Davids Medienkritik

Markus Guenther Colleaugue Responds with Insults - Bluster

Last week we brought you a report on an article written by newspaper correspondent Markus Guenther. (Read that here). Mr. Guenther's work put forth the argument that Americans gladly commemorate distant tragedies (Holocaust or slaughter of Armenians or the plight of Cubans or the victims of other communist regimes) - yet fail to commemorate their own national tragedies - such as slavery or the plight of Native Americans. The opening lines of his work read:

"Ein neues Mahnmal in Washington erinnert an die Opfer des Kommunismus. Doch über die Leichen im Keller der eigenen Geschichte geht die amerikanische Gedenk-Leidenschaft eher wortlos hinweg.

A new monument in Washington reminds of the Victims of Communism. But, when it comes to their own skeletons in the closet, the American passion for commemoration really goes by without a word." (emphasis ours)

We took him to task on that claim - pointing out that Americans commemorate the horrors of slavery and the plight of Native Americans through museums, holidays, film, education and many other means - including monuments and memorials. We also pointed out that millions of Americans are, in fact, victims of communism and/or took direct part in the struggle against communism - in Korea, Vietnam and along the Iron Curtain - refuting Mr. Guenther's claim that the Victims of Communism Memorial commemorates nothing more than a far away tragedy to Americans. Finally, we pointed out that Mr. Guenther's incorrect claims were certain to feed German resentments against the United States.

Well - it did not take long for Mr. Guenther's media friends to react. Journalist Ralf Schuler of the Maerkische Allgemeine (one of the papers for which Guenther writes) responded with an article on our posting - and the basic message was this: When criticized, Guenther and his colleagues will put protecting one another ahead of facts. In this case, Schuler defends his colleague by downplaying and diluting his anti-American comments, presenting an incomplete and one-sided version of the dispute and pointing to emails Guenther received that have absolutely nothing to do with our discussion - distracting readers and attempting to smear us by association. He writes:

"In the Crossfire of the “Incorrect”

Self-appointed media watchdogs in the Internet accuse MAZ’s America correspondent Markus Günther of anti-Americanism

RALF SCHULER

POTSDAM 

It was just a little tongue-in-cheek poke in the ribs, but it drew a violent response. MAZ’s America correspondent Markus Günther took the occasion of the solemn dedication of a Monument to the Victims of Communism in Washington by US President George Bush to look into the modes of thought of the Americans. His – somewhat loosely formulated – rule of thumb; “The further away suffering is from the USA, the more Americans empathize with it.” After all, the fate of the native American Indians or the Afro-American slaves is not as significant in the USA of today as the mass murder of the European Jews, the Armenian genocide, or the misdeeds of the Castro regime in Cuba.

This thesis isn’t particularly exciting in itself. After all, for obvious psychological reasons, people in other countries aren’t usually in the habit of wringing their hands over their own country’s misdeeds. Nevertheless, Ray D. flew into such a rage over the article (MAZ of June 20) that he published a fiery philippic against Günther on his website, “Davids Medienkritik-Online” (medienkritik.typepad.com) that was hardly justified by the actual text. He claimed that the author was one of those ignoramuses who don’t let the facts stop them from freely expressing their own anti-American resentments while they cater to those of the German public. D. drew attention to the many American museums which commemorate the history of the blacks and Indians. Fair enough, although museums aren’t the same thing as public monuments. And, for that matter, the level of engagement of the Americans in fighting Communism (not least significantly at the Berlin Wall) certainly gives them some connection to the victims of Stalinism. The article concludes with the question of why Günther was recently awarded the Arthur F. Burns Prize, which is supposed to be given for contributions to German-American understanding. After all, Markus Günther has actually contributed to the gulf between Europe and America, and reinforced anti-American stereotypes.

Normally one wouldn’t take such misleading and obviously ignorant rants from the nether regions of the web seriously, if D. hadn’t gone on to list the mailing address of the correspondent, so that other “good Americans” could give him a piece of their minds. What gives self-appointed media monitors (“we consider ourselves a watchdog site”) the right to take such punitive actions isn’t quite clear. Ray D. and his partner, David Kaspar, who run the site, reveal only that they are both German citizens, and consider themselves “politically incorrect” observers of politically correct reporting about America.

In any case, since then MAZ-correspondent Markus Günther has received a great deal of e-mail characterized by a remarkable niveau: for example, Frank Knapp from California – “A proud (yes proud) American!!” wrote, “I read your piece of excrement about how we Americans sweep our ugly past under the carpet. Slime balls like you are the reason that German-Americans like me don’t want to return to Germany.” And a certain David asks: “What did your father do in World War 2, Markus? He should have concerned himself more about you. The absence of normal parents often leads to problem children. I suspect the ovens in hell are more or less as hot as those in Germany’s past. Let me know when you get there.” Sowing hate between America and its one time allies or spreading disinformation are generally the least severe of the charges formulated in the messages. The point is made repeatedly in no uncertain terms that anyone who criticizes America in that way can only come from a Nazi family. No one with any self respect would seek to justify himself in response to such drivel, not to mention reply to it. Brazen anti-Americanism certainly exists in Germany; however the way in which D. and Kaspar use the protection of the Internet to unleash the most vulgar and shadowy species of “patriots” on journalists certainly won’t improve the situation. Quite the contrary.

Aside from the fact that Mr. Guenther did not have the courage to speak for himself - this article is nothing more than journalistic rear-covering. Mr. Guenther simply cannot support his flawed thesis: That the (supposed) absence of national monuments is somehow proof that Americans are unwilling to commemorate (or even make mention of) the tragedies of slavery and the oppression of Native Americans. But instead of making a case for his argument (or admitting he was wrong) - Mr. Guenther apparently decided it would be better to allow his colleague to score a few cheap points by lowering the debate and distracting readers with references to irrelevant emails.

Unfortunately, he simply cannot or will not address the following, specific criticisms of his original article:

---Mr. Guenther claims that Americans suppress memories of slavery. That is simply not the case. In fact, there are numerous museums, films and monuments that remind Americans of the horrors of slavery. Additionally, the American educational system spends a great deal of time and effort teaching about slavery and the Civil Rights movement at all age levels. Americans also celebrate Black History Month and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

---Mr. Guenther claims that Americans suppress memories of oppression of American Indians. Again, that is ridiculous. As we point out, there are dozens of museums and monuments all over the country - including the national museum in Washington - which does deal with the oppression and removal of Native Americans from their lands.

---Mr. Guenther addresses Abu Ghraib: Members of the US military, political elite and press all came forward to expose and address Abu Ghraib - and the issue was debated for months. The result was an anti-torture bill passed with an overwhelming majority in the Senate and signed into law.

---Mr. Guenther claims that Americans have little direct connection to the victims of communism. This despite the fact that 1.) Over 100,000 Americans died fighting oppressive communist regimes in Korea and Vietnam - with countless thousands more wounded. 2.) The United States spent enormous amounts of money and manpower to defend Western Europe from communism during the Cold War. 3.) Millions of Americans fled their home countries (Cuba, Vietnam, Cambodia, Eastern Europe and elsewhere) because of communist regimes and have family members who died at the hands of those regimes.

Once again - we invite Mr. Guenther to address those concrete criticisms of his article - not to defend his theory in abstract or general terms - or allow a colleague to do so. Further - the assertion that I was somehow in a "rage" is rather amusing considering my email attempts to engage Mr. Guenther in a dialog on his article and my expressions of empathy for Mr. Guenther in those very emails. Interestingly enough, that dialog stopped as soon as I asked Mr. Guenther to address my specific criticisms - for which he has yet to offer a direct response. Finally - the complaints about a few angry or inappropriate emails are really quite pathetic: If we dropped a tear every time we received an angry or inappropriate email - we would be crying our readers a river. Grow up - and stop deriding our entire readership as "vulgar patriots" simply because a few people went overboard in their email comments.

One of our commenter's put it best:

"Hat tip to Scholl for posting the German media response. Nothing surprising here. We’re all familiar with the MO from the German media apologists who show up here occasionally. Instead of addressing the substance of Ray’s criticism, the responses dismiss him as a self-appointed ranter. They then use the pretext that Ray posted Günther’s (public) e-mail address to try the usual canard of associating him with poison pen messages with which he and Medienkritik have no connection whatsoever. As you can see, the first response is mainly self-righteous whining and pathetic posing as the poor, misunderstood victim of the evil Medienkritik, and the second one is more of the same. We get the usual ludicrous and hackneyed “objective criticism” defense, demonstrating the extent to which German journalists are capable of the “self criticism” they so freely recommend to Americans. Apparently, “self criticism” is only of value when applied to Americans. German journalists have no problem with savage criticism of America. Dare to criticize them, though, and you can forget about “self criticism.” Read the hand wringing, self-righteous responses below, and you’ll get the idea. Other than the blurb from the second article (see below) there is no attempt to actually address the substance of Ray’s critique. If you think it might occur to these “professional journalists” to investigate further the many instances of American self-criticism in museums, monuments, children’s school books, etc., noted in the article, not to mention the comment section, dream on. After all, if they actually had the integrity, not to mention the common decency, to look at the facts for themselves, it couldn’t escape the notice of these “professionals,” not to mention that of their readers, that Günther’s “gentle poke in the ribs” is nothing but more of the usual lying propaganda. That, however, is a level of integrity to which they hardly aspire. Instead, Günther’s lame excuses are simply accepted at face value, with no attempt at further investigation. So much for German media “self criticism.”"

Endnotes: Mr. Guenther's email address is readily available online to anyone willing to take two seconds to Google it. Our publication of his email address was nothing more than the replication of information already available to the online public. If Mr. Guenther thinks that I am somehow using the Internet as cover or a hiding place to ambush and attack him - I will be happy to meet him anytime in person for an on-the-record taped interview on his article in Washington, DC in which I will give him every chance to clarify his comments. He can email me anytime to set that up.

Again - I am willing to continue this discussion. Is Mr. Guenther?

According to the website of one of Guenther's publishers, he received the Arthur F. Burns prize for journalism from the German Foreign Ministry in 2006. The site further states that: "Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier congratulated Guenther on the award and emphasized that he was "successful, in an impressive manner, in promoting and deepening the understanding between the United States and Germany." We encourage readers to contact the Arthur F. Burns journalist fellowship program with concerns about Mr. Guenther and his work. Email to: [email protected]. Please keep all comments polite and professional.

UPDATE: More journalistic circling-of-wagons in defense of Guenther at the "Augsburger Allgemeine" in an article by Rainer Bonhorst entitled "Unser Mann im Orkan der Empörung." (Looks like the attack of the "B" newspapers.) The modus operandi is much the same: The author attacks emails and comments left by others that have absolutely nothing to do with the arguments put forth by Davids Medienkritik. He then disingenuously attempts to imply that Guenther's comments were simple irony.

An Open Letter to Markus Günther: Correct the Record

Since our initial exchange, we have heard nothing back from Markus Günther regarding his article that suggests Americans are hypocrites who suppress their own history of slavery and oppression of Native Americans. (Mr. Guenther is the Washington, DC correspondent for a major German newspaper chain.) We at Davids Medienkritik have therefore emailed Mr. Günther this open letter:

Dear Mr. Guenther:

Since I have not heard from you since our last email, I can only assume that you have no intention of addressing the obvious problems and mistakes with your article "Gedenken and Verdrängen." Once again, I openly request that you address the obvious problems with your work (that we have identified on our blog) in a follow-up article - one that corrects the false and misleading innuendo of the first piece. Otherwise, I will see myself forced to directly contact your editors in Germany. I will also post an article on my blog encouraging readers to do the same.

We simply will not allow this form of disingenuous America bashing to go unanswered - it has gone on for far too long in German media and it needs to change. You of all people should know that - and stooping to satisfy the outrageous appetites of those virulently anti-American members of your audience is no excuse for publishing sensational distortions.

If you refuse to act to correct your work and set the record straight - we (the community that follows Davids Medienkritik) will take action.

Sincerely,
Ray D.
Managing Editor
Davids Medienkritik

We demand that Mr. Guenther publish an article directly addressing our criticisms and setting the record straight. We will no longer sit back and accept this sort of "journalism" in German media - we will no longer quietly discuss the problem on this blog. We are serious about action on this. Read all about the problems with Mr. Guenther's work here.

Markus Günther: Hypocritical Americans Suppressing Memories of Slavery - Other Injustices

(By Ray D.)

(UPDATE: Markus Guenther offers an interesting response to this article. Read our correspondence here.)

German journalist Markus Guenther believes that the United States and its people are hypocrites. Why? Because - according to yet another supreme German media "expert" - the people of the United States conspicuously suppress their own injustices while busily memorializing distant tragedies. In an article entitled "Commemorating and Suppressing," (that appeared on the Passauer Neue Presse and Maerkische Allgemeine websites as well as in the "Politics" section of the Donauwörther Zeitung,) Guenther argues that, while Americans busily erect monuments to the victims of Communism and virtually everything else, they allegedly refuse to acknowledge the darkest chapters of their own history. He specifically brings up the legacies of slavery and the fate of the Native Americans. As "proof" that Americans are hypocrites, he claims that there is no museum documenting the plight of the Native Americans and no statue dedicated to the victims of slavery in Washington.

Well - as is so often the case - our German "expert" is dealing more in resentment than in fact. Let's set the record straight:

• Not only is there a museum in the United States dedicated to Native Americans and their plight - there are dozens if not hundreds - including the renowned National Museum of the American Indian - which has branches in New York, Maryland and Washington, DC. One of the permanent exhibits at the Washington, DC museum, entitled "Our Peoples: Giving Voice to Our Histories," is described this way: "Powerful forces transformed life in the Americas post-1492, and every Native community experienced loss in unique ways. Nearly all wrestled with the impact of deadly new weaponry, the weakening of traditional religion and ritual by the Christian church, and the dispossession of traditional lands by other governments. But the story of these last five centuries is not entirely about destruction. It is also a story about Native resilience—about the intentional, strategic adoption of tools and customs that kept cultures alive. It is a story about the ways Native peoples used weapons, churches, and governments to ensure their futures."
• Although there is no national monument to the victims of slavery in Washington, there are literally hundreds of monuments, museums (including the United States National Slavery Museum - currently under construction in Fredericksburg, Virginia) and reminders of the horror of slavery throughout the United States. Dozens of prominent films on slavery and civil rights including Roots, Amistad, Beloved and many more have been produced in the United States and seen by hundreds of millions worldwide. Additionally, every young child in American public schools learns about slavery and the civil rights movement from Kindergarten forward. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a federal holiday and - unlike Germany - minorities and immigrants (including the descendants of slaves) are represented throughout the highest levels of government.

To state that Americans have repressed the memory of African slavery or the plight of the American Indian is outrageous, ludicrous and and an insult to the intelligence of all thinking people. And since Mr. Guenther has lived in Washington, DC for years, perhaps he ought to make a visit to the National Museum of the American Indian. (It doesn't seem that Americans have attempted to hide or repress the museum by placing it on the National Mall right next to all the Smithsonians...)  In the not too distant future, Mr. Guenther will also be able to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington and the United States National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Both are currently in planning or under construction - hardly evidence that Americans are interested in ignoring or hiding their past. 

Now let's address the Victims of Communism Memorial and Mr. Guenther's claim that it commemorates victims of regimes distant and largely irrelevant to Americans: Here again, a profound ignorance of history and a disregard for obvious fact makes itself evident. For starters, hundreds of thousands of American soldiers (including those who stood guard at the Berlin Wall and along the West German border) fought and died to stem the tide of Communism during the Cold War. Further, millions of American immigrants and their descendants fled their homelands (Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Cuba and elsewhere) and saw family members imprisoned or murdered by Communist dictators. The claim that victims of Communism have no significant or direct connection to Americans is nothing less than delusional - but Mr. Guenther doesn't let the truth stop him from making it.

To fully drive home his point and heat resentments to a boil - Mr. Guenther presents Abu Ghraib as a further injustice that Americans have allegedly failed to acknowledge. This despite the fact that members of the American government, military and press revealed, discussed and condemned the widely publicized abuses in great detail for months on end. Ironically - members of the German media largely ignored the mass death and torture that took place at that very prison during Saddam Hussein's decade long reign of terror - even as German firms sold Saddam bunkers and components for his weapons' programs. It was not until Americans uncovered and voluntarily corrected their own abuses at Abu Ghraib (incredibly mild when compared with those of Saddam) that people like Mr. Guenther sat up and took notice and condemned what was happening there.

But those inconvenient facts won't stop Mr. Guenther from feeding resentments. It's not about fact or fairness or constructive criticism - it is, at least in this case, about tearing down the United States and selling more newspapers. And - as this article demonstrates - the truth and any attempt at real context or perspective is simply left by the wayside. This is particularly sad considering the fact that Mr. Guenther himself eloquently complained about German stereotypes about America in an article he published in 2004...

Endnote: According to the website of one of Guenther's publishers, he received the Arthur F. Burns prize for journalism from the German Foreign Ministry in 2006. The site further states that: "Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier congratulated Guenther on the award and emphasized that he was "successful, in an impressive manner, in promoting and deepening the understanding between the United States and Germany."

Well - with journalists like Mr. Guenther busily at work "promoting and deepening the understanding between the United States and Germany" in this manner - and America's diplomats asleep at the wheel when it comes to effectively engaging foreign mass media - we can fully expect a continued deterioration in the years ahead.

One final point: Mr. Guenther's upset at the Victims of Communism Memorial may have been exacerbated - if not motivated - by choice comments made by keynote speaker Tom Lantos about ex-chancellor and Social Democrat Gerhard Schroeder at the dedication.

UPDATE: One of our readers pointed out that there actually is a United States National Slavery Museum. Readers also point out that there are literally hundreds of streets named in virtually every major city named for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and point out that Americans also commemorate Black History Month. That hardly seems like Americans are determined to forget their own past.

Another reader emails this information:

"Hello Ray and thanks for all you do to combat anti-Americanism

Just a few more facts for your case. Long in the works, but now finally to be built is the National Museum of African American History and Culture which, like the Museum of the American Indian which I have been to, is to be a part of the fantastic Smithsonian Institute. Not only that, the new museum is to be built in a wonderful and prominent place on the mall - essentially the closest museum to the Washington Monument on Constitution Ave.

Here is a link to the site describing information about the new museum:

http://nmaahc.si.edu/

To contact Markus Guenther with comments on his work, email him at: [email protected]. To contact the Arthur F. Burns journalist fellowship program with concern at this article, email to: [email protected]. 

Correction: A couple readers pointed out that the US National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia has not yet opened and is still under construction. I have corrected the posting to reflect that. I appreciate the helpful fact check.

(Request for readers: Please feel free to translate the Guenther article into English and post it in the comments section. You have to read the entire thing to grasp just how outrageous it really is. Hattip: Fred H.)

It’s The Small Details That Make The Difference.../ Es sind die Kleinigkeiten, die den Unterschied machen...

(Deutsche Übersetzung am Ende des Beitrags)

Tagesspiegel:

US Journalist Suspected of Spying for Iraq Arrested

Washington (dpa) – An American journalist has been arrested for spying for Iraq. US media sources report that Susan Lindauer purportedly received $10,000 from the Iraqi secret service. Lindauer worked for a time as the press speaker for a member of Congress. The authorities accuse her of conspiracy, spying and taking money from a terrorist regime.

Nothing is wrong with this report. There are just a few small details missing: Susan Lindauer worked for four Democratic members of Congress. And she was a peace activist who fought against the American occupation in Iraq. As she was being arrested she yelled: “I’m an antiwar activist and I’m innocent.”

Let’s imagine the lady had taken money from Kuwait, had worked for four republican members of Congress, had committed herself to supporting the American occupation and had screamed, “I am a neo-conservative and I’m innocent,” as she was being arrested. Would that also have been left out of the media’s reporting?

And by the way: The German media is already warming up to Landauer. An article in the “Maerkischen Zeitung” displays a clear fondness for the “war opponent”:

A former journalist and press speaker in the US Congress is suspected of having spied for Saddam Hussein. Even though the White House itself admits that the activities of the forty-seven year old were harmless, the war opponent is now learning what price rejecting the Iraq war can have: She is faced with twenty-five years in prison. …

The government admits that Lindauer “at no point in time presented a threat,” declared government speaker Scott McLellan, it has to do with an “unfortunate situation.” But alone because of pressure from the side of the government it is now unlikely that the prosecuting attorney will drop the charges against Susan Lindauer.

"...learning what price rejecting the Iraq war can have": you're against the Iraq war, you're faced with 25 years in prison. That's America - at least in the eyes of the German media.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Lindauer soon achieves cult status in the German media’s anti-Bush reporting, as Kwiatkowski and others before her did.

Stay tuned…

(Hat tip Eric Baker)

(Translation by Ray D.)