Pork Obligation

With all those Muslim refugees arriving, German society gets polarized and nervous, or should I say hysteric? While most of my fellow "countrypersons" try hard to be politically correct, they get frustrated when they find out that some of the refugees are not reacting alike. Reactions range from incomprehension via frustration to anger, even giving rise to conspiracy theories.

There is a general tendency to serve healthy food in German school cafeterias, i.e., offering less sugar, fat, and meat and more vegetables. This, however, did not please Schleswig-Holstein's pig farmers. So the parliamentary group of the Christian Democrats asked in their motion 13/3947 the government in Germany's most northern state to stand up for pork. Pork should remain in the range of foodstuff offered in cafeterias and canteens of Kitas (day nurseries) and schools. The CDU continued their motion: No Muslim shall be forced to eat pork, and we do not demand the introduction of a "Pork Day" (in English in the German text). Tolerance in a pluralistic society means recognizing and condoning other food cultures and lifestyles.

Already the Romans knew: Si tacuisses philosophus mansisses. The supporting phrases were simply too much, and although they were seemingly politically correct, they backfired. When the press took up the subject, most papers were eager to shorten the news by coining a new German word Schweinefleischpflicht or, in modern orthography, Schweinefleisch-Pflicht (pork obligation). The CDU motion caused a "pigstorm" on social media. It just proves that my countrypersons' nerves are on edge regarding refugees.

While deliberating whether to honor the story with a blog, I read a comic strip, The Atheist Pig. The author drew it as a tribute to one of his favorite comics, Jesus and Mo, and wrote about the latter: If you're not reading it, you may receive 30 lashes with bacon strips.

Here is a typical Jesus and Mo comic ...

©jesusandmo

...  and what Winston, the Atheist Pig, made out of it in a blanket:

©Winston/theatheistpig
FYI means, for your information, haram is Arabic for forbidden, e.g., particular food

For my non-American friends, "pigs in blankets" possibly need some explanation. Here is a photo:

These are not hot dogs but pigs in blankets (©stef yau/Wikipedia)

P.S.:During the debate on the Christian Democrat pork initiative Deputy Martin Habersaat of the Social Democrats ironically responded in Schleswig-Holstein's state parliament: "We are experiencing a new climax of the millennial kulturkampf of orient versus occident. As it is well known, today, Muslim refugees come to Central Europe solely to put us off pork, together with vegetarians, vegans, and rheumatics. Here it is to nip early signs in the bud and to defend our freedom of barbecuing" (Wir stehen auf einem neuen Höhepunkt des jahrtausendealten Kulturkampfes zwischen Orient und Okzident. Heute kommen die muslimischen Flüchtlinge bekanntlich zu keinem anderen Zweck nach Mitteleuropa, als uns, Seite an Seite mit Vegetariern, Veganern und Rheumatikern, das Schwein madig zu machen. Hier gilt es, den Anfängen zu wehren und unsere Freiheit am Schwenkgrill zu verteidigen).

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