User:Zara1709/German extreme right regional MP makes racist comment on Barack Obama

Interested anyone?
When I first read about this I at Telepolis thought that it would make a good story. I had taken a note of the current debate on Wikipedia about the question whether Barack Obama is African-American or multiracial, and I felt that this would be a much better contribution to the discussion than an actual comment there. There are, unfortunately, white people who appear very scared by other people with a different skin colour. To them, everyone with a black skin and a drop of African blood is black; whereas in fact such a notion of race is nonsense. African-Americans who are faced with a situation where everyone with African ancestors is seen as 'black' have a certain right to describe Barack Obama as African-American.

The United States should become a multi-racial society where racism is not a problem, and I admire Obama for his "A More Perfect Union" speech, but I am aware of the obstacles to this.

Anyway, if you'd like this article to be finished, drop a note here. Because on second though I realized that writing about this would be rather unpleasant, and I'm not sure if the effort would be worth it. Zara1709 (talk) 22:28, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

Is there more?
I would like to read the story, if you can stomach writing it, if there is more to the story than the press release. I am completely ignorant of the background. For example, is the press release considered criminal incitement? Is there context in terms of his influence: how many others of his party hold elected office, do they hold similar views, has racism influenced speeches or votes in parliament?

If there is only the press release, then I don't think it is news I want to read, and will be happy if you agree that it is not worth facing the ugliness. I would not support giving publicity to such an ugly and hateful press release by calling it news, unless the context makes it news.

Does that help you decide?

--InfantGorilla (talk) 22:40, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

NPD is a neo-nazi party that would have been banned in 2003 by the German constitutional court if not for all the spies that have infiltrated it. Its fair to say the view expressed by Gansel is at least representative of the party ideology, but that doesn't really help with its legitimacy as a story. Both it and the other far right party DVU barely pass the percentage requirement for even being listed in elections, so it does not have the influence to justify publishing the story there either. Delete is the best option. 74.227.163.200 04:03, 13 November 2008 (UTC)


 * There is more to the story; factually not that much (it's summarized in the three sentences on top of the article), but I would disagree with the anonymous ip; this is a legitimate story, because it illustrates how the election of Barack Obama is seen by some people. A minority still views politics in the same racial categories that once were common in Germany in the 1930s. However, the problem is, that this minority is not that small. The NPD received enough electoral support in Saxony to get into its regional parliament (9,2%). Of course, many voters might just have wanted to protest against the established parties (in Germany's multi-party system), but that number is to high to be ignored. There would need to be a public outrage in Germany that such racist views are not acceptable - but this is not happening. Only regional newspapers and the independent web magazine Telepolis actually reported the issue. Anyway, an article on the English Wikinews would not help to start a discussion in Germany. So I think that it would be a better use of my time if I did more work on Wikipedia instead of writing this article. I don't know how deletion works on Wikinews. If possible, I would at least like to preserve this discussion. Zara1709 (talk) 18:04, 13 November 2008 (UTC)


 * As a reader, that is not enough for me. As a Wikinewsie: "regional newspapers and the independent web magazine Telepolis actually reported the issue," sounds newsworthy, and somewhat related to this:  BBC Radio Bristol presenter fired over 'racist' phone call‎
 * "There would need to be a public outrage in Germany that such racist views are not acceptable - but this is not happening.": as far as I can tell, Wikinewsies don't like things that don't happen, but there are several web magazines that might take your story. I now wish I understood German, so I can read your sources.
 * I don't know how to stop deletion. The policy says that abandoned articles with useful information stay, but the practice seems to be that every abandoned article goes.
 * Hope you return to Wikinews one day soon.
 * --InfantGorilla (talk) 18:20, 13 November 2008 (UTC)