PrintJuly 24, 2008
Berlin's sly phallic tribute to Obama
"When will they start laughing at him?" is still the biggest question about Obama in Europe. Berliners have a long tradition of laughing at pompous conquering heroes, including Hitler. Berliners immediately turned JFK's famous line, "Ich bin ein Berliner" into a joke, because a "Berliner" is a famous jelly doughnut. And today, we see the Victory Column, associated with Germany's big Gay magazine because it's, well, shaped like a different kind of victory column, surrounded by two perfectly symmetrical Obama balloon spheres. Just take a look at this picture, and tell me it ain't so.
The New York Sun headlines the photo, "Obama at a war symbol," and Berlin's SiegesSaeule certainly celebrates Prussia's war victories. Berlin was the capital of Prussia, remember. Otto von Bismarck, the founder of the first Reich, was a Prussian, and Prussia was the ideal model of the modern bureaucratic state that unified all the quarreling German statelets into one powerful superstate.
Reminds you of the European Union, doesn't it?
So we're seeing some of that old Berliner habit of practical joking today at the "Europe Hails Barack Obama" rally. Well, Berlin has seen more than its share of conquering heroes, from Frederick the Great to Hitler and the Soviets. It has learned to treat conquering heroes with public obsequious respect and admiration, and giggled up its sleeve in private.
It's something our media could (but won't) learn today.
James Lewis blogs at dangeroustimes.wordpress.com
