You no understand me smart?

There is one aspect of being in Germany that I really hate. Because I do not speak German like a native, people assume that I am stupid. The people who sometime assume this are Germans who have not had a lot of experience with other parts of the world; they are the German equivalent of hicks somewhere in the boondocks, uneducated and proud of it. This is especially insulting considering the fact that I am much more intelligent than them (sorry to sound conceited), am better educated, and, in many ways better informed. Yet, they insult me, cutting me off when I offer my opinion, saying, simply that I have no idea about Germany, or German politics, etc., because I am American. These are the same people that think they have a working understanding of what America is. These are the same people that are surprised that I dare return insults when insulted and simply reply “if you don’t like it here, then go back to America” when I criticize something the German government does. For some reason, I am not allowed to have opinions because I am a “guest worker”.

A man in the chorus, a really under-educated, Joe Blow kind of person, someone who has probably never read a book in his life, votes Republican in every election, and treats me more like a foreigner than any of the others, told me, bluntly that “I have no idea what I am talking about” when I complained at his calling ex-Chancellor Schröder a “prolli”—short for proletariat. Schröder, who is hyper-educated, models suits for Brioni, and is interested in culture, could never be considered a symbol of the working class. Sorry, but that is just not true. So, in what way do I “have no idea”?

Why is it that the most stupid people are often the ones most likely to express their opinions? I think that is just such an unfortunate combination. I don’t think they should be silenced or anything. They have the right to speak, or course. I just think that if there is a just God out there somewhere, He might let them know, every once in a while, how incredibly dim they really are. This might help temper their treatment of people who may not agree with them. You see, the thing is, these people, the dim ones, tend to be completely oblivious to the fact that they may not know everything.

Ok, maybe I am feeling a little sensitive. It is just incredibly hard to be made to feel stupid on a constant basis when I am, in fact, really smart. Again, sorry for the conceit.