Even if daycare centers and schools open carefully, we are still a long way from regular operations. Millions of mothers walk on the stick – and keep still. BRIGITTE editor Alexandra Zykunov makes all of this pretty angry.
How am I supposed to disinfect each Lego brick individually in the day care center? ”Or:“ Who should help that my daughter is allowed to go to school for 75 minutes on Wednesdays? ” Comments like this have been flooding social networks for months. Angry educators and broken mothers complain about unrealistic hygiene concepts and about being left behind by politics. "It takes time," was heard from the government for months. It appealed to our understanding, our ability to reflect, our empathy. It's clear. It's just a huge pile of garbage.
Mom does it. Right?
Because so many daycare and school concepts are so unrealistic is because the government has not dealt with these concepts for so long. In March the focus should have been on the needs of the 10.5 million children. One should have realized that distance rules would be impossible for them and that it would take a long time until alternative concepts were in place. One should have realized that families could not last that long, not financially, physically and mentally. And if the economy is boosted again, ten million parents – or honestly: mothers – will not crank it up. But you don't recognize all of this if the minister for women is not a permanent member in the narrow Corona cabinet; when there are 50-year-old men on the committees, all of whom live in a living environment in which the motto is: Mum does it.
If wrong priorities are set …
It has not only been since Corona that a third of the educators are over 50, thus at risk group and underpaid. Someone could have thought that staff would suddenly break away. But sorry, there were more important things to be clarified: How things are going with the Bundesliga, with beer gardens and car dealerships. Hardly anyone thought of daycare centers, because day care centers cannot be used to earn money, because there is not efficiency, but education and care. Everything nice, but economically the little sister of shit, and in a capitalist crisis something of the last rank. Someone could have thought that parents would crawl on all fours between baby porridge and scratched laptops while playing horses on their backs with LAN cables. Someone could have insisted on a Corona parental allowance that also applies to the home office. Because – oh surprise – homeschooling and home office are not synonymous! But where would we get there? Unconditional money for families? For mothers ?! Reign times, no! Afterwards someone comes up with the idea that children are systemically important. Yes okay, in 30 years they will finance the oldest Germany. But what does it itch for today's politicians?
Who is now wondering: Why isn't this scandal in the media long ago, why doesn't it scream at us from every screen? He does! #Corona parents, #CoronaElternRechnenAb, #Elterninderkrise – how many hashtags there were, how many "Tagesschau" -, "Hart but fair" – and special programs. Probably also because the editors-in-chief suddenly realized how much their salvation depends on good care work – and because they no longer had clean shirts for their calls. But whoever believed that the fourth force would finally get things going was wrong. Even more: in the midst of the constant loop of anger and resignation, parents had to be taught by SPD politician Jörg Steinbach that they should be happy to finally get to know their children. Or let CSU boss Markus Söder explain that home office for families is an opportunity for a new work-life balance.
… nobody cares
Anyone who finally, at least at this point, was expecting the big sledgehammer, such as a big parent strike, was disappointed again. Because nobody cares, because there is no parent lobby, no children's lobby, no mother lobby. You need a parent party, a mother union, a feminist think tank – but when should you start it? Just. Even before Corona, mothers had no strength, no resources. How many forms of protest should you think of? At night, for free, between calls, coloring books and nervous breakdowns?
Motherhood in patriarchy
And now the worst comes: the government knows all of this long ago; and she also knows that women will not rebell anyway. You won't go on strike, not for a month, not for a day. Because otherwise they would have to admit that they are overwhelmed by motherhood and thus – according to the patriarchy – their greatest reason for being. And who dares to do that in a society in which the image of the mother has been raised to an unreachable pedestal for 2000 years so that women can work on it as a permanent job?
Nor will they go on strike because they are afraid for their jobs; because they are at risk of poverty and violent husbands; because single parents have to support their families; because mothers have to take care of their children with disabilities, their old mothers, fathers, in-laws, and the whole goddamn world. Even in industries where it would hurt the country – hospital, nursing, supermarket – they would not go on strike; because they couldn't agree to carry it out on the back of the weak; because it instilled patriarchal socialization in them. They will not light a truckload of poop diapers in front of the Bundestag in protest. Or park your children in front of the country's Smålands. Because they are responsible. Because they are the carers. Because! They! Mothers! Are!
No, there will be no strike, no revolution, and no positive conclusion of this text. Because there is nothing positive about it. Politics craps mothers. Politics craps women. 2000 years ago just like today. Unfortunately, a Chancellor was unable to change anything. The faster we all understand that, the better. It's pretty much the only bright spot there is.
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