You can do anything, but you absolutely cannot press this one switch. Lead a group of young people into the room, give them enough alcohol to drink and you can be sure: at some point the button will be pressed. There was probably a lot of alcohol behind the idea of adding the neo-Nazi slogan “Foreigners out – Germany for the Germans” to the pop tearjerker L’amour toujours. According to legend, the crazy idea arose in October 2023 during a village festival in Bergholz.
Smartphone and TikTok have now taken over the rest. It is rarely so easy and effortless to generate attention on the Internet. As a precaution, the song is rarely played during celebrations. But the word didn’t seem to have gotten around yet on Sylt. It happened as it should. A young woman took the video of a cheerful party, sent it to someone, who sent it to someone else and at some point it ended up in the daily news. Some lives were already ruined at that moment.
The federal government sets priorities
Such slogans are disgusting. They are not acceptable. #Sylt
— Chancellor Olaf Scholz (@bondschancellor) May 24, 2024
Chancellor Olaf Scholz responded to this video: “It is very clear: such slogans are disgusting, they are not acceptable.” It is true that “all our activities are aimed at preventing this from becoming something that spreads.” Faeser also responded to this video: “What we see there is disgusting and inhumane. Anyone who shouts such Nazi slogans is a disgrace to Germany.”
One thing neither of them commented on was the days Occupation of Humboldt University in Berlin, during which anti-Jewish slogans were chanted. Or the Tawhid confession of footballer Antonio Rüdiger, who will represent Germany at the European Football Championship. Even when a man in Magdeburg stood up to protect his disabled friend and was then beaten to death by youths who remained running free after the crime, the two were not heard from.
Belief system of ‘Hypergoods’
All events that took place not so long ago and have a much greater significance than the video of drunks on Sylt. Nevertheless, they were recognized only grudgingly, if at all. Why is that? This is because we are now operating in a hyper-moral belief system. It is no longer about objectively capturing reality, but about positioning it in relation to absolute values, the so-called ‘hypergoods’.
It is not what we do that is important, but rather how we position ourselves in relation to these “hypergoods”. One of these, for example, is ‘anti-racism’. Whatever that is, you have to be there for it. Everything else is terrible. When foreign youth brutally trample a German to death, you should ignore it. Because this perception endangers the hyper-good ‘anti-racism’. The specific action, kicking to death, is relatively unimportant and should therefore be ignored.
‘Hypergood people’ always require human sacrifice
That makes it a bit difficult. Because we can judge actions objectively. This one does this, this one does that, so I rate them too. But what about the positioning on ‘hypergoods’? What should “anti-racist action” be? In essence, I can only establish this ex negativo, that is, from denial. I need to find someone I can accuse of ‘racism’, that is, of ignoring this ‘hypergood’. This is the missing action that then allows me to reevaluate myself.
A system of ‘hypergoods’ therefore always requires human sacrifice. Where is a deviant, where is a denier to spy on, to condemn? This is the action that allows me to improve myself. It can happen that a group of revelers receives more attention than a group of murderers. And thanks to new media, this hunt could involve a package worth millions. The story of the young woman who flew from New York to Cape Town in 2013 is legendary.
During the flight she gossiped about other passengers who had to use deodorant and so on. And then the fateful tweet: “I’m on my way to Africa. Hopefully I don’t get AIDS. I’m kidding. I am white.” Unbeknownst to the woman, this message took on a creepy life of its own and was shared millions of times. And everyone had to add their hypermoral disgust. When the plane landed in Cape Town, this woman’s career was already in ruins.
The path from hunter to prey is simple
A game with fire. A pack member can easily become a target himself. This was what the SPD had to realize, because they wanted to exploit the Sylt incident before the European elections and came up with something – as they probably thought – very clever: “Germany THE Germans who defend our democracy”. Too many puns for hypergoods goalkeepers and defenders. Because like all fanatics, they do their work completely without humor. The only thing that helps is throwing yourself into the dust.
Those responsible said they were extremely shocked by Sylt’s video. “We have not been able to strike a tone that would involve everyone. We would like to sincerely apologize for this.’ Let’s see if it’s enough. Certainly not for the partygoers on Sylt, who now have the public prosecutor breathing down their neck. And the ‘Hypergoods’ bloodhounds are already looking for even more victims. An employee of the semi-governmental research network ‘Correctiv’ asks for help:
“Where were Sylt’s ugly slogans shouting on the song ‘L’amour Toujours’?” he asks. And with inner joy: “There are certainly more. Anyone who has something can send it to us,” the informant said. “We want to capture that.” As I said, hypergoods systems require human sacrifice. And not all victims make it as easy as the partygoers in Sylt.