This is kinda awkward
So, yeah there’s a note from ‘The People of Germany’ to all Trump supporters and it acts as a stark warning not to repeat history.
Oh look, a message from our friends overseas. #PresidentialElection #Elections2016 #ElectionDay @realDonaldTrump @HillaryClinton pic.twitter.com/eR3XRcGJ1Q
— Johan Franklin (@CrappyCrapson) November 4, 2016
The note has been massively shared online this weekend and it reads:
“Dear Americans.
Go ahead, vote for the guy with the loud voice who hates minorities, threatens to imprison his opponent, doesn’t give a fuck about democracy, and claims he alone can fix everything. What could possibly go wrong?
Good luck.
The People of Germany”
Of course, the people of Germany didn’t actually get together and write the note. It is written instead, by a German man named Johan Franklin who currently resides in San Diego, California.
Franklin received so many messages about that note that he was forced to release a statement about his words, saying that while he can’t speak on behalf of the entirety of Germany, his sentiments are widely echoed.
The #dearamericans letter didn’t come from the HC campaign, but from a German. Who lives in San Diego now. Still German. #beentheredonethat pic.twitter.com/xqBPU5p7r4
— Johan Franklin (@CrappyCrapson) November 6, 2016
“Of course I can’t speak for the entire population of Germany. I used that signature line as a way of over-dramatizing to add emphasis. I’ve been told it’s a common narrative device. But from what I hear from friends and family back home, what I read on German news sites and social media, many Germans are just scared shitless that an obvious demagogue and outright liar can gather so many people behind him. Yes, it does remind us of something that happened here,” writes Franklin.
He then starkly concludes with this anecdote:
“Whenever I traveled outside Germany in the past, I’ve often been asked how the German people could have fallen for Hitler back in the 30s and 40s. ‘How could your people not have known?’ they asked. I don’t get that much question lately.”
