Mahningsee

The power of tagging is amazing. No wonder it's criminalized.

I was planning on stopping in the next town for lunch, but on my way in, I saw two AFD tags, right on the bike lane. AFD, or the Alternative for Deutschland party, is Germany's new and quickly-growing extremely conservative party. They are German nationalists. Anti-immigrant, anti-feminist and anti-Muslim.

Just like that, I felt chilled and decided not to eat there because it felt unsafe.

I know even if I met an AFD member, just like a Trump supporter they'd be capable of a normal conversation and not just outright attack me. But it doesn't matter. The tagging was effective, and I understood that this place was not for me.

It reminds me of when Andrew and I rode into Maine from Quebec, and literally the first house after the border crossing had a GIANT Trump sign.

It's about sending a message.

Conversely, seeing open anti-fascist and anti-AFD graffiti makes me feel welcome. It gives me some peace to know that there are people out there who are not willing to silently stand by.Read more