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GRAFFITI

‘Child-free’ Hamburg cafe hit with graffiti attack

A Hamburg cafe which recently made national headlines by refusing to admit children under the age of six was vandalized in a graffiti attack.

Published: 22 March 2019 16:40 CET
Updated: 25 March 2019 08:15 CET
'Child-free' Hamburg cafe hit with graffiti attack
Moki's Goodies after the graffiti attack, with the white paint cleaned from the glass. Photo: DPA

Moki’s Goodies, in the wealthy Hamburg neighbourhood of Eimsbüttler, announced earlier in March that they would no longer be accepting toddlers or babies. 

The decision caused significant controversy, particularly on social media where the cafe and its owner Monika Ertl have been subject to constant attack. The online vitriol spilled over at the end of last week when one of the aggrieved critics decided to make their feelings known offline. 

As reported in the Eimsbüttler Nachrichten, the cafe was vandalized sometime early on Friday.

The facade of the cafe was spray painted black, with a large white ‘frowny face’. The front window of the cafe was spray painted with the words ‘Kevin 6 Jahre!’ (Kevin, 6 years old!)

Upon discovering the vandalism when arriving on the premises, cafe workers quickly cleared the white spray paint from the glass windows and doors of the cafe – although the black paint could clearly still be seen on the walls. 

Twitter users have spoken out in support of the cafe, saying that “hate and insults are one thing” but “vandalism is something completely different”. 

The decision to ban children under six sparked such a strong reaction in Germany that it was dubbed #Schunullergate (dummygate). 

The cafe owner addressed the controversy on Instagram prior to the graffiti bomb, accusing critics of “amazing hostility” and “bullying” adding that she “wishes your wonderful children never have to experience something like that”.

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

Jetz mal ehrlich – es reicht. Liebe Supermuttis, ich finde es ist an der Zeit, die Verhältnismäßigkeit dessen, was Ihr hier seit einigen Tagen im Netz veranstaltet, ernsthaft in Frage zu stellen. Ich habe ein Restaurantkonzept, das Euch nicht gefällt und das ist einigen als Anlass genug für einen Shitstorm vom feinsten. Ohne dass auch nur eine einzige von Euch vorher das persönliche Gespräch gesucht hätte, verurteilt Ihr mit heiligem Eifer mein Unternehmen mit erstaunlicher verbaler Aufrüstung und Feindseligkeit. Überträgt man die Situation mal gedanklich von Muttis im Internet zu Schülern auf dem Pausenhof, dann wäre die Bezeichnung glasklar „Mobbing“. Ich wünsche Euren sicher ganz wundervollen Kindern sehr, dass sie so etwas nie erleben müssen. Ich bin erwachsen und habe ein breites Kreuz und eine hohe Frustrationstoleranz, ohne die könnte ich meinen Job gar nicht machen. Und ich möchte gerne mal ein paar Sachen klarstellen. Erstens: Überraschung Überraschung – auch ich bin Mutter. Kenne mich also durchaus im Thema aus. Ich bin in einer großen Familie aufgewachsen, habe eine großartige Tochter, ein sehr süßes Patenkind und Nichten und Neffen. Kinderfeindlichkeit zu unterstellen ist also schonmal Blödsinn. Zweitens: Das moki’s goodies ist kein spendenfinanziertes demokratisches Mutter-Kind-Projekt, sondern ein Restaurant für das ich mir ein Konzept überlegt und in das ich mein privates Geld investiert habe. Weil ich meine eigenen Entscheidungen treffen möchte ohne mich dafür rechtfertigen zu müssen. (…)

A post shared by moki's goodies (@mokisgoodies) on Mar 12, 2019 at 12:32am PDT

However, although there were negative comments about Ertl's move to keep youngsters out of her cafe, many people also said they understood and supported her decision.

Moki’s Goodies is one of several cafes to go child-free in Germany in recent years. 

In 2018 The Local reported how Rudolf Markl, the owner of Oma's Küche, in Binz on the island of Rügen, had made his cafe an adults-only spot after 5pm.

Markl said that the decision was made to give cafe visitors “an oasis of calm” from children who behaved badly – and whose parents failed to intervene. 

“We have been thinking about this for a very long time,” said Markl. 

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“There has to be a limit somewhere where we say: it's just not possible.”

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LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Snobs, beaches and drunks – 5 things this joke map teaches us about France

A popular joke 'map' of France has once again been widely shared on social media, sparking endless jokes at the expense of certain regions of France.

Published: 5 July 2021 12:45 CEST
Updated: 6 July 2021 09:45 CEST
Snobs, beaches and drunks - 5 things this joke map teaches us about France
Image AFP/cartesfrance.fr
But while the map – created by cartesfrance.fr – is clearly intended to be comic, it teaches us some important points about France’s regional divides, local stereotypes and in-jokes.
 

 
 
 
Here are some of the key points.
 
1. Everyone hates Parisians
 
The map is purportedly France as seen through the eyes of Parisians, and contains a series of snobbish and rude generalisations about every part of France that is not maison (home) in the capital and its surroundings. The great majority of the country is labelled simply as paysans (peasants).
 
The general stereotype about Parisians is that they are snobs, rudely judging the rest of the country which they regard as backwards and full of ploucs (yokels) apart from small areas which make nice holiday destinations.
 
Like all sweeping generalisations, this is true of some people and very much not of others, but one of the few things that can unite people from all areas of France is how much they hate les parigots têtes de veaux (a colloquialism that very roughly translates as ‘asshole Parisians’)
 
 
2. Staycations rule
 
Even before Covid-related travel restrictions, holidaying within France was the norm for many French people.
 
As the map shows, Parisians regard the southern and western coastlines as simply plages (beaches) which they decamp to for at least a month in July or August. In the height of summer French cities tend to empty out (apart from tourists) as locals head to the seaside or the countryside.
 
 
In winter the Pyrenees and Alps are popular ski destinations.
 
3. Northerners like a drink
 
There is a very widespread stereotype, although not really backed up by evidence, that the people of Normandy, Brittany and the Nord area like a drink or two. Many suggest this is to cope with the weather, which does tend to be rainier than the rest of France (although has plenty of sunshine too).
 
 
Official health data doesn’t really back this up, as none of these areas show a significantly greater than average rate of daily drinkers, although Nord does hold the sad record for the highest rate of people dying from alcohol-related liver disease.
 
What’s certainly true is that Brittany and Normandy are cider country, with delicious locally-produced ciders on sale everywhere, well worth a try if you are visiting.
 
 
4. Poverty
 
The map labels the north eastern corner of France as simply pauvres – the poor.
 
The north east of the country was once France’s industrial and coal-mining heartland, and as traditional industries have declined there are indeed pockets of extreme poverty and high unemployment. The novel The End of Eddy, telling the story of novelist Edouard Louis’ childhood in a struggling small town near Amiens, lays out the social problems of such areas in stark detail.
 
However poverty is not just confined to one corner of France and the département that records the highest levels of deprivation is actually Seine-Saint-Denis in the Paris suburbs.
 
5. Southern prejudice
 
According to the map, those from the south are either branleurs (slackers) or menteurs (liars). 
 
This isn’t true, obviously, there are many lovely, hard-working and truthful people in southern France, but the persistent stereotype is that they are lazy – maybe because it’s too hot to do much work – and slightly shifty.
 
Even people who aren’t actually rude about southerners can be pretty patronising, as shown when south west native Jean Castex became the prime minister in summer 2020. 
 
Castex has a noticeable south west accent which sparked much comment from the Paris-based media and political classes, with comments ranging from the patronising – “I love his accent, I feel like I’m on holiday” – to the very patronising – “that accent is a bit rugby” (a reference to the fact that TV rugby commentators often come from France’s rugby heartlands in the south west).
 
 
In his first year as PM, Castex has undertaken a dizzying schedule of appointments around the four corners of France, so hopefully the lazy myth can now be put to bed.
 
And anyone tempted to take the piss out of his accent – glottophobie (accent prejudice) is now a crime in France.
 
For more maps that reflect France, head to cartesfrance.fr
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