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The situation is different with the topic they touch on in their song "Ich will hier nicht sein". The hatred that is directed at foreigners in general and refugees in particular in this country reflects a depravity that makes me seriously doubt the superiority of the human species over the housefly. Alongside the primates and criminals who willingly operate within the neo-Nazi spectrum, even "normal" people, who should know better, fall for the most stupid demagogues when they merely tickle their fears and selfish feelings during times of crisis. Scenes like those in front of the refugee home in Hellersdorf are unfortunately not only possible again after a long time, but they are also increasing.
I don't need to elaborate on this; anyone following the political reality of our time can hardly overlook the rise of right-wing populism to the point of the targeted promotion of murderous neo-Nazi gangs with state funds. Antifascist musicians, on the other hand, are fought against and branded as a danger to democracy, and that brings us back to the topic: punk rock and politics.
Both go hand in hand, no question, and both can, in the best case, benefit from each other. That doesn't mean I only want to hear lyrics that directly pack the current demands of leftist movements into the chorus. That may hit hard with TON, STEINE, SCHERBEN and SLIME like a crashing cobblestone, but with countless imitators, it comes off as uninspired. Then there's the other extreme, where bands bury themselves in a student political jargon that, in the worst case, is inaccessible to an unsuspecting listener (that's called exclusion through language).
My concern was: OK; another band telling me that racism is bad. Sure, this time it has a somewhat didactic tone due to the obvious intent. This can't be avoided when trying to convey a message in such a compressed form, yet the approach here is different.
That's why I found the video in connection with the song "Ich will hier nicht sein" so remarkable, and yes, it touched me in a way that music and art ideally should. A video that gives a face to the people it concerns. People from two different asylum homes in Berlin were filmed to provide insight into their personal life and suffering stories. And the music steps back at the right moment to let them speak.
Has anyone noticed how many of the debates on the topic ultimately revolve around "us"? Us, "the Germans"? How racist Germans are, how antiracist we personally are, how such things can happen in our country, whether we should feel black-red-great while watching football despite the Holocaust, how we are probably not more nationalistic than all the others, etc. etc. We, we, we.
It's all just pure masturbation of the article writers, speakers, and their audience. No one usually cares about the victims. Rather, they care more about the neo-Nazis, preferring a familiar enemy image from the neighborhood than confronting the unknown.
Does anyone believe that this helps a person who is currently being actively or passively excluded from this sense of "we" by, for example, a shocking mass of idiots making it clear that he should rather die than live near them because of his origin?
Music has the ability to convey feelings and messages in a unique way, and this very mainstream punk rock is likely to hit the hearts of the regular listeners of BROILERS. I myself first became aware of the Nazi issue through the album "Kauf Mich!" by TOTEN HOSEN, and especially since the career of BROILERS now shows certain parallels to their Düsseldorf rockstar colleagues, I find it right to push this issue further. Especially since other bands are currently making a lot of money with national pride as an identification offer. Gross.
The idea of portraying those from whom humanity is taken away as people with families, histories, and individuality is as simple as it makes this contribution to the topic outstanding. The perspective is the key. Check out the video and recommend it if you like it; this is about an important topic.
One last note on the side. The announcement text for the video ironically contains this note: "[...]Johannes Grebert received the Echo for the 'Best National Video' in 2009 [...]." Ah, national, Echo, isn't that the event that struggles so much with uninviting right-wing rock bands? Dear Broilers, the advertising department responsible for you at Universal has completely misunderstood something.
