Thread by @aya_velazquez

It happened. I was thrown out of a skate store in Berlin-Friedrichshain yesterday with my 9-year-old son, who wanted a skateboard for his birthday - because when the owner asked me if I was #vaccinated, I replied that this was none of his business. #THREAD 1/28

But let's start from the beginning. Yesterday afternoon I drove with my son to the "Longboard Shop Berlin", which I had found on GoogleMaps - the assortment had convinced us, large selection, so that my son could choose a motive and we newbees could be advised a bit.
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So far, so good. We entered the store with masks, me FFP2, my son a medical mask for children. A young, friendly salesman without a mask approached us right at the entrance, led us to the longboards and advised us.
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He was very nice, but did not know much about children's boards and called in a colleague. She was also not wearing a mask. I asked the salesman if maskless was allowed here since they all didn't wear one - he said he wasn't sure what his boss would say.
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So my son and I kept our masks on. As I looked around the store, I saw the boss and a few employees behind the counter, also without masks. On a quick note, the store is on the 5th floor & was feeling 35°C hot.
5/28

After about 15 minutes of sales talk about longboards, the differences, the most suitable model for my son, various test rides and a monkey heat, I ran the sweat below from the FFP2 mask. I could hardly breathe.
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And as I looked into the faces of the five unmasked employees - my son and I were the only masked ones for miles around - I took off our masks and said it was nonsense, the salesmen unmasked and we masked. At that moment, the boss intervened.
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He said, customers only with masks. I asked why, if everyone here was not wearing one, and was the police here somewhere? "Alright", he said and wanted to know how I did think about "the situation". Before I figured that this was not relevant at all, I answered...
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"Dictatorship." The store manager responded, "Well, if that's the case, I guess you'll have to go shopping somewhere else!" Judging by the look on the friendly young clerk's face, both he and I still thought his boss was joking at that moment.
9/28

Interesting how our consciousness works. I really should have grabbed my son and left at that moment. But the nice young salesman, the beautiful skateboard, my son who wanted it so badly, made me stay.
10/28

The "boss" walked away. The young salesman turned back to me and continued the sales conversation as if nothing had happened. He said he could adjust the suspension for us right away so it would be more maneuverable and easier to steer.
11/28

I was still perplexed and pondered secretly whether we should not rather go - but it was so nice weather, we wanted to Tempelhofer field and not more skateboard shopping. So I decided to buy the board anyway.
12/28

The young salesman led us to the checkout and knelt on the floor in front of us with his wrench to adjust the suspension - then "boss" suddenly reappeared from the next room. That had been meant seriously. There - he pointed with his finger - was the door.
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I said, what, you can't be serious, we just decided on a skateboard and we want to buy it."

Thereupon he eyed me from top to bottom - and asked the question of all questions:
"Have you even been #vaccinated?"
14/28

I cannot put into words my consternation at that moment, but I remember that I managed to reply that I didn't know what he was talking about. He then yanked open his store door, referred to it, and simply said, "Get out."
15/28

"You are a fascist, I hope you know that?" asked I.

"I don't care, you are leaving my store right now. We can continue talking outside, but NOT IN MY STORE!"
16/28

I left the store with my son and we rode down the elevator. My son was stunned. Downstairs, when we were back on the street, I broke down. Actually, my son would have had every reason to cry - instead, it was me who cried.
17/28

It was probably the first time my son had seen me cry like that. It felt like the whole Corona horror was collapsing on me like a wall. So now the time had come: I can no longer buy a skateboard for my child in Berlin without a mask and vaccination.
18/28

My son asked me to stop crying, it was uncomfortable for him, people were already looking. We were still standing with our two bags at the entrance of the skate store house, me leaning against a pillar.
19/28

I got myself together and opened Google Maps to find more skate stores nearby.
20/28

Fortunately, I had chosen that area because there were a few more skateshops within walking distance in case you didn't find what you were looking for in the first one. We finally ended up at Grünberger Straße 42 in the "Urban Boarding Longboard & Skate Shop Berlin".
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Going in, I again put on my FFP2 mask and my son put on his mask. Also the salesman masked himself immediately when we entered the store. I noticed that such a first floor store is nevertheless significantly cooler and more pleasant than an attic on the 5th floor.
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In this cooler environment, and given that the salesman was also wearing a mask, it wouldn't have even occurred to me to ask to take off the masks. The maskless salesman in the other store and my child masked, it was hard to comprehend.
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The salesman presented us with three matching boards, even rolled a rug aside so my son could move back and forth a bit. After about fifteen minutes, we found what we were looking for.
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And here it is. It cost twice as much as the one in the first store, but according to my son, it's so much nicer that he thinks it was a blessing in disguise.

A blessing in disguise, I guess you could say that.
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How did that story end? We then drove to Berlin's former airport field, now turned into a park called "Tempelhofer Feld". We cycled some rounds in the evening sun, my son on his brand new skateboard and me on inline skates.
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FunFact/ NoFunFact: When I later looked at the photo of the entrance area of the store who kicked us out, I noticed that "Longboard Shop Berlin" is actually part of a larger store called #Coronation. Coincidence, says a friend, it was named like this even before #Corona.
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I'm speechless. Parts of our society have gotten caught up in a spiral of fear that they are even willing to throw a 9-year-old kid out of the store who wanted nothing more than a new skateboard for his birthday.

Welcome to the best Germany of all times.
#Coronation
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