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Rainbow crossing in Jena: Police investigate after graffiti!
Unknown people have daubed the new rainbow crossing in Jena with black paint. The police are investigating property damage.
Rainbow crossing in Jena: Police investigate after graffiti!
On the night of Monday to Tuesday, a new “rainbow crossing” was defaced in Jena, Thuringia. This unsightly action was carried out by unknown people wearing black paint, which led the police to investigate property damage with a suspected political background. The police patrol noticed the damage on Tuesday morning around 5 a.m.; The paint was still fresh at this point and suggests the time of the crime was between 3 and 5 a.m. Jena Municipal Service has already taken the first steps to find out how and when the crossing can be cleaned. Information about the possible costs of the cleanup is still pending, but the discussion surrounding this incident is creating an excited atmosphere in the city.
The rainbow stripe, which was only ceremoniously inaugurated on June 21st, was intended to serve as a sign of solidarity with the queer community and was realized as part of a citizens' budget. However, this caused controversial discussions: While supporters celebrate the visibility and acceptance of queer life in Jena, critics are skeptical about the project. The proposal for the rainbow stripe, which resulted from 223 votes in the citizens' budget, took sixth place among 15 winning projects. The FDP city councilor Petra Teufel, who was inspired by a similar project in Wiesbaden, was in charge. Among the critical voices, the project is even described as “colorful nonsense” and “unnecessary activism” because some citizens have the feeling that they have not been sufficiently informed.
A symbol of diversity and tolerance
The rainbow crossing is to be built on a busy street in front of a museum and the Jena Volkshaus. The cost of implementing the project is around 5,000 euros, which is considered relatively inexpensive compared to other citizen budget projects, such as playground roofing, which can cost up to 10,000 euros. But the issue of spending on symbolism polarizes the population. Critics express concern about future replacement costs and question whether such expenditure is appropriate.
The citizen budget is an annual program that provides the city with 100,000 euros to support citizen projects. All Jena residents over the age of 16 can vote online which projects they think deserve support. The Rainbow Crossing was considered a symbolic street painting that has no direct impact on traffic but is still intended to send a strong visual message.
The inauguration of the crossing took place shortly before Christopher Street Day (CSD) and is intended to send a long-term signal for an open and tolerant urban society, hopes City Councilor Teufel. However, the heated discussions that have taken place on social media show once again how divided the city is about the usefulness of this project - and how important it is to have more conversations.