Gen-Z-rules spokeswoman on October 31st: “It’s the same anger”

taz: Lina Friedrich, you were on the street in Berlin on Saturday. What is your assessment of the protests?

Lina Friedrich: I found the day in Berlin extremely positive. I had a lot of fun. It was exactly as we imagined. In advance, the media warned about our demos according to the motto: “Germany will burn”. We proved them wrong.

taz: In the evening there were riots in several cities. Some people threw bottles and stones at the police and looted shops in Frankfurt. What do you say to that?

Friedrich: We have often made it clear that we are against violence. In Berlin we announced that people who were just looking for a riot were not welcome at the demo. It cannot be prevented that small groups split up in the evening. Police and media in most cities recognized that the riots that evening were not the same as our demonstrations.

Frederick: Yes. I believe it is important that we explicitly call for peaceful protest. But it has to be said that people also come to our demonstrations who are angry. It is the same anger that is the cause of the riots. Of course, there were definitely people who just did it for fun and didn't appreciate the consequences of their actions. Still, I think many young people who were involved in the riots wouldn't do that if they felt like they were being heard. It's sad that they only seem to be heard when they are loud in a way other than their voices. That says a lot about our politics.

taz: As an initiative on Instagram on Saturday evening, you distanced yourself from the riots and “all forms of violence”. What is violence for you?

Friedrich: Personally, I think it's important to differentiate between violence and damage to property. Much of what happened on Saturday evening was property damage. That is not the same as violence. Violence, for example, was what the police sometimes did. I still want to say that violence against anyone, including police officers, is absolutely not okay.

is 21 years old and one of the press spokespersons for “Gen Z regulates”. Her actual name is different, but she wants to protect her identity because she has already received hate messages.

taz: How do you rate the police's actions on Saturday?

Friedrich: I was surprised that the police in Cologne used water cannons at a demonstration with very young people. I saw videos of very violent actions by some police officers, including in Cologne, which gave me the feeling that the police could have focused more on de-escalation. I think it's a shame that she didn't do that in some places.

taz: There were many people at the demos who were not organized. In some cities there were groups that organized demonstrations independently of “Gen Z rules”. There are already different calls for the next protests. What’s next for “Gen Z rules”?

Friedrich: We are currently discussing that intensively. We are only mobilizing again for the international youth strike day on November 20th. For us, the demos on Saturday showed that what we are doing really reaches people. Personally, I will dedicate as much time as possible to the initiative over the next few weeks because I believe it is very important right now.