Always look on the bright side of Chemnitz. Merkel's refugees policy backed by research

Merkel's refugees policy based on
sound research.

Just when the refugees allocation/instrumentalization discussion turned lively, Chemnitz said 'Hi'. People felt dismayed. Why? What's not to like about the proposal of

Kramp-Karrenbauer* encourages duty for refugees

The CDU general secretary wants asylum seekers to complete a general service year. This serves their integration and increases the acceptance in the population.

You don't need much fantasy to anticipate headlines in German newspapers about an uptick in criminal acts  in social institutions if that would be implemented. So what?

Then there was the silly idea of the Bundeswehr recruiting foreigners with the prospect of getting a German passport. A perfect recipe for disaster?

Here comes the NYT painting a bleak picture of Mutti-Land while meanwhile the Swiss have issued a travel warning for Germany. Are they all nuts? Mutti has it all under control. So much she could travel to them bimbos in Africa.

Mob Protests in Germany Show New Strength of the Far Right

"Chemnitz, a city of some 250,000 in eastern Germany, has a history of neo-Nazi protests. Usually they draw a few hundred from the fringes of society — and far larger counter-demonstrations, city officials say. The crowd this time was 8,000-strong. Led by several hundred identifiable neo-Nazis, it appeared to be joined by thousands of ordinary citizens. More marches are planned Saturday.

The city had never seen anything like this — and, to some degree, neither had post-World War II Germany. The rampage now stands as a high-water mark in the outpouring of anti-immigrant hatred that has swelled as Germany struggles to absorb the nearly one million asylum seekers who arrived in the country after Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to open the borders in 2015.

That decision sharply divided Germany, with critics soon arguing that Ms. Merkel’s administration had lost control of the situation. Three years later, what the government is struggling to control is an anti-immigrant backlash."

They all have a point but they are missing crucial results of recent or fairly recent studies. There is the research article

'Heterogeneity of long-history migration predicts smiling, laughter and positive emotion across the globe and within the United States'.

"Residents of countries characterized by high ancestral diversity display emotion expressions that are easier to decode by observers, endorse norms of higher emotion expressivity, and smile more in response to certain stimuli than residents of countries that lack ancestral diversity."

It is an encouraging read and is unfortunately not being properly appreciated among German folks and in particular among the Chemnitz intellectuals.

"Study 1 finds that historical heterogeneity is positively associated with self-reports of smiling, laughter, and positive emotions in the Gallup World Poll when controlling for GDP and present-day population diversity."

It concludes in the abstracts:

"Together, the findings further demonstrate the important role of long-history migration in shaping emotion cultures of countries and states, which persist beyond the original socioecological conditions ..."

Another interesting study that should not lightly be dismissed in Chemnitz and beyond is

'All Diversity Ideologies Creatively Equal? The Diverging Consequences of Colorblindness, Multiculturalism, and Polyculturalism'

"In three studies, we examined how diversity ideologies can differentially affect creativity. Building on past research establishing that embracing foreign ideas contributes to creativity in problem solving, we predicted that diversity ideologies would have consequences for cultural creativity through their differential impact on how people would make use of foreign knowledge. We found that colorblindness (the ethos of disregarding cultural differences) was associated with lower cultural creativity through reduced inclusion of foreign ideas. Polyculturalism (the ethos of fostering intercultural interaction) was associated with higher cultural creativity through greater inclusion of foreign ideas. Finally, we found that classical multiculturalism (the ethos of preserving separate cultural traditions) had no effects on creative problem solving."

This is an inspiring study and is reflected in policy making in Berlin by Mutti.

Finally there is a group level study with a baffling result that more than catapults aspirations of inclusion forward.

'Loving the Group That Denies You First: Social Identity Effects of Ostracism Before Inclusion.'

Intrigued to learn more? Here ya go. The abstract says it all and it is a mystery why some folks in Berlin and the AfD for that matter have reservations.

"Abstract

Ostracism is an aversive situation that occurs frequently in everyday life; however, few empirical studies have investigated multiple experiences of inclusion or ostracism from the same group. The prior work in this area has also not evaluated the influence of subsequent inclusion and ostracism on identification with the group, perceptions of the group, or group member behaviors. Across three experiments, the current study investigated the impact of subsequent inclusion and ostracism on an individual's fundamental needs, identification with the group, perceptions of the group, and risk taking to benefit the group. It was hypothesized that participants who were ostracized and then included would show significant increases in group identification, positive group perceptions, and risk taking to benefit the group. Support for these hypotheses was found. Results are discussed regarding the impact of subsequent experiences of ostracism and inclusion on the individual and his or her relationship with the group."

This general assessment by Thomas Frank sounds undeservedly bleak:

"This is what a society looks like when the glue that holds it together starts to dissolve. This is the way ordinary citizens react when they learn that the structure beneath them is crumbling."

He is excused by being American. What do they know that a Chemnitz/German intellectual could not easily dismiss and which Mutti Merkel proves wrong every single day. Just trust the wisdom of Das Maedchen Merkel.


* pronounce that name five times in a row fast and you will have difficulties chewing anything for the next half hour.