Demo against corona policy: On the streets, but peacefully

Created: 01/04/2022, 6:30 PM

From: Andreas Seiler

Peaceful protest: the Monday strollers in the Garmisch pedestrian zone.

© Seiler

The corona protest is swelling: Monday strollers are on the go nationwide - also in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

The Tagblatt followed the demonstration in the pedestrian zone.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen - The Garmisch district has its "parlor" spruced up for the winter time.

The festive lighting and the nicely decorated shop windows make the pedestrian zone shine - and invite you to stroll and stroll.

You'd think the pandemic is over.

Unfortunately, this is not the case.

This is remembered every Monday evening by the walkers who, like in many other municipalities in Germany, demonstrate against the corona measures of the federal government - an expression of a society that is deeply divided on the question of how to deal with this crisis correctly.

Last Monday it was that time again in the district - for the fifth time.

Police number 450 participants

It is around 6.30 p.m. when Richard-Strauss-Platz suddenly fills with people. The crowd is mixed, young and old, including families with children. Many light candles or have lights with them. The mood seems relaxed. There is gossip and laughter. It is difficult to quantify the amount dispersed. The police assume 450 - a little less than last. One participant estimates the number to be much higher, speaking from 1200 to 1500.

The Corona protest is a challenge for the authorities because it is difficult for the bureaucracy to grasp. As with previous events, the move was not reported, and there is no official chairman of the meeting. Nobody gives a speech, nobody chants slogans, nobody carries a sign or a poster in front of them when the crowd starts moving and pulls through the pedestrian zone. Only two young men put on armbands that read “Unvaccinated” - a provocation on the edge.

It is predominantly vaccination opponents and vaccination skeptics, as is well known, who arrange to meet on Monday walks via word of mouth or social media. In Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the corona protest, which resolves after a good hour, ends without incident. "Everything went very peacefully," said Markus Stückl, spokesman for the police station. No abnormalities, no counter-demonstrations. No representatives of the right-wing scene were noticed either.

This is not the case everywhere. Right-wing extremists, such as the micro-party “The Third Way”, are trying to co-opt the movement and exploit it for their interests. The events here in the district are also on the appointment lists. Many local politicians are therefore alarmed, for example in Murnau, where the Greens - as well as vaccination supporters - are holding a counter-event on Monday. The municipality and district councilor Veronika Jones warns of infiltration on her Facebook page: "I do not take part in walks and demos that are advertised, supported and co-organized by the Nazis."

But back to Garmisch-Partenkirchen: The participants apparently do not feel at risk there.

"I haven't met or seen anyone from the right-wing scene here," says Mario Bichler.

Of course, he would distance himself from it immediately.

An "observer", as another man calls himself, who does not want to read his name in the newspaper, has a different view of things.

"That is very scary," he comments on the current development and refers to some AfD representatives he has found on site.

Disagree with corona policy

But what drives the Monday strollers to take to the streets? The Tagblatt discussions that were held paint a unanimous picture, even if no claim to representation can be made: They are citizens who do not agree with the Corona policy or are at least very skeptical. And who often feel that they are not adequately or even incorrectly informed. But it is also noticeable that research results, statistics or vaccination recommendations from renowned institutes are quickly questioned if they contradict one's own convictions - which does not make a debate any easier. And many a conspiracy story can also be heard. For example the absurd notion that all media are controlled by politics.

However, the focus is on the known objections and concerns of the Corona critics.

"I am against compulsory vaccination and in favor of a free vaccination decision," says one participant who also wants to remain anonymous.

“I'm afraid of vaccine damage,” explains Thorsten Kraus, who works in the medical industry.

In his opinion, the risks of developing the side effects of the vaccine are nowhere near as low as is always shown.

He has already had Corona himself, Kraus continues.

“That was nothing more than a cold.” And Katja Bichler says: “I don't see the benefit of the vaccination.” Because even those who were vaccinated sometimes got seriously ill with Covid-19 and ended up in the intensive care unit - or did not survive the infection.