There they are facing each other, only a few meters apart – and at first glance it becomes clear what separates them: right in front of the entrance to the Unterschleißheim community center, a man is holding up a banner that says “Vaccinate instead of scolding”. read. He himself wears an FFP-2 mask and keeps a reasonable distance, i.e. almost exactly 1.5 meters, from the next person. A little further away from him, several women are also holding up a slightly larger poster. For the self-proclaimed “nurses with a heart”, vaccination is the “red line”. If this comes, the maskless women signal that they are “gone”.
In terms of numbers, the opponents of the Corona measures are in the majority that evening, including the self-proclaimed “nurses with a heart”.
(Photo: Alessandra Schellnegger)
On this Monday evening, in the cold on the Unterschleißheim town hall square, there is a picture of division, of inner turmoil. On the one hand, about a hundred people who followed the call of the two Greens Bernhard Schüßler and Helmut Göbel to the – registered – rally under the motto “Solidarity instead of swaggering” to protest for solidarity, cohesion and vaccination in the pandemic. And right next to it, only visibly separated by a few police officers, significantly more people who have agreed to an – unannounced – Corona protest march.
It is Helmut Göbel who opens the demonstration for the Corona measures, which he announced as non-partisan, and initially points out the obligation to wear masks and keep a distance, which Unterschleißheim’s mayor Christoph Böck (SPD) also accurately observes. A look at the other side of the square reveals that these measures have not been well received there.
Bernhard Schüßler says in his statement that the main thing is to send a signal for “solidarity in fighting the pandemic”, to thank everyone for the work in the nursing professions, to listen to science – and to position ourselves clearly against right-wing extremism. Unterhachinger Thomas Schulze, who spontaneously decided to say something, struggles with the words; he lost his brother-in-law to Corona. “It literally died,” says Schulze. “Get vaccinated,” he demands.
The supporters of the Corona measures express their protest.
(Photo: Alessandra Schellnegger)
Lissy Meyer, city councilor for the Greens, says that as a nurse she declares her solidarity with all nurses and patients and as a hospice attendant with the seriously ill, the dying. A lot is asked of everyone. The Greens member of the state parliament, Claudia Köhler, also calls for people to show solidarity – “with a mask, decency and distance”. Protest is legitimate, says Köhler, but not together with right-wing extremists.
Only occasional heckling comes from the other side. “Vaccination compulsory!” shouts one of the group. When the maskless crowd started moving at 6:30 p.m., they were accompanied by police officers. “Freedom!” resounds from the crowd. But everything remains peaceful.
Then only people with masks on their faces stand in the cold on the town hall square.