Rampant sexism in Berlin? Coupled with a condemnatory look at Amerika

I learned yesterday that Berliners refer to the Bundeskanzleramt, the office of the chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, as “Angela’s Waschmaschine.”

This is plainly a demeaning and sexist allusion to the gender of the current occupant of that office, Angela Merkel.

And that’s not all.  They call the headquarters of her political party “Angela’s Bügeleisen” (her “iron”).

I can imagine the howls of radical feminists in America.  Are such nicknames an attempt to reduce Ms. Merkel (who also holds a doctorate in physical chemistry) to the status of an uppity Hausfrau?  To suggest that women belong in the home, doing domestic chores, rather than as full participants in public life?  Would they ever dishonor a man in that way?

Well . . .

When Helmut Kohl was chancellor of Germany, the building was often called the “Kohlosseum.”

And — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, call your office! — it’s still sometimes referred to as the Elefantenklo or “Elephant Restroom.”

Seriously.  Angela Merkel has been chancellor of Germany for the past decade.  Some sexism.

It reminds me of the great Margaret Thatcher, the longest-serving British prime minister of the twentieth century, who (coincidentally also a chemist, educated at Oxford) was demeaned by some of her critics as “Attila the Hen.”  I find that quite funny, but (presumably because of her conservative politics) I don’t remember any feminists protesting against the sexism of the joke.

And it all reminds me of the racism of my native Amerika.  Our (black) former Attorney General, Eric Holder, routinely scolded white Americans about their racism, notwithstanding the fact that they had twice elected his (black) boss President of the United States.

And, recently, we’ve had the unpleasantness in Baltimore, which, we’re often told, is more or less about white racism — despite all the billions and billions of dollars that mostly white Americans have given to the city since the enormously successful War on Poverty began in the 1960s, and despite the fact that Mr. Holder’s successor as Attorney General is also black, and that the mayor of Baltimore is black, the police commissioner of Baltimore is black, the congressional representative of Baltimore is black, the State’s Attorney for Baltimore is black, and three of the six indicted police officers are black.

Sometimes, it’s just really, really hard to stay with the required narrative.  It requires strenuous determination.

Posted from Berlin, Germany