"Certain decadence" of the middle-class: Homeland expert deals with Corona demos - and is dismayed

Created: 02/23/2022, 06:25

By: Verena Moeckl

At a demonstration against the current corona policy, a participant carries a sign with the inscription “No to compulsory vaccination”.

© (symbol image) Markus Scholz/dpa

Home caretaker Norbert Göttler has been observing the Corona walkers for a long time.

A conversation about democracy, decadence and populism.

Dachau – For months, walkers have been taking their protest to the streets: Corona deniers, opponents of vaccination, right-wing extremists and people from the middle of society like Dagmar G. Lately, the district citizen has been finding it increasingly difficult to control her anger at Corona politics.

Eventually, the police had to get involved.

The local curator Norbert Göttler has dealt with violence and homeland.

In an interview he talks about the radicalization of the Corona demonstrators and the responsibility of society.

Corona demos: "I have a magazine here that clearly calls for armed resistance"

Norbert Göttler deals with homeland and violence.

© private

Mr Göttler, as a home caretaker, how worried are you about the Corona walks?

Norbert Göttler: The right to demonstrate is a valuable asset in a democracy.

This has to be handled carefully, sensitively and responsibly.

Right-wing populist forces are abusing this right and are very interested in infiltrating and accompanying the Corona demos.

I have a magazine here that clearly calls for armed resistance.

It was distributed in mailboxes in Dachau's old town during the last walks.

It says "democratic resistance" on it.

In reality, you can already see an armed person in the title.

This is not a responsible approach to the right to demonstrate.

A telegram group of walkers was called on to move in front of private houses.

This is of course a call for physical or at least psychological violence, reminiscent of the historical "Haberfeld" excesses.

Even if you row back afterwards, I see a danger here.

Again and again, various issues are misused as a springboard for anti-democratic resistance to our constitution.

That upsets me.

How quickly it happened that the question of vaccination was linked to the attack on our open liberal society - not just by a few left and right cranks, but massively by the middle-class.

Why is that?

There are various reasons for this.

The bourgeois center itself is also involved in this process.

By weighing herself in safety through decades of affluent society.

The middle class has fallen into a certain decadence.

What do you mean?

That one no longer deals with exhausting topics of democratic discourse.

It is always difficult because it requires a willingness to learn and to compromise.

The bourgeois center often no longer wants to have anything to do with it.

You want simple solutions.

And these are only offered by populists.

left and right.

The latter, however, have greater access to the middle class.

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Right-wing infiltration of the Corona demos

How large do you estimate the proportion of radical people at Corona demos?

That is hard to say.

I assume they are minorities operating in a gray area.

There are always protesters to talk to.

We as a society should do the same.

But there is also a hard core that is no longer willing to talk.

But when such right-wing populist propaganda newspapers are distributed, the rest of the demonstrators must know who they are dealing with.

"I have no sympathy for supposed naivety"

Do you think that Corona walkers don't know anything about right-wing extremists at their meetings?

The people who take part in such walks should take a closer look.

In such an enlightened society, I have no sympathy for supposed naivety.

There has always been a connection between the esoteric and right-wing populism.

The esoteric tends to look for and give easy, irrational and non-debatable answers.

Historically, ecology also had a certain connection to right-wing populism.

To a certain extent, the National Socialists were ecologically oriented.

I don't want to say that everyone who takes part in the Corona demos is right-wing extremist.

These are always minorities, but there is a common thread that is not new.

And the majority of the demonstrators ignore these historical connections.

Interview: Verena Moeckl

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