidate ever.

PalenQ

Wonder what Germans are thinking about that comment Trump made about Germany being ridden with crime now after the immigrants came in?

annhig

I wish that our german friends were still here so I could ask them, Pal! They certainly didn't mention a crime wave where they are, albeit it too is a small town in Germany.

Trump's remarks and urban myths are soon going to be interchangeable.

Dukey1

Why anyone is even responding to this is beyond me. And, Ann, I am sorry but exactly WHAT would you be asking, and insulting as you did so, any German friend? To rebut this absurd allegation of Trump's? Giving it the time of day is ridiculous enough and, of course, that is exactly what Trump hopes people will do to keep him "in the news."

NewbE

Dukey, you make an excellent point, IMO. Trump gets way too much mileage out of absolutely ridiculous remarks. Why do people (not annhig, I mean journalists, mostly) bend over backwards to take him seriously when he is such an obvious manipulator??

swandav2000

I live in Germany, yes, in another small town, but I do get to Munich sometimes.

The Germans I know don't take Trump seriously; when he speaks, they consider it about the same as a clown speaking.

s

Cowboy1968

I still have to find the "insult" in annhig's comment but as a German living in Berlin, I cannot see any relevant increase in crime.
There are some spots in town where you need to be more vigilant today than in the past. But it's not really related to the immigrants. And the spots are really tiny islands as in one square around a subway stop or one outdoor party venue in a city of 3.5 million.

While most Germans will dismiss Trump as a clown (hopefully not a clown with nukes at his fingertips in the future), a certain percentage of the population (some 15pct as to most recent polls) is supporting a party that has a similar xenophobic, anti-muslim, anti-immigration stance as the great blond leader.

swandav2000

That is scarey, Cowboy. I did see that the far - right party in Austria gained Parliament seats. I do hope this will pass.

s

sparkchaser

... a certain percentage of the population (some 15pct as to most recent polls) is supporting a party that has a similar xenophobic, anti-muslim, anti-immigration stance as the great blond leader...

And it is likely to get stronger in the upcoming years.

bilboburgler

You have to remember who gains from nationalism and who is funding it, remember the little Russian girl who was assaulted in Germany (or in fact was not).

Despots win by building fake walls, democracy wins by smashing them down

Whathello

Trump meant Belgium. He already said Bruxelles was a hellhole but has no idea about the geography of Europe.