IF YOU’VE BEEN on Twitter today, chances are you have seen this graphic going around.
The note is pitched as a plea from the people of Germany to Americans ahead of the presidential election on Tuesday.
It reads:
Go ahead, vote for the guy with the loud voice who hates minorities, threatens to imprison his opponent, doesn’t give a f**k about democracy, and claims he alone can fix everything. What could possibly go wrong?
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The image has been shared widely on social media and has garnered thousands of retweets.
And the hashtag #beentheredonethat has been trending worldwide
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So is it really from “the people of Germany”?
Not quite.
The graphic was created and shared by Johan Franklin, a German man living in San Diego, California.
This morning, Franklin explained that the note did not emanate from the Hillary Clinton campaign and that he wasn’t necessarily speaking on behalf of everyone in Germany.
Of course I can’t speak for the entire population of Germany. I used that signature line as a way of overdramatising to add emphasis.
But from what I hear from friends and family back ome, what I read on German news sites and social media, many Germans are just scared s**tless that an obvious demagogue and outright liar can gather so many people behind him.
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.
So there you have it.
