Ho avuto sempre una storia tormentata con i locali fin dall’adolescenza, quando nelle discoteche domenicali non credevano fossi un teenager, ma un poppante ancora in odore di latte materno. Innumerevoli le volte in cui buttafuori di mezza provincia mi negavano l’ingresso in club in quanto dimostravo 10 anni scarsi e mi vestivo in maniera piuttosto discutibile …Mai e poi mai tuttavia mi era capitato di essere cacciato da un locale! Lo scorso sabato un baldo giovane mi ha gentilmente accompagnato all’uscita in quanto colpevole di indossare una t-shirt con la bandiera turca, sacrilegio inaudito per il Linkes Zentrum di Düsseldorf.

Di seguito la mail che ho scritto al centro, vediamo cosa risponderanno, se lo faranno!

Dear friends of Linkes Zentrum of Düsseldorf,

Sorry if I’m writing you in English but my German, even if I’m living in Germany since two years, is not good enough to express my feelings (shame on me).

My name is Stefano, I was many times in Hinterhof during last year because I liked your club as an open space where one can listen to good music, live concerts, meet funny and open minded people. I started to like your place from the beginning because I’ve recognized that there is the possibility to discuss about everything, without any stereotype and being free to express myself. Well, I’m writing you because last Saturday has happened something strange that I’ve never expected in a civil place, not even in a Linkes Zentrum that says about itself “Selbstorganisierter Laden fur Politik und Kultur”. I was speaking with some friends close to the stage when one guy I didn’t know before came to me and told me “Please take your t-shirt out or change the side in order not to show the symbol you have on it”.  The problem was that I was wearing a shirt with the Turkish flag on it, and he told me that any kind of “nationalistic” symbol was forbidden. He suggested me to leave the place soon and I told him that I was leaving in a few minutes. Five minutes later another guy came to me asking me to leave Hinterhof quickly, my presence there wasn’t welcome anymore. While he was accompanying me to the door he told me that no national flag were allowed there, Hinterhof is a left cultural center, my shirt was representing a value of the right and my time there was over. He told me also that some years ago they removed a Kurdistan flag because they didn’t want to create any problem with anybody and it was better for me to leave to avoid any consequence. I’ve tried to explain him that I’m Italian, I didn’t want to show messages and finally that left means freedom. No way, he had already decided to put me out …

This is my story, I would like to have a feedback from you about what has happened. I would like to know if I was wrong and if it really is Linkes Zentrum’s philosophy to believe that a shirt can bring this kind of message. I’m sad actually that both people I’ve spoken with told me that a flag is a nationalistic value, how can be possible to consider a universal value owned only from one side?

ps
How do you consider the bask-country flag close to the bar?

Here you have an Italian song from a “left” band, at least how fans consider them.

It says something as

“If you don’t forget the cultural roots that you have, you will respect also those ones of far away countries”

Bis bald,

Stefano