Using the racist term "Zi*****" (German equivalent to g****) in a context such as the Dortmund carnival, which is supposed to unite rather than divide, once again makes it clear how little awareness there is in German society of antiziganism and the centuries-long history of persecution, discrimination, marginalisation and ultimately the systematic extermination of the minority under the Nazi regime. If racism appears legitimate under the vail of supposed humour, then this is a problem for society as a whole. Fortunately, there were prompt dissenting voices and criticism of the carnival society's racist motto. Politicians, activists and various organisations have already expressed criticism and outrage at the motto. As a result, the carnival society published a statement and apologised.
The statement by the carnival and theatre society "Deutsche Bühne 1878" falls short in mulitple ways and does not reflect the implications of this motto and its profound racism clearly enough. For example, the statement begins with the words that the carnival society “expressly distances itself from any political tendencies/orientations [sic!] A common misconception is that just because a statement was not ”intended politically" by the speaker, that this sentence would subsequently "depoliticise", so to speak, the statement or what has been said. What does the word "political" actually mean in the context of this statement? This is not addressed, readers are left fill this blank think for themselves.
A racist statement is never "just a sentence" or "just a joke", behind such a statement there are centuries of discrimination and persecution and thus also real political circumstances and political history that made this possible in the first place. This means that a racist sentence cannot be apolitical because it is based on real attitudes and basic foundations of thought, which in turn are based on racism and the results of real structural and institutional discrimination. So - no, it is not possible to distance oneself from any political orientation in the aftermath. The same applies to the use of the word "pride" in connection with the racist term Zi*****. This is because, in conjunction with the racist term, the word "pride" further reinforces the historical forgetfullness of the motto and the position of the carnival organisation. It is no coincidence that this linguistic connection caused outrage among many people. The word "pride" has had a firm place in extreme right-wing and nationalist movement not only since the introduction of the so-called "Pride Month" by the extreme right as a "counter-programme" to the queer community's Pride Month. For example, the Nationalsocialists also used the word "pride" in their racist propaganda to exclude people and construct an image of an enemy” and the narrative of the so-called "Herrenrasse".
The statement therefore neither positions itself in solidarity with the fight against antiziganism nor clearly distances itself from the racist statement it made, but only from a vague "political tendency/orientation", which, as mentioned above, is not further elaborated or specified. This is not sufficient for us as a "Competence centre against antiziganism". We call for a reflection from the part of the carnival board.
We also refer to the possibility of further training on the topic of antiziganism through local self-organisations and educational institutions such as Carmen e.V. or the nationwide cooperation network against antiziganism of which we are also a part of.
Sources:
https:// www.deutsche-buehne1878.de/stellungname-karnevalsmotto-2026.htm
https:// www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/ruhrgebiet/karneval-dortmund-kritik-wagen-100.html