Zurich
Because he is white and wears dreadlocks: Another concert was canceled in Switzerland
The musician Mario Parizek lives in Vienna and has more than ten years of stage experience.
© Charly Glawischnig / marioparizek.com
Only a few weeks after a concert in Bern was canceled, a performance in Zurich was canceled. The reason: the white musician wears dreadlocks. The organizer is now rowing back half-heartedly.
Mario Parizek was visibly excited when he recorded a video and uploaded it to Instagram on Wednesday. He is currently in the Zurich bar “Gleis”, said the musician, where he actually wanted to give a concert. But today he was asked not to play “because I’m white and have dreadlocks”.
He called it a “more or less fascist attitude”. He had this hairstyle done when he was 13 because he grew up in a “pretty right-wing village” and wanted to show that there were other people too. Now he is being discriminated against from the left corner of all places.
Not the first incident of this kind in Switzerland: just a few weeks ago, a performance by the reggae band Lauwarm was canceled in a cultural center in Bern, partly because two of the band members were wearing dreadlocks.
The fans are behind the dreadlock man
The reaction of his fans was clear: almost 100 percent condemned the cancellation of the concert. The “Gleis” also commented on the situation on Facebook on Wednesday. On the day of the concert, “we received messages, including from people from our team, who did not feel comfortable with this performance”. The issue of cultural appropriation had been raised. Out of consideration for the people, it was decided to cancel the concert.
Fifteen minutes later, the “Gleis” posted a clarification: the concert was not canceled because of the Rastas, “but because of the discomfort of our fellow human beings”. However, this did not lead to smoothing like surges. The comments were overwhelmingly negative.
The incident could have consequences for the venue, which is financially supported by the city and canton. The municipal councilor Përparim Avdili – a liberal – announced on Facebook that they would examine the funding.
After all: Mario Parizek posted a video on Thursday in which he tried to calm things down a bit: he withdrew the accusation of “fascist attitude”. In general, he doesn’t want to offer a forum for political and social discussions: “My job in the world is to make music and make people happy with it.”
Sources used: Facebook.com/Gleis, instagram.com/marioparizek/