EP53: Q&A - Tricky Words, Fashion Differences, Gun Control and More!

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You asked and we answered! After having some heavier topics in the last episodes, we wanted to interact more with you all and answer some of your questions. So in this week’s episode, we discuss a hodgepodge of various topics and give you our tips and opinions to answer your questions. If you want to know what the hardest words are for us to pronounce, how we can identify Americans abroad, what superstitions Germany and the US have in common, or what our thoughts on safety in the US are then make sure to stick around till the end!
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[@boiledredbird]

From his first appearance on Feli’s channel to now, Josh has really had a glow up. Looking great

[@3.k]

I agree, although I kind of liked his glasses. 😊

[@071949]

Hi Scotty, I enjoy the chemistry between Josh and Feli; I was surprised--though others may not have been--when Josh "came out". He is a smart guy w/ an engaging personality, and this straight, male cis-gender would rather have a beer w/ him than w/ Feli's boyfriend. (Sorry Feli!)

[@boiledredbird]

@@071949 I was pretty sure that Josh was gay from the beginning but that doesn’t really matter lol

[@071949]

@@boiledredbird Scotty, I am slow to pick up on that sort of thing. Years ago I was clueless about a female coworker's sexual orientation until her girlfriend--later her wife--dropped by the office for a visit.

[@archraskal]

@@071949 What's there to pick up on "that sort of thing?" With someone who happens to be gay you to hear about their romantic interests in some way, or as you have seen them with their significant other. @Scotty is one of those people who's always on the lookout for it for whatever reason. He most likely gets ir wrong the majority of the time.

[@Eddi.M.]

Declensions/grammar: As a heptalingual German native I have never ever learned or thought about German grammar, but from experience with other languages I could derive: 1. always know the genus of each noun, i.e. learn the words together with their articles. That's the fundament. 2. The changed endings for the different declensions and cases cannot be logically grasped, they need to be learned. One certainly can use techniques to memorize, but they don't help to understand or to use, just to remember. At least German uses only half of the possible table and has only four cases unlike languages with 16 cases. 3. It is prudent to learn the prepositions by group of case that they require, much like learning irregular verbs in English. 4. Speaking doesn't come with grammar but grammar comes with speaking, i.e. it is more important that you master the art of applying what you know in order to express yourself. But do not stay on the initial level, because social status also depends on your ability to speak the language. Always strive to become better. 5. Many Germans do not master the grammar of their own language. Genitive, conjunctive and word order are the most common mistakes. Tenses are not applied fully or in the way they are intended. The trend goes in direction of two tenses only - present tense and past perfect. Future tense is expressed by present tense plus time words and past tenses are condensed to one. Conjunctive is hardly used anymore by such people except for 'würde'. I am not advocating to copy that, just saying so that you don't get frustrated. Using the correct grammar will set you apart! You will need the full and correct grammar set in written communication. I used to live in Finland and learned this pretty difficult language just to find out that what the people actually do speak is a different language called 'slangi'. It is not quite there in Germany yet. 6. Long words are no problem once you recognize the components. In the end, it is just a writing convention (mostly). 7. Reading helps building your vocabulary and grammar immensely.

[@itneverends7]

Re gun control and our 2nd amendment right to bear arms: Criminals don't care if it is against the law to use a gun or not. They are criminals. Chicago has the strictest gun control laws in the U.S. yet has by far the most shootings in country. It has to do with the ethics and values of the people. The problems are usually in the inner cities, not in rural America where the 2nd amendment rights are valued the most. Our 2nd Amendment right to bear arms were instituted by our wise forefathers who foresaw times like we are living in now when our government cannot be trusted and is the enemy of the people. There is much propaganda going on.

[@alexj9603]

When houses of flats are designed in Germany, one of the bedrooms is labeled as "Schlafzimmer" (bedroom) or "Elternschlafzimmer" (parents' bedroom, which would be the "master bedroom" in the US), while any further bedrooms are labeled "Kinderzimmer" (children's rooms).

[@lenab5266]

Great Episode! I loved the wild mix of fun and more serious topics. Based on the last two episodes I have a question/topic suggestion for each of you. They are both quite personal so I don't mind if you don't want to talk about those things publicly. So for Josh, as you had your coming out on the podcast last episode I am curious about your "coming-out-story" in general. When did you come out first and to whom? How did your friends and family react? Was it "easier" or "harder" than you expected? Where there differences between the US and Germany etc. For Feli: You already touched on the topic of the situation with womens rights in this episode but I would love to hear about that more in depth. How is the situation in Ohio and the surrounding states? How much does it concern you personally? Have you thought about a "plan" what you'll do if you get pregnant unplanned? Do you think about moving back to germany maybe in part because of this topic? etc. Again, don't feel any pressure answering these questions. I don't want to be rude in asking all this. I'm just genuinly intrested in your experiences and opinions. If these questions are too invasive I'm sorry. Please tell me and I will delete this comment.

[@blindleader42]

18:00 "Rural" is such a well known problem, that the writers on the sitcom "30 Rock" played a prank on the cast where the phrase "rural juror" appeared repeatedly in the script for several episodes.

[@icerepublic]

"It's probably a thoroughly rural squirrel, really." Dear Americans: What are you doing? Are you aware that there are people actually trying to learn this language? 😅🤣

[@blindleader42]

@@icerepublic Why, yes. Yes, we _are_ aware of this phenomenon. But just wait. If you think pronouncing _Squirrel_ in American was a challenge, wait till you hear the standard British pronunciation of that word. You'll start searching for a manual explaining how to make your mouth and tongue do that. It's all part of a diabolical plan 😈, the purpose of which is a complete mystery to us all.

[@kilsestoffel3690]

We don't have kids, but our appartement has a "Kinderzimmer". It sounds nicer than "Rumpelkammer" (room, stuffed with things nobody would ever need, but you won't throw it away)

[@karinland8533]

You might call it Arbeitszimmer (working room = office)

[@kilsestoffel3690]

This room had seen more children than work. When we find the bed (I know it's there), we could call it guest room..

[@gp6720]

Actually Josh is right, you shouldn’t break a mirror in Germany… Great episode 😃 all the very best for the two of you 😃😃

[@martinbruhn5274]

When I was living in Karlsruhe as a student (a city with over 300k inhabitants), I lived right next to downtown and also right next to a massive park and forest (Karlsruhe is a bit oddly shaped that way, which leads to that specific part of town, next to the Schloss, to be at the same time very crowded, with tons of people, but also with plenty of spaces, where nobody can see you). And I'm thinking now, if I were planning to do more murder or robbery, it would be incredibly easy to it right there where I lived. But during my time there, nothing ever happened. I spent a lot of time there going for walks at night, when my room was too hot to sleep and I liked to cool off that way. It never crossed my mind, that if somebody wanted to do a crime here against me, there would be nothing I could do about it and it would basically be impossible for that person to be caught. But I was at no point in time in danger. I don't think that I have ever actually heard gun shots in my life, outside of a movie of course.

[@Henning_Rech]

The location you describe is only a few 100 m away from the Federal Constitutional Court with very high police presence.

[@martinbruhn5274]

@@Henning_Rech That's actually only the case in the immediate surrounding of the building, but the area around the Schloss, is enormous. Most of that does not get policed. Just a bit away from that building, I never saw any police

[@HalfEye79]

17:00 I remember one english word, where many struggled was "question". They more use the german word "quetschen" ("squeezing") instead.

[@jmpht854]

"Rural" really is tough! You've probably referenced this elsewhere, but 30 Rock had an awesome episode touching on that and another toughie ("juror") being used together ("the rural juror").

[@jmpht854]

And it's pretty sad that Josh has to apologize for believing people's lives should be valued over some bizarre "right" to possess deadly force. Indicative of the underlying problems in the USA I fear 😞

[@martinsenoner8186]

Ich liebe unsere trockenen Sommer und WInter (es kann gern im Frühling und Herbst regnen)

[@Istalantar]

Regarding superstitions / omens. In Germany when a group of people greet each other or say goodbye shaking hands, crossing hands with another two people currently shaking hands is a sign of bad luck.

[@VoodooMcVee]

And I always thought it was only plain rude to get between two people and get in the way of their greetings ritual to override it with your own.

[@3.k]

Thank you for answering my question about Josh’s language skills! I’m amazed how you’re diving into those Eastern European languages, since they’re a completely different thing. Also, I like that even Feli learned something new about you, Josh. 😊

[@markspurgeon4556]

Outstanding episode. Can hardly wait for the the meet up.

[@ThePixel1983]

Can she make like a passing F1 car? "nju!"

[@Belfigora1102]

OMG, the heat in Germany is killing me this year and Josh is complaining about being to cold

[@blindleader42]

When did the heat wave start? I'm pretty sure this was recorded a week ago.

[@Belfigora1102]

@@blindleader42 It has been hot since end of May. I few days a little cooler but mostly hot.

[@katmi7525]

@@Belfigora1102 wo zur Hölle wohnst du? wir hatten bisher drei heiße Tage und ansonsten maximal 20 Grad. das ist nicht heiß. Region Hannover

[@Belfigora1102]

@@katmi7525 Mittelfranken, seit Wochen um die 30 Grad und kein Grund unfreundlich zu werden!

[@alexj9603]

@@Belfigora1102 Bei dieser Hitze ist das Wort "Hölle" wirklich angebracht... Grüße aus München, wo für nächste Woche 35⁰ angesagt sind.

[@ArgusStrav]

Random, but I'd be interested to know how the statistics compared for the all-German episode compared to the "normal" in English episodes. Was it a different viewership/listenership compared to the other episodes? Lower/higher overall numbers?

[@tonygumbrell22]

I spent 6 1/2 years in the U.S. Army in the infantry and saw combat in Vietnam. I am anti-gun violence and want strict gun control. I favor strict gun licensing and registration, and restrictive gun laws. I have severe hearing damage from exposer to gun noise in the military and wouldn't wish what I went through in war on a dog. I live near Canada, and it is wonderful to visit Canada where there is a small fraction of the gun violence in America, a far safer and saner place. I am not afraid of gun owners, the gun lobby, nor the gun industry. More people need to stand up to the gun nuts in America.

[@T0mat0_S0up]

I think you’re confused. I’m guessing you have never heard of the city of Chicago. Apparently Americans don’t even know their own cities.

[@tonygumbrell22]

@@T0mat0_S0upI lived in Chicago for 9years, probably before you were born though.

[@T0mat0_S0up]

@@tonygumbrell22 Okay? Do you also know about the strict gun control laws in Chicago? And also the vast amount of evidence that it has one the most shootings out of any city? Gosh Tony how naive are you? Now I just feel sorry for you…

[@tonygumbrell22]

@@T0mat0_S0up An ad hominem argument is the sine qua non of an internet troll. My condemnation of gun nuts didn't name you personally, but if the shoe fits wear it.

[@tonygumbrell22]

@@T0mat0_S0up Do you know about the strict gun laws in Chicago? Tell me about the strict gun laws in Chicago, comprehensively. I want to know.

[@tonygumbrell22]

I have lived in San Diego and Seattle, and have spent some time in Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, Monterey, California, and Los Angeles. The west coast is very casual. In San Diego the people are so laid back you'd think their mothers were heavily addicted to cannabis prepartum. Also, the dialects spoken on the west coast are all very similar, and not very different from the mid-west dialect.

[@GalGavish]

When Feli said “rural”, I was thinking how I struggled with “ruler” 😁

[@UnderstandingTrainStation]

😂

[@Baccatube79]

Mariä Himmelfahrt (Mary's Assumption) is ALWAYS on Aug 15, Fronleichnam (Corpus Christi) is the second Thursday after Pentecost.

[@felixklusener5530]

1:05:30 I witnessed a similar situation in an IC from Cologne to Binz a few years ago. A young couple entered the train in Rostock and they had the wrong extra tickets for their bikes. They obviously tried their best to get all the tickets they needed but selected a wrong category for one ticket. When a DB employee showed up and demanded the tickets in an already rough tone he got realy angry and started yelling at them because of their mistake. He threatened to kick them out at the next stop in Ribnitz-Damgarten but changed his mind when the poor couple apologized multiple times and begged for forgiveness. It was shocking to see how rude people can be when they are in a position of power and how they have fun to abuse their power to give others a hard time.

[@Saskue78]

Great podcast. 🙂🙂

[@Baccatube79]

Josh: Szepter hast the same consonant cluster as Szene. Both are Greek words originally. But funnily, "skeptisch" which has the exact same pronunciation in Greek didn't change the k-sound to a ts-sound on its way to German. Germans often struggle with their own dialects when they try and speak Standard German (you may take the Swabian out of Baden-Württemberg, but you'll never take Schwäbisch out of the Swabian, same with people from Lower Frankonia and their not being able to differ b and p or d and t. The sounds will always come out soft, so when a person from Würzburg announces that they will go on vacation the next day and they still have to "back' a weng", you never can be sure whether they need to pack their stuff or bake a cake. I myself struggle with "clothes" and "soothsayer" (the latter not actually being a word that I should need any day), but the "ths" combination is a pain nevertheless.

[@dieteroffermann3880]

After Kinderzimmer comes Jugendzimmer! Und danach wird es Zeit auszuziehen!!!!😂

[@Baccatube79]

"Scherben bringen Glück" refers definitely only to earthenware/porcelaine. A broken mirror is seven years bad luck, also "Glück und Glas, wie leicht bricht das".

[@pendragon2012]

Great episode. As a historian when you dig a little deeper you find that for most of history, the US courts ruled that the 2nd Amendment applied to the right of states to have their own militias. Not until the late 20th century, under pressure from the NRA, courts started acting like it meant US citizens were entitled to own whatever weapons they wanted. It's not at all what the Founders envisioned. Sadly Americans, including yours truly, were raised on the notion that we need our guns to resist the government. I hate to break it to the gun nuts but the government's got drones that'll wipe you out before you can even blink. I'm tired of burying kids, I'm tired of worrying my kids or myself will not come home from school because of a shooting (or the fucking grocery store). Stop the madness. Responsible gun control. Now.

[@caliscribe2120]

The US Constitution says what the Supreme Court majority says it says. And the Supreme Court majority says that the 2nd Amendment states that private citizens have the right to own a firearm and to possess it privately or publicly. Elect new legislators and put new Justices on the Court who hold your beliefs, change the Court makeup, or amend the Constitution to your way of thinking.

[@ThePixel1983]

@@caliscribe2120 So what if the supreme court tells you there are five lights, do you accept that there are five lights, not the 4 you see?

[@cgrun06]

Lookin' good, Josh. :)

[@formgeben]

Breaking a mirror is bad luck. Breaking a plate = Scherben bringen Glück

[@kubyoindiya3269]

adding timestamp would be much helpful!

[@Krokostad]

I always struggle with the word "sixth".

[@caliscribe2120]

To my American ear, those German holidays sounded fake to me, especially Phingsten. Lol. I am going to lobby my boss to give us Phingsten off next year. (What is it?)

[@katiepalmer3639]

Pfingsten just means Pentecost. So it's a religious holiday. It's not widely celebrated though. I think Feli made a video about it on her personal channel

[@karinland8533]

Pfingsten = pentecost

[@alexj9603]

These German holidays in May/June are: - Ascension (Christi Himmelfahrt) - Pentecost (Pfingsten) - Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam) The latter is only celebrated in areas with a Catholic majority, which includes Munich.

[@cgrun06]

When I spent a year in Germany as a teenager it was my impression that religious holidays were more fully observed in southern Germany, specifically Bavaria, which was (still is?) more Catholic.

[@3.k]

Pronouncing the German word “Szene:” I’m German and I don’t bother speaking the Z, I just pronounce the word with a sharp S at the beginning. 😊

[@karanthewg]

Same here, and I never heard a German say sZene 🙂

[@annatrzoska9611]

As a german, I struggle alot with the word 'enthusiasm'. Probably because it mixes the 'th' with the 's'. 'Entrepreneur' is pretty hard too. Not even my english teacher could pronounce it correctly. Which didn't help at all. :D Im pretty sure, that many people struggle with the german word 'Elektrizität'. Thinking about the word 'Szene' in german... I don't think I've ever heard a native german actually pronouncing the 'z'. 'Sz' in comination usually ends up as a sharp sounding 's'. Like in 'Soße' or 'Fuß'. So it's kinda like 'ßene' :D

[@florian-249]

I think, it could be nowadays be written ẞene, because that is how it's pronounced but back in the day there was no big ß, so it was written with sz instead, I guess. At least I never heard it different.

[@kenhenderson1762]

Feli said that compliments aren't as frequent in New York, but I remember one of her YT videos where she said she and her friend Vero got a LOT of complements from younger members of the opposite gender while visiting New York. Then again, this was more getting "hit on" that a bona fide compliment! ;)

[@UnderstandingTrainStation]

I think we just meant to say that people on the East Coast don't usually small talk as much as people in the Midwest or in the South. Vero and I were catcalled an hit on a lot in NYC which, as you said, is not necessarily the same and catcalling is really inappropriate actually.

[@nikolaiquack8548]

I feel like the common denominator in your stories about Germans being unaccommodating or rude to people who don't speak the language is that they happen in a service kind of environment. I feel like, while it still sucks, it's at least somewhat understandable that someone with a job like that might be really irritable. Not that that's an excuse at all. It does suck whenever it happens.

[@jgorman64]

I was a part of a "well-regulated militia". I was in the US Army Infantry during the Vietnam War and we were NOT permitted to keep our weapons "under our bunks" as it were. We turned them into the armory after shooting on the range. That's was "well-regulated" means. This is all SOOOO ridiculous.

[@joshhodkinson4694]

So how is the us army well regulated when they were spraying agent orange all over Vietnam exposing children to cancer

[@071949]

Feli/Josh, I enjoyed this Q&A session, the hour and a half (almost!) went by very quickly. About fashion in the US vs Germany, I have seen people wearing pajama bottoms in public here in the Greater Cleveland area, and that is something which I am reasonably sure that one would never see in Germany. About guns, the US evolved very differently than Germany, and firearms were always part of the culture/way of life here. As for gun violence, keeping them out of the hands of people w/ criminal intent is very difficult in a country w/ more guns than people...

[@V100-e5q]

19:17 Instead of ungewöhnlich I would rather say ungewohnt. Because the latter refers to the personal perspective while the first to the world in general. You know what I mean?

[@NickNobody161]

Words: strength, proficiency, revivify

[@martinbruhn5274]

Wow, you were kind of all over the place with the choices of topics in this one.

[@VulcanOnWheels]

20:52 I just remembered hearing a German speak English and pronouncing the th as a z. God, I hate when they do that! As far as gun control goes, I'm not sure I agree with Josh that a single solution wouldn't work for all of the States. I do agree with Feli's suggestion that gun control should be regulated in the US.

[@cuongpham6218]

Why do you hate on someone's accent? As long as you can understand that I think it's fine. It's like if Germans say that they hate when Americans pronounce the R at the end of words like abeRRRRR.

[@martinbinder2534]

The thick thistle is thicker than the thin thistle.

[@Karl_Ranseier]

Fronleichnam = Happykadaverday😂

[@berndhoffmann7703]

18:55 "Zähne" vs "Szene"

[@georgrittel4243]

Did I get the phrase correctly when Josh talked about Puerto Rico and he said : sand a dead bunny on the beach? Huh?

[@matthewkean3896]

Bad bunny is a musical artist. I think he said listen to.

[@martinbruhn5274]

A Kinderzimmer is the room for a child, or the room, that was your room, when growing up. Your bedroom in a time, when you're not a child anymore, that is also not your room of when you were a child, is just "Your room" or your bedroom. It's also just 4 walls, without any special built in accomodations, that's just not really a thing.

[@jeffwest5244]

Speaking of dialects ... I’ve always wondered about the way Josh often pronounces his L’s (or, as he might say: Ew’s). Specifically in this installment, he said: “ when I’m in Cincinnati in August, [wiww] be [ay-bow] to record something.” Is this a regional dialect or a personal idiolect? It’s similar the way some people pronounce the nickname for Philadelphia as [fiw-wee] rather than “Philly.” I sincerely hope you’re not offended, Josh!. I love you guys and this channel. I’m just curious. BTW: a couple good words for “not genuine” are: “insincere” and (Sartre’s favorite) “inauthentic.”

[@Eddi.M.]

"Dialect" would imply a different sound, grammar and/or vocabulary as a regional or group convention. I think you refer to his "accent", which is a different sound only (and might include mistakes in grammar, but not as a convention), correct? Josh has a very slight American accent, which can hardly be noticed, I find. But he pronounces the umlauts, r's and ch's so well, which are the most difficult sounds for English native speakers usually.

[@jeffwest5244]

@@Eddi.M. I don't understand your comment: First, I used the words "dialect" and "idiolect," not "accent." Josh's regional variant of English IS a DIALECT of English and is all that I questioned him about. Second, your remark about his handling of [German] r's, ch's, and "umlauts" does, however, involve the matter of ACCENTS, which I did not address, as his German pronunciation is impressive!

[@Eddi.M.]

@@jeffwest5244 forget it, Jeff. Not so important.

[@HalfEye79]

What I don't get: What is the difference of a button-down shirt and a button-up shirt?

[@DougWinfield]

No one ever gets this right anymore. A button-down shirt is one that has buttons on the collar flaps to hold them down. A button up shirt is one that is closed by a row of buttons.

[@HalfEye79]

@@DougWinfield Thanks. As I understand this, they have nothing in common, right? But what is with shirts, which are closed by a row of buttons AND the collar flaps has buttons to hold them down? How would these shirts are called?

[@G.Harley.Davidson]

How long has Josh been learning Deutsch? How in the world can you practice daily while living in the U.S.?

[@ArgusStrav]

Josh lives in Munich, to be clear. And he's been learning since highschool, so probably 8+ years (I forget his exact age).

[@kenhenderson1762]

@@ArgusStrav Josh is 2 years younger than Feli, so that would make him 26.

[@rickyn1135]

Josh,did you get contact lenses? You look great,btw.

[@MrLuddis]

Off topic: Josh, das deutsche Essen scheint dir gut zu bekommen. Du bist eine atemberaubende Schönheit geworden!

[@k.s.421]

Ja, er sieht super toll aus...Er hat sich auf jeden Fall verändert...

[@rickyn1135]

They wear leggings at work. Company’s have had to make policy,’not appropriate as office attire’. To me,they look like the women have lost or forgot their skirt lol

[@terrydotson6859]

I salute my fellow Viet Nam War combat brothers...I too fought there as an Airborne Infantryman (11B and 11P) and am 100% service-connected disabled. I spent most of my life (am now 77) a Republican Conservative......but am now, after 4 years plus of TRUMP, a liberal democrat (registered democrat)...I used to support gun-rights but now, after all the slaughters, opposed to civilian ownership of military-style weapons with large magazines. Hell, they have larger magazines than the 20-round magazine we had in our M-16s in Nam (fighting an excellent 30 round AK-47 magazine)...and because of jamming we were ordered to only put 18 rounds in the mag...This must stop...protect the 2nd Amendment but remove large mag semi-automatics from civilians.

[@nikolaiquack8548]

The 2nd amendment stems from a time when people were still using muskets. The founding fathers would probably be horrified, if they got a look of their country nowadays.

[@T0mat0_S0up]

Do you really think the government will make people’s lives better? How naive of a 77 year old…

[@nancyposner8071]

In the US the term "master" bedroom is declining in usage in favor of "primary bedroom". Obviously because of its distasteful history. This might not have reached Ohio yet but it is the new standard in the northeastern US. Better to avoid this term.

[@UnderstandingTrainStation]

That's why we mentioned that the term has a bad history but it's definitely still common to use it here. Both in every day life as well as in real estate listings etc. -Feli

[@b.w.9244]

I think being a pretty white foreigner that is fluent goes a long way to explaining your good experiences here. If you were dark skinned and had very poor English, you would find much impatience. In my opinion.

[@V100-e5q]

Do I correctly get the impression that Feli's accent has become a lot more Americanized lately? Like the more "sloppy" (in lack of a better expression) pronounciation of "t" or use of "gonna". Perhaps the influence of a certain person being around a lodd?

[@UnderstandingTrainStation]

I've used expressions like "gonna" for years haha but I don't do it a lot in my structured videos on "Feli from Germany". It's definitely possible that I've started to pronounce things less clearly though haha but those two examples aren't new :) -Feli

[@V100-e5q]

@@UnderstandingTrainStation Well, those were just examples. While gonna is just a word (not) it is the overall leaning towards the American way of speaking. Even a kind of joy doing it . Generally, I got the impression a more colloquial pronunciation is happening. Since I don't hear you talking off KZbin I can only notice that.

[@archraskal]

@@V100-e5q Most Europeans who speak English as a 2nd language use the American pronunciation. This would be despite being instructed while in school in the British one This shows a preference on their part.

[@harrietbredehoft6578]

Until something is done about treatments for mental illness in this country I will never support any change to the Second Amendment.

[@DougWinfield]

Josh trying to sound less reserved and more open when speaking German would probably cause people to keep their distance or recommend he seek psychiatric treatment.

[@andymo4671]

he she it, s muss mit:)

[@antonchekov2359]

Normies

[@dalel8454]

𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓂 💯

[@DerAllEine]

Seid ihr nicht mehr zusammen?

[@karinland8533]

Sie waren noch nie zusammen. Josh hat einen Partner in Deutschland und Feli wohnt mit ihrem Freund zusammen.

[@j.a.1721]

@@karinland8533 ach hat Josh etwa erwähnt dass es da jemanden gibt?

[@karinland8533]

@@j.a.1721 im letzten Video hat er was erwähnt. Und er hat sich als schwul geoutet

[@yasminesteinbauer8565]

I understand that you want to make money. But can't you just put the ads at the beginning or at the end? If the hope is that I'll listen to minutes of drivel about a product I'm not the least bit interested in just because it's inserted into the actual content, that's a mistake. Most of the time I just close the video if there isn't at least a clear indicator to skip the nonsense. Hoping that viewers are too stupid to distinguish the content from the advertising (and that's what this strategy obviously amounts to) is just disingenuous (and rightly illigal in the EU). Sorry but if you don't find a better solution for this it's only a matter of time until I unsubscribe.

[@UnderstandingTrainStation]

We mentioned that Lingoda sponsors our podcast and the video has a paid partnership label. You're welcome to skip ahead until you hear us talk about the next question

[@yasminesteinbauer8565]

@@UnderstandingTrainStation Then why do you fake a user question followed by "your real unbiased opinion" and not at least clearly state that now follows advertising? And again, just do it like many other channels and insert the ad block at the beginning and/or end. You can't tell me that there isn't a clear calculation regarding the placement of the ads and mixing them with the content. If you are so financially dependent on this company that they can dictate the structure of your videos it's not a healthy business model anyway.

[@teutonica]

Interesting ep as always, thx. But I also found it interesting Feli says she fells less free in US. That's after 2yrs of Maßnahmen in D where citizens were far less free to even leave their own homes, travel, engage in various activities w/o ridiculous useless testing procedures & Maskenpflicht, or to decide for themselves what experimental injections they would take (speaking of bodily autonomy) than in most of the US. And all of this is surely not unrelated to the topic of an armed citizenry if u get what I mean.

[@teutonica]

Aber ich will auch sagen: ich bemerke auch dass sie beide ganz offen und ehrlich auspacken wenn es um Ärgernisse in den USA *oder* in Deutschland geht. Dass weiß ich zu schätzen. Weiter so! Dass ich eine andere Meinung hier äußere bedeutet absolut nicht dass ich euch irgendwie zum schweigen bringen will oder so was. Mann muss (sollte!) nicht immer einer Meinung sein, also ich kann dass absolute aushalten. :) // verzeih mir mein schlechtes Deutsch!

[@UnderstandingTrainStation]

This is wo thing that I felt right when I came here in 2016 - this is unrelated to the pandemic. I didn't live in Germany throughout the pandemic. -Feli

[@Baccatube79]

Whataboutism. And also plainly wrong and anti-social.

[@teutonica]

@@UnderstandingTrainStation Verstehe. But since you were discussing the effect the right to bear arms has had on your feeling of freedom across the 2 countries, I would like to make the point that: in many parts of US, I think the fact that many citizens are armed has significantly reduced the extent to which the us/state gov has felt it possible to saddle citizens with draconian freedom-denying "Maßnahmen" like closing small businesses, forcing ppl in their homes or forcing injections. In that sense, an armed citizenry has clearly strengthened freedom from gov oppression compared to many other western lands IMO.

[@teutonica]

@@Baccatube79 Not at all whataboutism. Rather highly relevant IMO. As I hinted in my first comment, and hopefully clarified in my response above, the 2nd amendment could be considered highly relevant to the differential sense of freedom in the 2 countries over the past 2 years. On the whole, the US gov has not been nearly as bold with draconian freedom-limiting measures as the German gov has. This surely has at least something to do with the fact that the US citizenry is much better armed, and the US gov accordingly feels less able to oppress than the German.

[@seethingnuclearchaos]

The vast majority of gun crimes are committed by people who are already legally prohibited from owning a firearm. Most of the time, they happen against other people who are also prohibited persons, ie criminals. We need to address the issues with the existing laws, not add laws that effect law-abiding gun owners and have little to no impact on criminals. Many law abiding gun owners will never register their firearms. And attempting to create some sort of scheme would cause more problems than it solves. More people need to stand up to the senseless, ineffective, burdensome regulations on law-abiding persons and insist on working to address the real problems.

[@theonly5001]

If you take a look at it: Gun laws were loosened quite often in the last 2 decades. And the problem just started. And it's growing and growing. You can get almost any gun you want in Germany, but it is a lengthy progress. If you want it for a legitimate reason you can get it. If you just want it to cause harm now you will have dificulties getting a gun. Additionally since cops don't have to assume, that everyone carries a gun, they can be way more loose than in America.

[@seethingnuclearchaos]

@@theonly5001 this is simply not true. While laws allowing carry have been loosened, those with permits to carry are less likely than police officers to commit crimes. In general, it is more difficult to obtain a firearm for any reason than it was decades ago. Most crimes with guns are committed by those who are not legally allowed to own firearms and did not obtain them legally. This is easily seem in crime reports.

[@theonly5001]

@@seethingnuclearchaos However there are more mass shootings than decades ago. And quite a lot of those guns have been bought legitimately. If it were just a issue of criminals shooting each other and not harming civilians in the process this wouldn't be a big deal for the public. And then there is the ludicrous amount of gun accidents in the US. If you take a closer look at the numbers and compare that to other western "civilized" countries, you will notice, that the US has a massive problem. And that isn't just solved by taking the guns from "criminals". That is done by cracking down on all types of ownership of weapons if people misbehave and a regulatory institution which deals with that properly.

[@seethingnuclearchaos]

@@theonly5001 A large number of gun deaths in the US -- the majority in fact -- are suicide, not homicide. If you compare homicide rates in the US and western nations, they are similar though methods differ. The use of firearms does make attempted suicides more likely to be fatal. But the US is still in the middle of the pack. About 80% of crime guns were not purchased legally. About a third of gun crime is tied to gangs and drugs. More than half of the homicides occur in 2% of US counties. And more than half of counties in the US have 0 murders in a normal year. The US has long had higher homicide rates than Europe. But, save for the last couple of years, the rate has been declining since the 1990's.