Germany Has Fallen, Pt II

As covered in my last article, Germany has recently followed the lead of Austria in creating more rules that directly discriminate against the unvaccinated. Except for shops that sell essentials such as groceries, the unvaccinated are now barred from all cinemas, restaurants, public events, and retailers. While vaccinated individuals can gather in unrestricted groups, their unvaccinated counterparts are permitted only to meet with two people outside of their own household.

Shockingly, Germany looks likely to follow Austria in introducing further vaccination mandates for all adults next year. From February, being double vaccinated in Austria will not suffice as being ‘fully vaccinated’, with the uptake of booster jabs instead constituting the accepted threshold needed to maintain one’s vaccination status, with those who do not choose to take the jab being forced out of civil society. 

Still, according to a survey conducted by the ARD — the German equivalent of the BBC — there remains a “clear majority [of the population] in favour of vaccination mandates” with 60 percent of Germans asking for a stricter approach against Covid. As reported by the ARD, 71% of Germans are in favour of mandated Covid vaccinations, with only 17 percent feeling that the current measures are too harsh.

Another study, commissioned by GEO, found similar numbers. According to the magazine, 69 percent of Germans currently support the government’s stringent mandates. The figure, however, marked a 25 percent increase from a study commissioned by the same magazine in the previous month, in which only 44 percent of the population was found to be in support of the mandates. 

Considering such figures, it is curious that only 68.8 percent of Germans have chosen to get vaccinated so far while 71 percent of the population want to see mandates enforced. Are we supposed to believe that 100 percent of the vaccinated, even those who have been coerced into getting the jab and those who have had adverse reactions, want to force others into this medical procedure? And are we supposed to believe that another 2.2 percent of the population, part of the 31.2% who have until now actively resisted getting the vaccine, secretly support vaccination mandates too?

Should we not view such findings with scepticism?

It seems that Austria’s decision to announce mandates for February sent a signal out to those in Germany and other countries who are in support of more government control and action, even against their fellow citizens. This trend was reflected on Facebook, where certain pro-mandate posts, seemingly boosted by the algorithm, suddenly appeared all over the platform. Open ridicule, disregard, and even hatred against Covid vaccine sceptics was suddenly far more acceptable and widespread — my own comments against such posts left me banged up in Facebook jail for 30 days. I parted ways with many friends, yes, real friends, based on their willingness to support the government’s efforts to take my rights and freedoms away.

My question is, is there really any opposition to the government’s actions in Germany? Opposition to forced vaccination, like in other countries, seems to be correlated between right-wing populism and left-wing obedience to the state and mainstream media, and while 68.8 percent of Germans are vaccinated, there are noticeable differences in vaccine uptake across the country. In Saxony, a stronghold of the conservative-Euro-sceptic Alternative for Germany party (AFD), for example, trust for the vaccine is lowest with only 60 percent of the population being vaccinated. Meanwhile, Bremen, held by the left-wing Social Democrats (SPD) and German Greens (Die Grüene), has seen 83 percent of the population vaccinated while only 6% have voted AfD. 

The AfD remains the only party in the German Bundestag (parliament) to advocate against Covid restrictions and mandated masks and vaccines. Thus, it is no surprise that East Germans, who bear a very recent history of being subjugated by a Communist regime, are twice as likely to vote for the AfD. Still, according to the mainstream media, the party’s stance on personal freedom and government overreach further proves that they are anti-democratic fascists. What irony, since the AfD is the only German party defending democracy and the rights of German citizens. 

The AfD, however, has long been vilified to an extent that goes far beyond the vilification of Donald Trump’s tenure in America. Long before the former-President coined the term “fake news,” the AfD had called out the German media apparat as “lügenpresse” (lying press), citing their continuous slander and defamatory rhetoric. It is therefore unsurprising that voters of the AfD mistrust the media and the government, who often regard them as second-class citizens. 

Nevertheless, such mistrust might come at a price, with Coronavirus infections and hospitalisations being noticeably higher in areas that are reluctant to take the vaccine. There is always a balance to be found between freedom and safety and often, by choosing freedom, you pay a high price. To quote Benjamin Franklin: 

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”