Controversy continues over the satirical version of a children's song broadcast after Christmas. A ditty about a fictional grandmother's environmentally unfriendly habits has struck an inter-generational nerve.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Schutt
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Most German preschool kids are familiar with the children's song about "Oma" (the German word for grandmother), entitled "My grandma rides a motorbike in the chicken coop."
Each stanza in the ditty about an old lady's outrageous adventures ends with the refrain "my grandma is a really ingenious woman." But just after Christmas, a Cologne-based public broadcaster, WDR, put out a video of a new satirical version of the song belted out by a children's choir.
The song instead branded grandma "an old environmental pig'' whose motorcycle burns a thousand liters of gasoline every month, and who eats a greenhouse gas-heavy pork cutlet daily because meat from the discount supermarket is so cheap.
The video then ends with a quote from teenage climate activist and vanguard of the Fridays for Future movement, Greta Thunberg: "We will not let you get away with this."
But after the clip quickly garnered around 40,000 comments, WDR removed it from its Facebook page.
Under the hashtag #Omagate, the performance triggered widespread social media outrage and had seemingly reignited a simmering culture war in Germany framed as a battle between the Boomers and Generation Z. Inevitably, the climate denying far right also got involved.
'Generational conflict'
The German government's efforts to combat climate change have become a burning political issue over recent months, with young Fridays for Future protesters saying that the adults have failed to act.
But as the kids blame older generations for failing on the climate emergency, critics say that these proselytizing children lack respect for the elderly.
Armin Laschet, the governor of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said that "the debate about the best climate protection is increasingly being escalated by some into a generational conflict."
Wolfgang Kubicki, the German Bundestag vice president, said the children's choir had been misused for "re-education" purposes of the kind conducted by the communist East German regime.
A young climate protester made her voice heard in Munich during September 20 climate strikes attended by 1.4 million in Germany. The sticker on her head crosses out "Could have, could have, wanted to." Only "Do it" remains. Image: Reuters/M. Dalder
Far right backlash
Black-clad protesters affiliated with far-right groups in western Germany were quick to protest in front of the broadcaster's headquarters in Cologne. WDR has in the meantime offered protection to journalists who have in fact received death threats over the issue.
"Children's song to death threats: The stir about the children's song shows how outrage can be fueled," tweeted Spiegel Online. "The far right mobilized really quickly."
In another seeming attempt to dampen the outrage, WDR boss Tom Buhrow then apologized about the controversy "with no ifs and buts.''
Freedom of opinion
Germany's DJV journalists' union said that WDR's apology was "not very helpful," arguing that the right to air such satire had to be protected in line with the protection of freedom of speech.
Meanwhile, the head of the WDR choir was surprised by the criticism, pointing out that the song was indeed satire: "The oma in the song — that's all of us," she said.
A group of climate activist grandmothers also came out in support of the song.
"It was pretty cheeky back when we sang it, too, but no one was upset," tweeted Grandparents for Future, which is aligned with Fridays for Future. "Today's song is not worth getting upset about, either."
"We lived life like there was no tomorrow," a self-professed human rights activist who was born in 1945 tweeted about #Omagate. She reminded her readers that older generations had been prosperous in the postwar years. But this should not have been "at the next generation's expense," she wrote. "You have to earn respect."
2019: Climate protests take center stage as the world burns
The climate crisis dominated the discussion this year, as hundreds of millions of people spoke out against government inaction across the world. Here's a quick overview of the most important environmental events of 2019.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
January: Germany sets coal end date
After lengthy talks, a government-appointed commission announces Germany plans to stop producing energy from coal-fired plants by 2038. Climate campaigners say it's too little, too late. Germany currently generates nearly 40% of its electricity from coal and has failed to meet targets set under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The anticipated phaseout cost: €40 billion ($44 billion).
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Endig
February: On thin ice
After a five-year study, scientists warn two-thirds of glaciers in the Hindu-Kush-Himalayan region could melt by 2100 if global carbon emissions are not cut. Meltwater from the area, home to Mount Everest, feeds into 10 of the world's most important river systems. Water shortages would cripple food and energy production in eight countries, directly or indirectly affecting nearly 2 billion people.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Sherpa
March: Cyclone Idai batters Africa
"One of the deadliest storms on record in the Southern Hemisphere" — according to the UN — hits low-lying Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, killing nearly 1,000 people and causing widespread damage. Vast swaths of farmland are flooded, bringing disease and food shortages. Six weeks later, another cyclone strikes. Some 62 million people were affected by extreme weather in 2018, says the WMO.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Onyodi
April: Disorder and disruption
Extinction Rebellion causes more than a week of travel chaos in London with disruptive, colorful protests across the British capital. In the UK and around the world, the activist group's rallies make headlines throughout the year as they promote radical political, economic and social change to avert the worst effects of global warming. Critics call their plans to abandon fossil fuels unrealistic.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/K. O'Connor
May: Green revolution sweeps Europe
At the EU elections, voter turnout is up — and populist and environmentalist parties make big gains. European Green parties win 74 seats in the 751-member European Parliament. The German Greens take more than 20% of the vote, their best-ever results. Frans Timmermans is chosen as the European Commission's new climate chief, with the bloc aiming to cut carbon emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/I. Fassbender
June: Climate protests target coal
Thousands of protesters descend on Garzweiler, one of Germany's biggest open-pit coal mines near Cologne, protesting plans to expand at the expense of nearby old-growth forest. Meanwhile, an estimated 40,000 people from across Europe march through Aachen to campaign for more climate action. Over the Channel, the UK parliament becomes the first in the world to declare a symbolic climate emergency.
Much of Europe suffers through an intense heat wave, with temperatures breaking 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) across the continent — smashing records set just weeks earlier. People are advised to limit time spent outdoors, while travelers face delays due to speed restrictions on superheated railway tracks. Climate monitoring agencies report July as the hottest month on record.
Image: imago images/R. Traut
August: Amazon on fire
The number of forest fires in the Amazon surges to its highest point since 2010, and thousands of firefighters are deployed to put out the blaze. President Jair Bolsonaro blasts a global outcry that not enough is being done to protect the world's largest tropical rainforest, insisting on Brazil's sovereign right. Previously, he blamed rainforest protections for hindering economic development.
Image: AFP/C. de Souza
September: Thunberg vs. Trump
Teen activist Greta Thunberg, who inspired Fridays for Future protests worldwide, blasts world leaders at the United Nations for "failing to act" on the climate crisis. "Change is coming, whether you like it or not." As millions of young people join marches around the world, leaders from more than 70 countries commit to carbon neutrality by 2050 — but not China, Russia, India, Japan or China.
Image: Imago Images/ZUMA Press/C. Minelli
October: Climate in court
Local groups, cities and young people around the world increasingly take their climate concerns to court in 2019. Just this month: a group of 15 youths (above) sues the Canadian government for violating their fundamental rights with policies that fail to curb CO2 emissions. Over in Germany, a court rejects a lawsuit by three farming families against Berlin's failed climate mitigation efforts.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS/R. Loznak
November: Rising waters
Venice is hit by exceptional floods, with water levels topping 1.5 meters (nearly 5 feet) three times in one week — the worst flooding since records began in 1872. Famed monuments and museums, including St. Mark's Basilica and the crypt, are inundated. Undeterred tourists, however, continue to snap selfies. Meanwhile, Oxford English Dictionary names "climate emergency" its word of the year.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS/C. Furlan
December: 'Our war against nature must stop'
As world leaders meet in Madrid for the COP25 climate conference, the head of the UN says the world is rapidly approaching the "point of no return." An EU report says the environmental situation has worsened, with the bloc likely to miss 2030 carbon reduction targets. Reacting to climate concerns, the European Parliament declares a "climate emergency" and the EU Commission lays out its Green Deal.
