German grandmothers protest broadcast of song calling elderly 'environmental pigs'
German grandmothers protested outside the offices of state broadcaster WDR in Cologne on Saturday after the station posted a satirical video about old people’s environmental carelessness.
The demonstrations, which police estimate attracted more than 1,000 protesters and counter protesters, follow several days of death threats against prominent journalists from the German network who have spoken out in support of the video.
On Saturday a man, who was later found to be carrying a knife, was arrested for attacking counter protesters, while on Sunday five members of far-Right groups were detained after climbing onto the roof of the WDR building.
The video, which is set to the tune of a well-known children’s song, satirises older generations’ attitude to the environment and climate change, including the provocative refrain “my grandma is an environmental pig”.
The video, which features a group of around 30 children from the Dortmund Children’s Choir singing the satirical lyrics, was taken down just days after being posted – but not before attracting more than 40,000 social media comments which were mainly critical of its content.
In the video, the children also sing that their environmental-pig grandma cooks discount meat every day, drives an SUV and takes frequent cruise trips. The song closes with a sample of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg saying “we will not let you get away with this”.
Members of Germany’s post-Second World War generation have been particularly critical of the video, arguing that it criticises the country’s ‘rubble women’ (Trümmerfrauen) who rebuilt the country after the conflict. They argue that the video should not have been made with public funds.
Armin Laschet, the Minister President of Germany’s largest state of North-Rhine Westphalia and a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, said that the video “used” children for political purposes.
Mr Laschet said the video sought to drive a wedge between younger and older generations. “The debate about the best way to protect the climate is increasingly being escalated by some into a generational conflict,” he said.
Also prominent in the furore have been members of Germany’s far-Right, who say that the video attacks traditional German values and is an example of the public broadcaster’s political brainwashing of children.
Counter protesters have argued that the video’s removal shows the tenuous nature of freedom of speech in the country. They have been particularly critical of WDR director Tom Buhrow, who took down the video and apologised ‘unreservedly’ to those who had been offended.
Mr Buhrow told Germany’s Der Spiegel that he did not buckle to far-Right threats, but instead realised the widespread negative impact of the video.
“We were able to distinguish between what is orchestrated (by far-Right groups) and what are the real expressions of emotions from otherwise well-meaning listeners,” he said.
“We really had hundreds of senior citizens and their grandchildren on the phone. It was immediately obvious to us that these people were not part of an orchestrated campaign.”
WDR journalist Danny Holleck has been widely criticised for tweeting “grandma isn’t just an environmental pig but a Nazi pig”. Mr Holleck removed the tweet and apologised, but has since been the subject of protests outside his home.
The head of the choir who sang the song said protesters who focused on the age or gender of the ‘grandma’ were missing the point as “the oma in the song, that’s all of us”.
