DW Discovers Anti-Immigration Politics Cause Racism, Not Just Immigration
Deutsche Welle reports that 'anti-immigration politics contribute to racism in Germany.' While this insight might seem self-evident to many, DW bravely highlights the growing normalization of racist rhetoric from fringe parties to mainstream discourse. What they gloss over, however, is the state's own role. Germany, as a major EU player, has for years enacted increasingly stringent asylum
policies, including controversial deals with non-EU countries to 'outsource' migrant processing—policies which logically fuel the very sentiments their 'anti-immigration' parties exploit. (Check out the 2016 EU-Turkey deal or the more recent proposals for Rwanda-style processing centers, for starters). So, the 'news' is that official policies, often cloaked in bland bureaucratic language, create a
fertile ground for the overt racism they now decry. Who knew that policies designed to reject certain populations would eventually be perceived as, well, racist? It’s a stunning revelation, almost like discovering that pouring gasoline on a fire makes it hotter. Perhaps next, DW will report that austerity measures increase poverty?