The Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (Society for the German Language) made Wutbürger its word of the year for 2010. The term combines Wut (an intense anger that is ready to swing into action at the slightest provocation) and Bürger (citizen). I selected this term for several reasons: It picks up on issues I already introduced in my posts on the current German funk and the Leitkultur discussion. Furthermore, the circumstances in which it is used have parallels in the US. And it demonstrates, again, the ease with which words can be combined in German to create concise expressions for rather nuanced phenomena.
The term was popularized by an essay in the magazine Der Spiegel, whose author used it to describe conservative, if not reactionary, members of the middle class who are deeply dissatisfied with the direction Germany is taking. Specifically, they are disturbed by the fact that it is becoming an immigration country, and they do not see their point of view sufficiently championed by elected officials. However, the term is also applied to groups that do not fit this profile, like the people of Stuttgart who staged massive protests against plans to tear down their old train station and replace it with a more modern structure. As is usual in Germany, this created a debate—more in my first comment...
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First, my source: It's the Wutbürger article in the German Wikipedia. I would be interested in comments that would or would not confirm claims made in the article.
It is apparently impossible for some Germans to let anything pass without further comments. The interest in always seeing the two sides of a coin is, of course, laudable, in principle, but it can become obsessive. Take our current WoM: The term was meant to be derogatory when it was used in the Spiegel, and that became an issue when it was applied to other groups that did not fit the original profile. Sure enough, someone protested its selection as word of the year precisely because it was perceived as derogatory and insisted that it be called the "unword of the year".
This episode strikes me as archetypically German. It's not enough to accept the fact that Wutbürger is no longer descriptive of a specific demographical segment of the population; no, one has to make this a matter of principle and attack the people who gave it some prominence in the first place. The irony is that one has to become a bit of a Wutbürger oneself to protest the term "Wutbürger". I find this rather comical, but then again, I'm far removed from the battle scene.
The Society for the German Language explained its choice in more neutral terms. It views Wutbürger as a reference to people who are dissatisfied with the high-handed manner in which some decisions are made by the federal and state governments. It noticed the frequency with which the term had been used by political commentators through the year and based its choice for word of the year on these observations.
I think the Wutbuerger (where do you find the umlaut), especially as defined by the Society for the German Language, is equivalent to our tea party contingent in the States, although I gather there are other definitions that make the term apply to groups furious at things beyond the political.
@Heika: The original definition in the Spiegel article certainly fits, and that's one of the reasons why I selected the word. But the more general sense the Society refers to would include other people so angry with the government that they take action, like demonstrate, and that could also happen from the left...
...and, as far as the US goes, I think it SHOULD happen from the left: I mean, the 4-5 trillion the budget cutters want to shave off the budget by severely cutting social services could IN THEIR ENTIRETY be made up by NOT extending the Bush tax breaks for the wealthy. I can think of no European country where this would not bring almost the entire population to the streets. And because of that, politicians would not even dare to propose it.
Oh Ulrich, you are preaching to the choir here. I was mesmerized by the poster of an Egyptian man at the very front of a line of protestors with a sign held high. The sign said "Walk Like an Egyptian."
I see that that's what's happening in Wisconsin as the governor whose party supported tax cuts for the very rich decides people with government pensions need to tighten their belts. Let's hope more people around the country walk like the Egyptians as officials, even sad-to-say president Obama, now talk of belt tightening after serving up for the very rich a nice fat meal of tax breaks.
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