opinion
Carnival start
Why the anger at the Cologne party revelers is misleading
Tightly packed and mostly without a mask: Thousands of people celebrate the start of the carnival in Cologne
© Henning Kaiser / DPA
It was to be expected: tens of thousands of people crowded together in Cologne celebrate the start of the carnival – and the network is free again. But the indignation is cheap and Pharisee. A plea for a little more serenity even in tough Corona times.
Thousands celebrate close together in downtown Cologne. Beer in hand. Always ready to support. Exuberant and happy – as if Corona wouldn’t exist. I have to admit: The pictures from the beginning of the Carnival in Cologne initially caused the obvious reflex for me, too: Does that have to be? Aren’t the corona numbers just going through the roof? Aren’t the intensive care units running full again like at the beginning of the pandemic? Just as ZDF comedian and Twitter agent Jan Böhmermann put it there: “Alaaf! Today as a ‘sexy nurse’ on Zülpicher Strasse, at Christmas as a ‘sexy intubate’ in the university clinic.”
Secure. The outrage is close at hand. But it is also cheap and Pharisee. We will not find our way out of this pandemic if we reflexively point our fingers at others over and over again. Here the carnivalists. There the football fans. And soon the mulled wine drinkers at the Christmas market. You don’t have to like what people in Cologne have been up to today. But let’s be clear: the event was authorized by the authorities. 2G conditions applied. And it was (in large parts) at least things that took place in the open air.
The partiers in the neighborhood may have done something unreasonable, but nothing forbidden. If politicians, whether federal, state or city, take everything seriously that they have announced about Corona over the past weeks and months, then they must also have the courage to make uncomfortable decisions and then enforce them. Then you should have the guts to cancel the carnival, the Bundesliga, the Christmas markets. But the courage to do so is lacking. There is also a lack of coherent communication and, above all, a clear set of rules on how we should deal with the corona pandemic in the next few months.
Do we think it is justifiable to hold major events and concerts again in a clearly defined framework or not? Politicians have to answer this question. And if she says “yes” to it, then you shouldn’t point your fingers afterwards at all those who are willing to take part in such an event.
No sticking out of the tongue: Would I have joined the masses on Zülpicher Strasse? Probably not. But in the meantime I also go back to the games of my favorite club at Millerntor – vaccinated twice. I watch what’s going on in the cinema and the theater again, and a dozen concert tickets for the next few months are stuck to my extractor. Is that crazy Unreasonable? Should i leave that?
I don’t think so. Because I do the same thing that I have always done before in everyday life. I make my own personal risk assessment within the framework of the applicable laws. Just like we all do in our lives: is cycling dangerous? Sure, but we do it anyway. Can my plane crash to Malle? Yes, but the probability is smaller than winning the lottery. Of course, this assessment also changes from week to week. And I admit: After this highly readable text by my colleague Frank Ochmann about the current corona situation, I am probably much more cautious in everyday life than I was four weeks ago.
My plea for a little more serenity in these excited times should by no means be a license for any unconventional thinkers and those who refuse to be vaccinated. God don’t know. I am aware that it is not just about me, but also about protecting other people: my parents, the saleswoman, my neighbors on the subway. I also know that fewer and fewer nurses are fighting for the lives of more and more corona patients in the intensive care units. That’s why I do what I think is needed: wear a mask where it is indicated. Ride a bike instead of the train. I also have a double vaccination test when I visit my elderly parents.
But unlike at the beginning of the pandemic, I recently felt reasonably safe in everyday life thanks to the vaccination and was therefore ready to give my life a little more leash. That did well and should continue to be possible again – in accordance with the guard rails set by science and politics. I know: the situation is still serious, and I take it seriously. But now, without a guilty conscience, I allow myself freedoms that I didn’t allow myself six months ago. And I think that’s justifiable at the moment.
One thing is clear: you cannot negotiate with the virus. It takes its loot – and there are probably a lot of people among them who celebrated carnival in Zülpicher Straße today. Or sang in the stadium tomorrow and drank mulled wine the day after tomorrow at the Christmas market. But if that is actually too dangerous, then politics should ban carnival, football and mulled wine. I just don’t think it’s okay to be beaten afterwards for things that I was previously allowed to be harmless.