RE: License to....

["Geoff Jenkins" <jenkinsg@pilot.msu.edu>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-quattro@coimbra.ans.net
> [mailto:owner-quattro@coimbra.ans.net]On Behalf Of Avi Meron
> Sent: Saturday, October 17, 1998 8:50 AM
>
[Snip]
> every German carries with him a seed of this evil (if
> my father could do it, could I?...............given the "right
> circumstances"......)

Having had people (drivers of Japanese cars, no less) complain about the
"moral issues" of owning a German car, I'm always depressed by the kind of
historical blindness this requires.

Show me a powerful twentieth century industrialized nation that  _doesn't_
at least have complicity in some atrocities on its record, and I'll grant
you that you've found a crew who could make "morally upright" cars. Before
everyone yells "Sweden", does anyone care to name the #1 non-Axis trading
partner of Nazi Germany in WWII, and a leading exporter of arms around the
world?

The French can be ruled out (along with the Belgians) for various
imperialist horrors (mostly in northern/central Africa). The Italians can be
accused for Abyssinia. The Russians/Soviets can be had for matters relating
to Poland, Germany and (most of all) their "own" people. Ask a POW or a
survivor of Nanking for the Japanese record. The US atom-bombed &
fire-bombed Japan, and helped the British incinerate Hamburg and other
cities. The British (and in their day, the Empire's allies) can take the
blame for events ranging from imperial adventures around the globe to N.
Ireland. Who shall escape calumny?

NB: I don't think Tibet produced much in the way of high performance touring
cars.

Question: Does someone drive an Audi (or indeed, bid for Goering's Horch)
for its:

a) "German engineering" (undefined)
b) handling/price/features/safety
c) Aryan purity

If (c), yes, that person has a problem. I doubt many people use that as a
method of choosing their next car, however.

It _is_ essential to be aware of the historical context of a nation, but to
judge a nation now on its behavior in the past is a dangerous game. Even
more so, to judge its people and its products from a righteous standpoint
requires more than a hint of hypocrisy.

As asides:

A: in all the recent hoopla about Porsche's anniversary, do we think they
glossed over his contribution to the awful "Elefant" tank because:
i) it would be tasteless to bring up his involvement with the Nazis
_or_
ii) it was a slow, ungainly deathtrap

B: I get accused of the "German car" issue much more often in my wife's M-B
than in the Audi. Is it because half the populace doesn't know that Audi's
are German, or because the German-ness is simply an outlet for the hostility
that comes because of driving that sort of car?

Geoff

...who would drive the Audi less, and ride his bike more, if moral
righteousness was the order of the day. But it isn't...