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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Now, now Garry, not all the Lutherans I know are
big hugs. Some are religious thugs, extremists every bit as pathetic and pitiful
as religious thugs with other labels. However, the worst I only met on this
continent, where I first became aware of the Lutheran split into two factions,
one truly mindless in its religious zeal. They are as representative of
Germans as the Klu Klux Clan is of Americans. A collection of pitiful creatures
both and neither of great interest to me. And, yes, the protestant north of
Germany does abound in less humor than the Catholic south, where I have most of
my contacts, but they do share historically a rich ethnic humor just the same.
But again, humor is a wonderful human attribute that transcends ethnicity
despite a rich sample of Jewish jokes, Polish Jokes, Newfie Jokes....Come to
think of it what I will miss about Communism is the loss of Communist
jokes, you know the 25 year, 10 year, 5 year varieties (if you got caught
telling the first type: 25 years in jail! ...the second: 10 years in jail..
etc). Nazi and Communist jokes both debunk authority in a juicy fashion, and
though I appreciate both, its nice to know that they will be appreciated less
and less as time goes on. I am a great fan of Mark Twain (his debunking of the
German language is truly priceless, almost as good as his debunking of the
writing style of James Fennimore Cooper). I read and re-read - in German
translation - Tom Sawyer about 12 times, and got a shock reading it in English:
the German translation was funnier! My heroes in humor transcend nationality and
I am a fan of all of it. We do not remember heads of states as humorous, but
Germany had one, Fredrik the Great, a king who wrote and conversed in French,
who wrote 32 books, crossed swords with Voltaire, wrote classical music good
enough to be honored by the Toronto symphony with a night of his compositions,
adored by Napoleon for his military skills, but remembered best of all for
his humor. In the Seven Years War, he first fought at Rossbach against the
French and defeated them. A contingent of French officers stood under guard in
the evening, clearly not in the best of mood. A lonely horseman approached them,
and they recognized the king who had defeated them. Fredrick halted, tipped his
hat to the French officers and a hush fell over the dejected crowd. "Gentlemen"
the king said. "I was expecting you. But not so many and not so soon". At war
with France, and yet he was the rage in Paris! War humor? Maudlin! The humor of
this wonderful American, then a youngster marching with Patton's army,
moves me to tears. And it moved Patton to white rage who wanted Maudlin
court-martialed for his cartoons. This young man saw not the enemy as the evil,
but war itself within which friend and foe were caught helplessly, and he had -
ongoing! - the courage to portray it as such. The great Will Rogers once said in
his cow-boy humor that at all times there is somebody somewhere who does in
dead earnest what brings smiles to the faces of the rest of us. Maudlin
must have been listening, for he debunked his country's war
propaganda....despite his superior's rage! That's what heroism is all about.
That kind of humor could not thrive on the other side, alas, but it was present.
Germany has a rich history in humor going back to medieval times: Till
Eulenspiegel, Simplizius Simplizissimus, Baron von Munchhausen and there is no
shortage in the recent. "The Captain of Koperick" a true story debunking the
Kaiser's military culture, set as a play by Carl Zuckmayer, a WW I hero
decorated with the highest German military honor, the Kaiser's "Pour le
Merit", a Jew who had to flee Germany and spent the war in the USA. Humor and
tears are not far apart. And it's not because you laugh till you are in tears!
After all, the court jester was valued because only he could say the truth to
the king! "Weisspferdl" (little white horse) was a wartime humorist on stage in
Munich. He appeared one night on stage with three pigs: a boar, a sow and a
piglet. "<EM>Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce to you the Family Mann! This
is Boy Mann, this is Frau Mann, and this</EM>" and he pointed to the big, fat
boar " <EM><STRONG>is Hermann</STRONG></EM>!". he was promptly hauled off to
jail for insulting Hermann Goering. After his jail time he appeared on stage. In
trot the three pigs - a turmoil broke out in the audience! "<EM>Ladies and
Gentlemen, whom have I brought with me?</EM>" The audience roared "<EM>Die
Familie Mann</EM>". Quieting the turmoil he shouted "<EM>No, No</EM>. <EM>This
is not the Family Mann. These are merely pigs, pigs and nothing else. An
this</EM>" and her pointed to the boar" is <EM>the goddmned fat hog I sat three
days in jail for</EM>!". Weisspferdl is dead now, but the citizen of Munich
erected a small stature of him and he is well remembered. And Germany is a
culture that has suffered a lot of suppressed truths, and humor is one
way to let it out. Sorry that you had such run in with Lutheran sour
pusses. Cheers, Val Geist</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>----- Original Message ----- </FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>From: "G. Reinhart-Waller" <</FONT><A
href="mailto:waluk@earthlink.net"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>waluk@earthlink.net</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=2>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>To: "The new improved paleopsych list"
<</FONT><A href="mailto:paleopsych@paleopsych.org"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>paleopsych@paleopsych.org</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 8:25 PM</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Subject: Re: [bigbangtango] Re: [Paleopsych]
Morality</FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><BR><FONT size=2></FONT></FONT></DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>> How interesting that all the Lutherans you've known give hugs.
I've <BR>> known quite a few (Germanic through and through) and most of them
barely <BR>> smile. Yet, to each his own. <BR>> Sadat was
assassinated.....guess there were a few who didn't connect <BR>> with his
message. Sad though about his death. Apparently the timing <BR>>
then was incorrect to denounce Iranian ayatollahs. I even doubt if
<BR>> timing would now be correct. <BR>> Why would Luther or anyone be
self-righteous towards the poor....that's <BR>> like claiming to be emperor
of ice cream. Luther could not relate to <BR>> poverty. <BR>> The
German welfare state will be the downfall of the country.....what <BR>> with
worker expectations of high salary, long vacations, pre-paid <BR>> benefits,
etc. the country can no longer sustain its workers.<BR>> <BR>>
Regards,<BR>> Gerry Reinhart-Waller<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>>
<BR>> Val Geist wrote:<BR>> <BR>>> Sorry, Garry, but I have known
Lutherans that were open-armed and <BR>>> damned nearly saintly, and they
were no exception either. In fact, I <BR>>> have in my life never quite
connected attitude with religion. Anwar <BR>>> Sadat's type of Islam is
what I had been acquainted with via Rudyard <BR>>> Kipling. That was,
obviously, some time ago. I remember Sadat's angry <BR>>> denunciation of
the ayatollahs in Tehran.. and the his assassination <BR>>> at the hand of
Muslim extremists. However, back to Martin Luther and <BR>>> his
disciples. Luther himself was not self-righteous towards the poor, <BR>>>
quite the contrary. He, although a ward of nobility, denounced their
<BR>>> callousness towards peasants. And, by golly, he never minced words!
<BR>>> (Kein frohlicher Furz kommt aus einem verzagten Arsch! = No happy
fart <BR>>> escapes a timid ars!). The German welfare state did not arise
from any <BR>>> catholic leanings, but from hard-headed protestants under
Bismarck's <BR>>> leadership. I think you did set up a bit of a straw man
there. Cheers, <BR>>> Val Geist<BR>>> ----- Original Message
-----<BR>>> From: "G. Reinhart-Waller" <</FONT><A
href="mailto:waluk@earthlink.net"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>waluk@earthlink.net</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=2> <BR>>>
<</FONT><A href="mailto:waluk@earthlink.net"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>mailto:waluk@earthlink.net</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2>>><BR>>> To: "The new improved paleopsych list" <</FONT><A
href="mailto:paleopsych@paleopsych.org"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>paleopsych@paleopsych.org</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=2> <BR>>>
<</FONT><A href="mailto:paleopsych@paleopsych.org"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>mailto:paleopsych@paleopsych.org</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2>>><BR>>> Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 12:34 PM<BR>>>
Subject: Re: [bigbangtango] Re: [Paleopsych] Morality<BR>>><BR>>>
> Show me a full-blooded Lutheran who is open armed and I'll show you
a<BR>>> > half-breed.<BR>>> ><BR>>> > Gerry
Reinhart-Waller<BR>>> ><BR>>> > Buck, Ross wrote:<BR>>>
><BR>>> >>I have known many counterexamples to that
stereotype...<BR>>> >><BR>>> >>Ross<BR>>>
>><BR>>> >>-----Original Message-----<BR>>>
>>From: </FONT><A href="mailto:paleopsych-bounces@paleopsych.org"><FONT
face=Arial size=2>paleopsych-bounces@paleopsych.org</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2> <BR>>> <</FONT><A
href="mailto:paleopsych-bounces@paleopsych.org"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>mailto:paleopsych-bounces@paleopsych.org</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2>><BR>>> >>[mailto:paleopsych-bounces@paleopsych.org] On
Behalf Of G.<BR>>> >>Reinhart-Waller<BR>>> >>Sent:
Friday, March 25, 2005 3:15 PM<BR>>> >>To: The new improved
paleopsych list<BR>>> >>Subject: Re: [bigbangtango] Re: [Paleopsych]
Morality<BR>>> >><BR>>> >> <BR>>>
>><BR>>> >>>>BTW I think that the root difference
between liberals and<BR>>> >>>>
<BR>>> >>>><BR>>> >>conservatives<BR>>>
>>is that liberals tent to respond to the less fortunate with<BR>>>
>>sympathy/pity and conservatives respond to them with
contempt/scorn.>><BR>>> >><BR>>> >>Could be the
religious card which determines how people respond to those<BR>>>
>>less fortunate....Catholics like to hug and Lutherans stand with
arms<BR>>> >>folded.<BR>>> >><BR>>> >>Gerry
Reinhart-Waller<BR>>> >><BR>>> >><BR>>> >>
<BR>>> >><BR>>> >> <BR>>> >><BR>>>
><BR>>> >
_______________________________________________<BR>>> > paleopsych
mailing list<BR>>> > </FONT><A
href="mailto:paleopsych@paleopsych.org"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>paleopsych@paleopsych.org</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<</FONT><A href="mailto:paleopsych@paleopsych.org"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>mailto:paleopsych@paleopsych.org</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial
size=2>><BR>>> > </FONT><A
href="http://lists.paleopsych.org/mailman/listinfo/paleopsych"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>http://lists.paleopsych.org/mailman/listinfo/paleopsych</FONT></A><BR><FONT
face=Arial size=2>>> ><BR>>> ><BR>>> > --<BR>>>
> No virus found in this incoming message.<BR>>> > Checked by AVG
Anti-Virus.<BR>>> > Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.8.3 -
Release Date: 3/25/2005<BR>>> ><BR>>>
><BR>>><BR>>>------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>>><BR>>>_______________________________________________<BR>>>paleopsych
mailing
list<BR>>>paleopsych@paleopsych.org<BR>>>http://lists.paleopsych.org/mailman/listinfo/paleopsych<BR>>>
<BR>>><BR>> <BR>>
_______________________________________________<BR>> paleopsych mailing
list<BR>> </FONT><A href="mailto:paleopsych@paleopsych.org"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>paleopsych@paleopsych.org</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>>
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face=Arial
size=2>http://lists.paleopsych.org/mailman/listinfo/paleopsych</FONT></A><BR><FONT
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