Stroller or walker? In a neighborhood dispute in Berlin, it was about the question of what is worse. © Eckhard Stengel/imago/Symbolbild
In Berlin, a generational conflict broke out among neighbors. In the battle of paper words, they debated which is worse: walker or stroller?
Berlin – When people live next door to each other, conflicts can arise. In Germany, the slip of paper seems to be one of the most popular methods of communication in such cases. A direct confrontation can thus be avoided, but residents can still give free rein to their frustration. In Berlin, in a neighborhood dispute, the question arose as to what bothers more: stroller or walker?
Tenants complain about strollers and toys – the reaction follows promptly
The Instagram profile "Notes of Berlin" collects entertaining note interactions in the capital. A find from the end of May has now also caused online discussions. "We would like to ask you once again not to leave your strollers and children's toys as well as junk in the passages [...] or in front of the apartment doors of other tenants [...] to deposit," it said on the note, which is peppered with spelling mistakes in the original. If there are still any uncertainties, the writer conveniently adds a link to tenancy law, which prescribes escape routes by law. "In case of repeated violations, charges will be filed!" the text ended with an unequivocal threat.
The answer follows promptly. "How bitter can you be?" the party apparently asks in a handwritten note and turns the argument around directly: "Then don't park walkers in the same places." This directly conjured up a generational conflict in the discussion. "Greetings from the annoyed tenants about the unjustified nagging constantly," the reaction continued.
Difference between walkers and strollers? Opinions in comments differ
It is usually difficult to judge from the outside who is actually in the right in neighbourhood disputes. In any case, the sound also makes the music, as a study by Cardiff University in 2020 proved. In the discussion of rollator vs. stroller, another resident apparently joined in with a piece of paper and outed himself as a "team rollator". "[...] It's already clear that the person who needs a walker is old and no longer able to walk well?" was the rhetorical question at the beginning. As a result, this neighbor could no longer drag the walker up on his own and needed help, according to the attached note.
Who will win the race stroller vs. walker? In a neighborhood dispute in Berlin, this question was discussed. © Schöning/imago/Symbolbild
You can't drag a walker up, comments an Instagram user incredulously, but a mother with pelvic floor problems or caesarean section, for example, should carry the stroller up? Whether an escape route is blocked by a walker or a stroller probably makes no difference in the event of a fire. "Scooters and toys can be put away. But why a distinction is now being made between walkers and strollers, I don't understand," reads a comment under the post.
"Are you bitter when you're annoyed by laziness and lack of self-reflection?" wonders another Instagram user. "Strollers have no place in the hallway, off to the basement with them," another post represents the opposing side, on the grounds that safety comes first. "I would seek direct talk," was one of the few constructive suggestions in the comments section, because threats "usually don't go down well." But even this conciliatory commentator can't help but take a swipe: "Who among you wants to take out the red pencil and correct the text?"