"Berlin is fascist - but sexy fascist. The kind where a party with a darkroom passes for liberation. The kind where, if I were attacked with a stake in public for being a shapeshifting, time-travelling trickster in the body of a dark-skinned Black trans nonbinary human, no one would intervene. When I ask why, the answer is always the same: "It's Germany.""
"When I first arrived, the city's sadness felt honest. A man drinking a Sternburg at any hour of the day was refreshing. I thought I'd found a safe place to make art, not realizing I'd entered a theatre where most perform the role of the liberated artist, with work as deep as the Instagram carousel for which it was made."
Berlin projects a seductive, gritty aura that feels liberating yet conceals authoritarian and exclusionary social dynamics. Public indifference toward vulnerable people and racial bias protect the powerful and white residents while leaving marginalized individuals unsafe. Club culture and prolonged partying function as escapes that produce exhaustion, emptiness, and performative artistic scenes lacking authenticity. Performances of liberation mask hollow social connections and discourage reflection, replacing potential community with transient encounters and superficial acclaim. Many seekers of freedom, love, and belonging encounter systemic hostility, limited intervention in emergencies, and cultural performativity rather than sincere solidarity, creating cycles of addiction and low moments.
Read at Hyperallergic
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