After Islamic State called for its supporters to launch attacks against the German Carnival festivities, and after a series of car attacks involving Islamic jihadists in Europe over the years, it is safe to say that many were surprised a German landscape gardener with no apparent political motive was responsible for the tragic attack that cost two lives and wounded over two dozen.
What the 40-year-old Alexander S. did is no less terrifying than any other vehicle attack, but so far, he did not appear to have a terrorist motive. However, the political and societal implications of the attack are already worth exploring.
Does this attack suddenly mean the right and conservatives are wrong about the security threat posed by foreigners? Not at all. The reality is that foreigners are vasty, vastly overrepresented in the criminal statistics, and also vastly overrepresented in terror attacks in Europe.
We already knew Europeans are capable of crime and terrorism. The news tells us this every day. What matters is the rate at which these crimes occur. At a certain rate, society becomes increasingly unstable and unlivable, as it is in many spots in the world. Society becomes low trust, people fear for their safety, and various measures are taken by the populace to protect themselves, including extreme measures such as seen in countries like Brazil and South Africa, including safe rooms, private security, and gated communities.
Europeans are no doubt feeling less safe, but generally not because of the actions of other Europeans.
The pro-migration left will undoubtedly present this attack as evidence that Europeans are just as dangerous in terms of terror as foreigners, but again, the data simply does not indicate this to be the case. Even just looking at vehicle attacks, it is clear that foreigners have been vastly overrepresented in Europe over the last decade, despite foreigners making up a small percentage of the population.
France’s attack in Nice in 2016 that cost 86 lives, the 2017 Stockholm attack, the 2017 London Bridge attack, the 2017 Barcelona attack, the 2016 Berlin attack, and the recent attacks in Magdeburg, and Munich were all perpetrated by individuals from MENA countries. There were also of course many similar deadly attacks outside Europe, including the truck ramming attack in New Orleans last year.
Even despite the soaring role of foreign crime, Europe’s societies have been remarkably peaceful compared to the rest of the world. In fact, the safest countries in the world still belong to Europe.
According to World Population Review, “The majority of the top 25 safest countries are European countries. Most notable are the Nordic countries of Europe. Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland are not only among Europe’s safest countries, but they are among the top 25 safest countries anywhere on Earth. This region is thus considered the safest in the world, with a homicide rate of 0.8 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants. These Nordic countries are all in the top 10 happiest countries in the world as well. The second-safest region among the top 25 safest countries is Asia. Both Europe and Asia have the world’s lowest homicide rates of 3 or fewer per 100,000 inhabitants.”
The reality is that inviting people from very unsafe societies, such as those in the Middle East and Africa, was always obviously going to raise the crime rate and bring about new social tensions, including an increased terror threat. This was astoundingly obvious.
That does not mean foreigners inherently cause problems or partake in criminal activity, but to deny the data is also near criminal, as it leads to only more bloodshed. What can be feared from this attack in Mannheim is that this will only lead to a further phenomenon of the left burying its head in the sand on this issue.
In Germany, foreigners accounted for a record share of crimes in 2023, reaching 41 percent despite being only 15 percent of the population. For serious crimes, these figures went up to 6 in 10. It is not just terror attacks, it is everyday criminal occurrences in the schools, on the trains, on the streets, in the clubs, and on the buses — ranging from knife attacks to sexual assault to sexual harassment.
In terms of gang rape, we can look at the statistics, for example, from North-Rheine Westphalia and see that an astounding 75 percent of suspects are foreigners. This also means that 25 percent are Germans. Therefore, the left’s claim that “Germans do it too” must be acknowledged, but it is also extremely misleading, as the two groups are nowhere close to equal when it comes to how often such a crime is actually perpetrated.
The old adage that the left does not like or understand the term “per capita” rears its head again and again.
So, this individual, Alexander S., does not prove anything other than Germans can also commit heinous crimes, which we already knew was the case.
"Germany is no longer a safe country… The migration crisis is first and foremost a crime crisis."
German police union (DPoIG) chairman Manuel Ostermann makes a major statement following the Solingen terror attack by a Syrian Islamist. pic.twitter.com/ZolmrLnMHa
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) August 28, 2024There is also very little the authorities can do in such circumstances, as this individual apparently was not political, did not give any real warning that he would attack others, and had a history of severe mental illness, including trying to get himself admitted to a hospital in Ludwigshafen in August 2024, as he had previously tried to pour gasoline on himself and wanted to set himself on fire.
One thing is clear though. The new wave of migrants has brought a mental health crisis to Germany. Could Alexander S. have received more care and treatment if the current health system was not so overburdened? We will never know. However, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach warned after the Magdeburg attack by a Saudi doctor that 30 percent of asylum seekers suffer from severe mental illnesses and pose a public safety risk.
The reality is that Europeans have enough problems, including with mental illness, without inviting millions of people who are suffering from mental illness from other countries. The claim that many of them partake in crime or terror because of trauma they experienced during wars in the Middle East discounts the fact that many of them came from safe countries like Morocco. On top of that, Europeans coming home from the Second World War oversaw some of the most successful and peaceful societies of all time. Clearly, war trauma is not sufficient to explain randomly stabbing innocents or sexually harassing women.
Germany is bringing in hundreds of thousands of "psychologically ill" migrants.
"87% of refugees have had experiences that can trigger trauma. And in 30% of cases, this actually leads to mental illness."
It's costing lives.
Nearly every time a child is murdered or a… pic.twitter.com/iOF0SIkMj9
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) January 28, 2025The trend of foreigners committing crimes could get worse, or it could slow. Only time will tell. It is very unlikely that Germans as a group will suddenly start committing more crime. If nothing else, the German population continues to age, which is after all, also a significant factor in the crime rate. However, it should be noted that young foreigners commit far more crime from young Germans in the same age demographic, and as always, it is near impossible to know the true crime rate of Germans, as those foreigners who obtain German citizenship are simply counted as Germans in the crime statistics.
If we were suddenly confronted with a reality where Germans like Alexander S. are suddenly stabbing people at random, ramming cars into crowds of people, and causing mayhem in the inner cities and classrooms at far higher rates in the future, we all need to deeply reevaluate the situation. The reality is though, this attack has not changed the overall trend lines and remains an exception.
In the war of ideas and emotions though, many Germans will take the opposite approach to this attack, and use it reaffirm their own entrenched beliefs. If the past is any guide, this will only add to the growing bloodshed we have already seen in Europe.
As the old saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Europe has become a continent-wide example.
