Hey there mighty people of the internet!
And welcome to day 16 of #mightyadvent! - the series that I post daily on Tumblr until Christmas discussing different themes that differ per day of the week, so you (and I) don't get too bored. Also: Welcome to the third post of #FrighteningFriday! If you don't know what #FrighteningFriday means: It's that weekly post where I talk about news. News that scare me or news that just make me feel uncomfortable. If you were expecting self-written horror stories… sorry! I'm not your guy. But let me tell you: There's enough horror happening around us. In real life.
When I read the news I'm going to talk about today, it just proved to me just how f*ing religious and stone-age-minded some political parties in Germany are. And yes, I'm talking about the CSU again. The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is the equivalent to the CDU party in the rest of the country. I elaborated on the CSU before, so I won't go into detail here now. What you might need to know: The CSU has been in power in Bavaria since 1957, holding the majority of seats in parliament most of the times.
Enough background story. Let's talk about Ludwig Spaenle. If you never heard that name before, you're not really missing out. But especially if you are LGBTQ+ in Germany, you might be worried about the politics he and his party are doing. Mr Spaenle is - of course - member of the CSU and has been the Bavarian minister for Education and Cult. Why that matters? Well, Mr Spaenle once made a cool decision. I never thought I would say that about someone of the CSU, but it's true. But later… erm… Let's say he couldn't remember what had been agreed on? So he decided to make a deal with the opposing lobby and to not talk to those in favor of his first decision anymore.
But let's start at the beginning. Along with the Bavarian cabinet, Mr Spaenle proposed a draft for new guidelines as to what should be taught at Bavarian schools. That never changes too much cause most of the things just stay the same. But one thing that they wanted to change was: School never addressed LGBTQ+ issues, or even the existence of LGBTQ+. However, that is part of life and should therefore be covered. That's why the draft proposed it to be part of the lessons. Like… that's cool! And parliament actually adapted the draft. It was only a matter of time until it would become law. Positive change for once!
But then it happened. In September Spaenle welcomed representatives of the "Demo für alle" alliance. The name is such a lie! It translates to "protest for everyone" and is derived from the LGBTQ+ term "Ehe für alle" - "marriage for everyone" - which campaigns for equal rights. Okay, btt: Like I said, Spaenle met people of "Demo für alle" and they presented to him a full paper that demanded changes to the school guidelines that at that point were going to be set into law. And Spaenle told them to check their worries and stop the current draft for now.
Erm… Yeah, I could go on and tell you about how back in April the teachers' association was very happy about the draft and about how all other democratic parties shouted at Spaenle for his recent move - and rightly so. And about how he refuses to talk to LGBTQ+ activists, but rather met those "Demo für alle" people again. But does that really help? I don't think so…
Ultimately, the CSU is still the CSU and they don't like people, who don't fit the norm. That's a fact. And this draft would have been an exception. To be quite honest I don't see it put into practice any time soon. Thanks, Mr Spaenle.
Okay, I should stop now cause I'm only getting mad at things I likely can't change anyway. Sadly enough. But I can spread awareness. And that's what I aimed for with this post. Tell me what you think about the topic, too! And how do you like the #FrighteningFriday concept? Let me know by placing a comment, tweeting me, dming me, or what else you can think of - you know the means to get to me. And obviously you may contact me with any questions and remarks - I don't bite.
I'll see you tomorrow for #ShoutoutSaturday - and the next #FrightningFriday next week.
Until then: Stay mighty!
Articles used:
- 3 April, queer.de: http://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=25876
- 13 September, queer.de: http://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=27030
- 28 October, queer.de: http://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=27408
- 2 December, queer.de: http://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=27705
Further reading:
- 30 September, Aktionsbündnis für Vielfalt statt Einfalt - München: http://buendnisvielfaltstatteinfalt.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Download-Offener-Brief-an-Kultusminister-Spaenle-Stand-27-10-2016.pdf
- 28 October, Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft Bayern: https://www.gew-bayern.de/aktuelles/detailseite/neuigkeiten/gew-bayern-zu-bayerischen-richtlinien-fuer-familien-und-sexualerziehung-1/
- 12 December, queer.de: http://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=27781
Oh, and here's more of me:
- Last post for #mightyadvent: http://mightbedamian.tumblr.com/post/154565427054/mightyadvent-15-tunesthursday-green-day
- All #mightyadvent posts: mightbedamian.tumblr.com/tagged/mightyadvent
- Latest #TMIishTuesday: http://mightbedamian.tumblr.com/post/154432140055/mightyadvent-12-tmiishtuesday-40-the
- More #TMIishTuesday's: mightbedamian.tumblr.com/tagged/tmi
- Poll to decide next week’s topic and more very cool stuff: www.twitter.com/mightbedamian
- Even more very cool stuff: mightbedamian.tumblr.com
