When I travel abroad as a German, I often feel ashamed of my compatriots there. On my current trip to Greenland, however, the shame of fellow countrymen has reached a new level.
In the capital Nuuk, where I am currently staying, the Extra 3 comedian Maximilian Schafroth tried on Wednesday afternoon raising a US flag on a flagpole in a central squareuntil he was stopped by passers-by. Schafroth had to pay a fine. Videos of the failed flag raising are causing outrage on social media among Greenlanders.
A foreshadowing I experienced this shame at home even before the incident early on Wednesday afternoon. I was walking with some people in the city center and a Greenlandic woman from Nuuk was just about to start to tell us something. At that moment, Schafroth and his NDR camera team approached a group of children and young teenagers to ask them in loud US-accented English whether they didn’t think the USA was great too. Who that was, the woman asked as she walked along. “I don’t know the man,” I replied truthfully (quite ashamed), “but apparently he’s a German comedian who impersonates an American.”
German satire is not funny
So people in Greenland are finding out what many Germans have known for a long time: that German satire is not funny. And that some of their representatives probably don’t have a feel for the right joke at the right time in the right place. “If you don’t respect our values, why are you in Nuuk?!” he wrote Influencer Orla Joelsen in a post on Xwhich has been seen over a million times. Schafroth has since apologized to the Greenlanders. He realized that the gag didn’t work.
In fact, he could have thought of that beforehand. I myself have been traveling as a reporter in Nuuk for a few days and knew in advance how stressed and unsettled the population has been since the invasion threats from Washington. When there was a widespread power outage in Nuuk on Saturday evening, many people initially thought that the USA was now bombing the country. Only a little later did they find out that storm damage near the hydroelectric power station was the only cause of the blackout.
Swarms of journalists on the island
In addition, journalists have been swarming to Greenland for weeks and months. Many residents, especially in the capital with a population of 20,000, feel almost under siege – especially since they are often asked the same questions over and over again. In order to start a conversation with people, you first have to build trust. Conversations with politicians or experts are hard to come by given the attention from around the world.
The mayor of the municipality of Sermersooq, which includes Nuuk, released a statement in English on Thursday aimed at international journalists. “You must realize the immense harm you are casually causing to people here,” wrote Avaaraq Olsen, referring to the satirical reaction. She also pointed out that children should not be filmed without the consent of their legal guardians, which is actually one of the absolute basics of journalistic practice in Germany.
Despite everything, the impression should not be given here that the Greenlanders are just passive victims. On the contrary, they have shown impressive resilience and resilience during the crisis, with humor being one of their weapons. In one viral clip of the Danish broadcaster DR P3, they not only take aim at Trump, but also at themselves, and don’t take their difficult relationship with Denmark so seriously.
Even “the American in Greenland” can work under the current circumstances if you do it right. The Canadian comedian Mark Critch was recently in Nuuk dressed as Donald Trump. On his trip, this Trump meets various people whom he tries to convince of a deal – with little success, of course. Here the joke is clearly at the expense of bullys. In addition, Critch’s interlocutors knew in advance exactly what they were getting into.
Since the Greenland gag from Extra 3 didn’t work, maybe a different twist is needed now. From the airport in the capital Nuuk you can get to the USA, for example New York, quite quickly. From there it’s not that far to Minneapolis. How would it be if a comedian tried to hoist the Greenland flag in front of the headquarters of the ICE deportation agency? Although, perhaps we leave the Arctic island and its inhabitants out of the game and prefer to use the Pride or Black Lives Matter flag.
That would certainly have some entertainment value. However, it wouldn’t be as safe as a joke at the Greenlanders’ expense.