Well intentioned is often the opposite of well done, that’s true in journalism and art. The Berlin Schaubühne means well. In a press statement, she tells the world that the theater has firmly distanced itself from the “racist and discriminatory posts” that one of her actors has shared on his personal Facebook account.
With the circular mail, the theater arouses interest in the Facebook messages of the moderately well-known actor. Above all, he publishes photos of his restaurant meals with great dedication, in between photos of guest performances and the books he is currently reading. The only thing that stands out is the professional narcissism and the friendly harmlessness. The post that caused a stir in the Schaubühne has since been deleted. In it, the actor had tried his hand at being a philosopher of history in a rather confused way. This can also be understood as damage to the theater environment. When theater artists feel called upon to educate their audience about the world situation in general and capitalism, racism and sexism in particular, moral furor and enthusiasm about one’s own joy in expressing opinions are sometimes more important than trifles such as expertise. The expression specialists on stage feel responsible for everything in principle. The theater has changed from Schiller’s “moral institution” to a moralizing institution.
Fearing a shitstorm, the theater resorts to drastic rhetoric without taking its actors into consideration
The actor was prompted to his unfortunate Facebook chat by a TV show on the crimes of colonialism, presumably Raoul Peck’s “Errott die Beasts aus” (where some things get mixed up in the parallel comparison of colonial crimes with the Holocaust). This animated him to speculate confusedly on the laptop: Isn’t the history of progress always brutal? And what if Native Americans had defeated the European conquerors? And: “Would the ‘Indians’ have liberated us from the Nazis?” Confused, somewhat cynical stuff, not very sensitive and respectful towards the victims of the colonialist crime against humanity. The fact that the Schaubühne, presumably after all sorts of crisis meetings, feels compelled to make a press statement can only be understood as a fear reflex. Fearing a shitstorm, she resorts to drastic rhetoric without taking into account the actor, who has been with the ensemble for 22 years: “This post downplays the mass murder of the indigenous population in North America. We condemn it.”
An embarrassing, stupid, pretentious, but also irrelevant Facebook entry becomes an exciting topic. The theater confuses itself with a moral Last Judgment. The pompous tone of the press release and the confused “I’ll explain the world history to you” post of the mentally overwhelmed actor are two sides of the same coin.
Why didn’t the Schaubühne management just speak to the actor and ask him to remove the shrill post and apologize to his few Facebook followers? Instead, she publicly executes him and lets the public know that her ensemble member is to “take part in one-on-one coaching on racism and diversity.” Anti-racism workshops can be useful. It’s only right when the privileged face their prejudices, resentments and the blind spots in their self-perception, especially in the narcissism business of the culture industry. But if this is not intended as a marketing measure, anti-racism workshops are not a topic for press releases. Just as the theater publicly sentences its actor to coaching, it becomes a disciplinary measure – and an alibi for the artistic director in the event of shitstorms that are apparently to be feared at any time.