Re: The German Ocean

--- In cybalist@..., "ehlsmith" <ehlsmith@...> wrote:

> --- In cybalist@..., "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
> ...[snip]...
> > Let me suggest that in English book learning is prevalent east of
> the
> > farmer/peasant line, ie the river Rhine, named thus since in the
> > English language, people living by agriculture west of the river
> > Rhine are called 'farmers', east of it 'peasants', a distinction
> > unique to that language. ...[snip]...
>
> What is the source of your assertion about the "farmer/peasant

line"?

> I have seen innumerable references to French "peasants". Is the
> distinction supposed to apply only to contemporary farmers? While

it

> is true that modern French farmers are rarely called peasants,
> neither are modern German farmers.
>
> Ned Smith

My source is various people I met hitch-hiking through North America.
It is thus a sub-academic concept, but since our brains are built the
way they are, with layer upon layer of inhibitory cortex, I suspect
the same idea will appear also in academic discourse. Eg. that there
is a dividing line on the Rhine, and it has alway been there and
always will be.

I recall from Discovery Channel some short dark-haired Celtic-looking
British WWII fighter pilots telling about their meeting with their
former opponents, those tall blond Nazi fighter pilots. Turned out
those opponents were short dark-haired and Celtic-looking too; the
stature of the optimal fighter pilot being the same no matter what
the nationality of the plane.

Torsten