How he likes it

Save the planet, kill yourself: Chris Korda and his Church of Euthanasia in Maria

Jörg Sundermeier Taz, Culture, p. 23

His audience can expect something disturbing: When Chris Korda appears this evening at Maria am Ostbahnhof, he will also ask for the death of those gathered - for the sake of the earth. He will smile in a friendly and obliging manner from under his wig and behind his sixties glasses and look a bit like Heinz Rühmann as "Charley's Aunt". However, Korda's crossdressing is not to be understood as sexist nonsense, only the choice of conservative clothing shows a flash of irony.

This man does not want to be seen as a "man". Korda is fed up with the "man" system because man is the greatest destroyer of living creatures. And it is precisely this destruction of the earth that must be stopped. "Save The Planet - Kill Yourself" is the motto of the Church of Euthanasia that he founded and which Korda heads as a reverend. This religious community, recognized in the USA, has set itself the goal of ending the permanent exploitation of nature by humans. The promise not to reproduce is therefore the condition for admission to the church; no other requirements need to be met.

Korda travels around the country handing out stickers on which he politely asks people not to wear their seatbelts the next time they drive drunk. And like all active vegans, he flippantly compares factory farming with the Holocaust. And he seriously discusses whether the Holocaust is a suitable method for reducing the human population. That is anti-Semitic and stupid, and Korda's reference to being Jewish himself doesn't help him. Korda skillfully stages provocations and actions via the media ("Boring Propaganda doesn't work" is another motto), but basically believes in an "original" and unmediated life. He doesn't notice that this idea is itself a media fantasy.

However, the musician Korda does not have the shortcomings that the theorist and performance artist Korda has. His electronic sounds, which are inspired by Pink Floyd or art rock, are on the one hand beautifully playful, but on the other hand, through the use of speech samples from his church, they are masterpieces of modern propaganda. So anyone who doesn't care about Korda's politics will get their money's worth. As Korda likes, this evening will be anything but boring.

From 10pm, with EgoExpress and DJ Koze, Maria am Ostbahnhof

The preceding is a translation. The original language is here.