Petition is addressed to: Geschäftsführung und Träger des SchwuZ

Dear Katja Jäger, dear responsible persons at SchwuZ,
We are deeply concerned about SchwuZ – and not just since yesterday. No one goes to a club because of lockers, self-check-in, or any other form of “more efficient entry.” We loved, danced, and worked at SchwuZ because it was a place where we could experience solidarity and community. Because with every visit and on every workday, we could feel that the queer love and solidarity exemplified by (other) SchwuZ employees was contagious. Because we were able to learn about, experience, and contribute to an anti-discriminatory and power-critical space – in our own unique ways, artistically, humanly, through our work, and through celebration of queer joy.
All of this seems to have been breaking away since the second half of last year, along with the declining number of visitors, and the layoffs seem to confirm it: When a restaurant cuts corners on the quality of its food, it soon will close. Why would anyone return if what’s served doesn’t taste good?
We wish for a SchwuZ that reconnects with its core and its roots: the community, the music, the high-quality queer cultural events. A SchwuZ that knows what its heart and soul are: the drag artists, the DJs, the employees who give the club their faces – and not abstract “customer” numbers being funneled through depersonalized PGS*.
We wish for a SchwuZ that we are part of and want to be part of. A SchwuZ from below! We want our SchwuZ back – the one we have supported over the past decades as employees, donors, and as ordinary, solidaristic visitors from the community for the community.

(Feel free to comment when signing how the vision of such a SchwuZ could look like!)

* PGS = People Guidance Systems