Rise of the neo-fascists: They're back

Yes, what am I saying, Myriam. So now they're back. They grab power and the people, at least enough of them, cheer them on. They shout, threaten, hunt, corrupt and hurt. They are sure of their victory. You shouldn't say fascists, for political and historical reasons. Perhaps liberals believe that fascists are less fascist if they are not called fascists. The official name, don't laugh, Myriam, is "secure right-wing extremist". So they are not Nazis, I forbid, they are “Gesirems”.

The Gesirems are in our neighborhood, the Gesirems are on television, the Gesirems dominate the headlines in the remaining newspapers, the Gesirems, with the help of their “conservative” allies, manage to get the tax office to revoke the non-profit status of the “Association of those Persecuted by the Nazi Regime – Association of Antifascists”. And if you want to attend a play, you have to check beforehand to make sure the Gesirems haven't prevented the performance.

After the elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, there is a threat of an AfD government for the first time. The taz reports what is at stake - and who is now defending democracy. All texts about the series can be found here.

The Gesirems are not fascists. They just have the same words, the same tactics, the same beliefs, the same symbols, the same goals and the same blatant inhumanity. You can't ban the Gesirems because on the one hand that will only make them stronger. Because the Gesirems always appear as victims first before they become perpetrators. And of course because of democracy. The Gesirems just have a different opinion about humanity, about truth, about violence, about law and justice. The American and Russian presidents are pleased that there is still freedom of expression in Germany.

The taz is an independent, left-wing and opinionated daily newspaper. We have been arguing in our comments, essays and debate texts since the taz was founded in 1979. We often cannot and do not want to agree on an opinion. That's why you'll find some completely opposing positions here - all part of the very broad left-wing spectrum of opinions.

Oh yes, Myriam. There is also resistance, there are courageous people. But many people just try to avoid the Gesirems, either inwards, perhaps into the cities, where there seem to be fewer Gesirems, but the rent cannot be paid. Or outward, to some Gesirem-free country. But where else is there one like that? And where would you be accepted? As an anti-Gesirem, if not as an anti-fascist?

But there is a political, there is a cultural “class”, an administrative class, whose legitimacy should consist of nothing other than the defense of humanism, liberalism and democracy, right? The courage of individuals, Myriam, and the opportunistic cowardice of these “classes” stand in sharp contrast. No, nothing and no one with prestige and status, no democratic authority in this country seems willing or able to prevent the dominance of the Gesirems. No police, no judiciary, no government, no administration, no education and no culture. That, Myriam, was always our hope.

But when you see them, these compliant editorial teams, these tight-fisted directors, these cabaret artists at the Gesirem events, these committees, these publishers, the vernissage visitors, these Bayreuth pilgrims, these blubbers who are self-sufficient because they are the good ones, the language guards and eternal know-it-alls, the opportunists and ignoramuses... They would rather (forgive me the choice of words, Myriam, but I'm really angry) pissing in her own latte macchiato as her comfort zones and bubbles leave. The fascists of a hundred years ago had stronger cultural opponents than the Gesirems of today.

The people who run after the Gesirems aren't doing particularly badly. They don't go hungry. You won't be followed. They don't have to fear for their lives day after day and they don't suffer humiliation like so many people in this world. In the German parliament, one of the Gesirems shouts that the price of gas at the gas station is reason enough to vote for the Gesirems. Like a child who screams because he doesn't get a double portion of pudding and wants to hit the other child who didn't even get half a portion.

They don't feel taken along, they don't feel understood, they feel offended in some way. They still envy the attention of the poorest people, they demand the rights of the stronger, they demand harshness against everyone who is worse off than them. The borders should be closed and human hunts should finally be allowed again. A prominent Gesirem once said that people will also shoot children. Anyone who is against the Gesirems, says the tax office, is not a non-profit organization. How mean do you have to be to be useful to this government?

Not only do the Gesirems get attention, they not only get to enjoy the fear they spread, no, there is no one in this society who gets so much attention, so much understanding. They are just looking for an expression for their socio-psychological suffering, and they have to run to the Gesirems when the television program doesn't suit them and the smartphones become more expensive.

The horror in Germany, Myriam, does not come from the Gesirems, but from those who elect them. An old comedian (I know, not your kind of humor) said, not wrongly, that the Russian people should not be confused with the war criminal at the head of their state. But what if half of the Russian people confuse themselves with Vladimir Putin, if half of the Israeli people confuse themselves with Netanyahu, if half of the American people confuse themselves with Donald Trump? What if the German people confuse themselves with the Gesirems? Where should one go with one's democratic hope?

I could use your advice, Myriam. But you've been dead for a long time. Murdered by the forerunners of the Gesirems, to whom German hearts fly the more they want to resemble them.