German Club Owners Accused Of Racism

The owners of Brucklyn club in Bad Tölz are facing quite some flak after bouncers denied access to immigrants and asylum seekers following customer complaints. “What would you do?” Andreas Rest und Thomas Greil asked the public on Facebook, after bouncers had not allowed asylum seekers into Brucklyn.

According to the club’s owners, they were left with no choice after female customers in particular complained about being harassed by guests who happened to be immigrants.

According to reports, men followed the women to the lavatories and, in one particular case, offered money to one woman on the club’s staff in exchange for sex. It would hurt business if such behavior prevented women from entering the club, Greil told Munich-based newspaper Merkur.

According to Greil, “Asylum seekers spend three to four Euros per night, Germans at least triple that amount.” Since the number of asylum seekers coming to Brucklyn increased over the past months, the bouncers, on one particular night, decided to refuse admission after “the ratio in the club was 50/50,” as Rest is quoted.

The club owners made their concerns public and asked their clientele for help on Facebook. While many offered constructive ideas, for example writing a nightlife guide to make people familiar with German nightlife customs, there were also racist comments.

Armin Ebersberger, social planner of Bad Tölz, told the Merkur that some countries just have different social graces. Countries where “no doesn’t necessarily mean no.”

In Germany, cultural criticism is often immediately vilified as racist slur. “There’s no way for us to behave correctly in this regard,” said Greil. He’s hoping other clubgoers will act as mentors for fellow clubgoers not familiar with German customs.