The tragedy of an innocent: Sylter Video Kandal meets Thomas Jedermann

The tragedy of an innocent: Sylter Video Kandal meets Thomas Jedermann

Pony, Sylt, Deutschland - A video that circulated on May 24th unveiled frightening scenes from the prominent bar "Pony" on Sylt. In it, men can be seen, the racist slogans roar. A protagonist who wants to remain anonymous and is referred to as "Thomas Jedermann" has now published his version of the events in the Stern After the publication of the video, which shows a numerous rash group, which for the melody of Gigi d’Agostino "L’Amour Toujours" loud slogans like "Germany sang the German, foreigners out", he lost his job and several teaching orders. Thomas, who stood near the scandalous scene, was wrongly identified and publicly denounced as a follower, although the Hamburg district court found that it was not involved in the behavior of others. Despite this legal relief, he remained stranded in his career and is now faced with the loss of his professional identity.

professional and personal consequences

his employer was forced to act quickly after the publication of the video, given public outrage. Thomas everyone was released immediately, although he vehemently defended himself against the allegations. In the days after the incident, his situation became even more worrying: Due to the negative press, he was forced to give up his teaching activities at three universities. He describes the experience as stressful and states that he has put all his teaching positions, for fear of being constantly confronted with the explanation of events. His family and social support helped him to survive this emotional storm.

This is not only a story about unacceptable behavior in public, but also about the destructive effects of public shame. The statements by Thomas everyone illustrate how powerless you can feel in such a terrible situation. "I was shocked," he says, describing how quickly a person's lives can change due to a single gate gate. Media reporting and the heated mood in society often lead to innocent people to be punished for the behavior of others, as the events around the "Sylt-Video" show impressively, such as in Stern described.