Since many young people voted for the AfD in the last three state elections in eastern Germany, there is now a mobilization against so-called “undemocratic” or “right-wing” children.
Shortly before the state elections in Brandenburg, German magazine “Tagesspiegel” took this problem to heart and listed eight ways in which concerned “democratic parents” could solve this problem with “undemocratic children”.
Help is provided by social worker Eva Prausner, who has been working in the “area of right-wing extremism among young people” for over 20 years. The “Strengthening Parents” project, which Prausner has been running for 15 years, supports parents whose children are “slipping into right-wing ideas and structures”.
The social worker considers children and young people in rural areas to be “particularly at risk”, as “concentrated prejudiced attitudes” prevail there, making it difficult to stand up against the right.
And this is what the “Eight tips for democratic parents with undemocratic children” look like:
1. Recognize that the child is slipping to the right
This is less and less visible through clothing. Parents should look out for “racist, sexist or queer slogans” and, if necessary, seek a “productive conversation with the child” and ask, for example: “What are you actually doing on TikTok? Do you also follow AfD accounts?”. The social worker does not find it problematic to look at the child's cell phone, either in their presence or even secretly. “If danger is to be averted, an unauthorized look at the cell phone would be legitimate for welfare reasons,” says social worker Prausner.
2. Get help at an early stage
“For many parents, realizing that their child is on the right, comes as a shock at first.” Prausner advises seeking professional help as early as possible, despite possible feelings of shame, writes the newspaper. The quicker action is taken, the better, as the child may not yet have “an established right-wing extremist attitude”. It could also be a phase. But Prausner warns: “Parents need patience”. Setbacks in the fight against the right are to be expected.
3. Stay in contact communicatively, but take a clear stance
Prausner's advice here is quite radical: keep talking to your child, even if you disagree! Even if it is “difficult for parents to bear”, they should discuss right-wing topics with their offspring in order to confront them with the “contemptuous images of humanity”. The social worker's advice: Speak in first-person messages: “When you talk about people like that, it hurts me. I don't want you to discriminate against your classmates”.
4. Do not withdraw love
“The young person must always know: I don't just perceive you against the background of your attitudes,” says Prausner. She suggests going out for pizza with the child despite their right-wing views, because parents cannot fight against their child's political views 24/7.
5. Understanding motivation
The social worker uses the same argument here that has been used for 30 years as the reason for a slide to the right: Wounded masculinity, bullying, lack of belonging, lack of recognition, marginalization. In right-wing circles, men can finally be men again.
Translated: Only losers vote right-wing. The right-wing scene is popular among young women because it offers “relief” from too many (social) expectations. “And of course, women can also be convinced racists,” says Prausner.
6. Addressing the needs
If the child is no longer supposed to “go to the scene”, the parents should point out an alternative. For example, going to the gym. Be careful with martial arts! Some clubs are run by right-wingers, says Prausner. Girls should be made aware that “the scene” is sexist and misogynistic.
7. Involve the community
“It helps if young people are confronted by a group that disapproves of their behavior,” explains the social worker. Parents should get together. Teachers, grandparents, aunts - all together in the fight against the right-wing child.
8. Don't lose heart
Prausner is convinced that if parents uphold democratic values, it is possible to bring the child who has gone astray back onto the path of virtue.
So once again:
“Democratic” parents should spy on their ‘undemocratic’ children, even secretly search their cell phones to ‘avert danger’, go out for pizza with their children despite their right-wing views. But beware of “martial arts”, because some are presumably also “contaminated” by the right. And what's more, teachers, grandparents and aunts should all “join forces” in the fight against the “right-wing” child.
Excuse me?
Where do we actually live? This is all “Stasi-speak” at its finest, when the “class enemy” of the socialists and communists was still to be eradicated from GDR society. (Stasi was the state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990).
I can no longer find words for this shameful indoctrination and the distinction between “democratic” and “undemocratic” children.
It is simply shameful to think in such categories. We are talking about CHILDREN (and young people)!
And what about the left-wing extremist Antifa brats and dudes? And those who have fled here and spread pure anti-Semitism on German streets every day?
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