An original translation by Ava Lon with much thanks!
From this German Website:
Because of smoking ban
Vienna: Symphony musician beaten in subway
January 22, 2017
A symphony musician (48) must now tremble for his future as a professional musician.
On the way home after a tour, Michael Bachmann (strings) was in Vienna on Sunday night: “In the afternoon we played in Dortmund. We were brought to the concert hall. It was already midnight and I wanted to take the subway home.”
The symphony musician stood on the platform of the U4 station Karlsplatz in the direction of Hütteldorf when he smelled the typical cigarette smoke. “I saw three teenagers and pointed out that smoking in the subway area is not allowed.” Because the youths — probably Arabs or Afghans —claimed not to understand him, Bachmann repeated his request in English. Then the opponent who was smoking spat in his face.
At least four weeks of sick leave
Angry, the musician confronted the spitter, who then launched a karate kick against his hand. “At first I did not feel that something had happened. Several witnesses intervened; we rode together on the subway for two stations until the three got off at Pilgramgasse.” Only then did he notice that his left ring finger “stood out at an odd angle”. His son (a friend of La Hong) and the fashion designer took him to the ER. There they diagnosed a complex torsion fracture; the finger was realigned and will be in a cast for at least four weeks.
It is not yet possible to assess whether any consequential damage remains. On Sunday, the symphonist pressed charges against the smoker for serious bodily harm. After that the police are expected to take over the case.
[Below a video of this man in concert]
The Europeans have to make up their minds, they either fight back or they surrender.
All the redolence of traditional despair
Talentless, directionless, no fare
Having that taken away by compare
Is like a kick-to-the-back on a stair.
And so they spat at this Austrian-English
Conducting them with signs of amiss
To decades before classless-bliss
Had entered the Marxist abyss.
“No smoking” of what or by whom?
Priviledges are what we consume
Our cultural equalities assume
Rights of faith, belief and their fume.
The unseen fractured finger.
A European Socialist singer
In whose power the outrages linger
Found Islam’s a one-chopping swinger.
Aside on the platform was a lone Brit,
The hour was so quiet and peaceful to sit,
And watching the guys with their freedoms lit,
If it’s legal to sell – their choice to use it.
Company rules Socialism damn
It’s ten past midnight and soon comes a tram.
Twently-four seven – this is no Iran
A ceasefire for humans, or how Batman Began.
All wrongs must be right this fiddler claimed
Strolled up with prohibition to making them shamed.
And spat in his face like camels untamed
The core of his rage it clearly was aimed.
And that was that. We went to his aid,
Asking in Austrian what was what said.
And told of three yobs who messed his parade,
With secondhand smoke on the subway to ‘Srade.
“So you told them your lungs – they couldn’t hang out?
Sought the station master to berate and to clout?”
He replied this was for justice for those who can’t shout,
Offended on their behalf – as good comrades will out.
“Back home they’ll blame Muslims as bad who did this,
Seeing your anger was righteous when countered with piss.
But you’re not defending Liberty – of this you’re remiss,
More open-air prisons grow from stunts just like this.”
“Because you had Brexit you think you can say what you please,
But I tell you that fairness means all on our knees
Then you’ll see in equality, you’ve the ‘individual-disease.’
And I think my finger’s broken, can somebody freeze?”
“So the lowest of love, sex, and god on media you’d show?”
He nodded the peace that only submitters would know.
“And police every thought for anti-emotions that grow?”
If Priviledged are offended, then offenders must go.
This English Native departed on the next tram
Wondering who said ‘I am who I am.’
And ‘that I know nothing, I am just a man
The same as yourself, but not Eurabistan.’
Thank-you, Perfect. This attack certainly merits your memorializing in verse.
For perspective: I grew up in a family with a child-prodigy violinist. From the age or 3 or 4, these kids exist on an entirely different plane. There’s practice, competitions, performance. Their world – the whole family’s world – revolves around that axis. The violin and the violinist. I wouldn’t wish that life on a dog – or a dog’s family.
But this guy seems more normal. The prodigy would never risk confrontation the way he did. Or ice-skate or play catch or ride a subway without Tiger Mama or, later, the entourage.
This is more sophisticated than iambic pentameter. I’m impressed!
……
Socialism and classical musicians? Doesn’t seem like it would work.
A mediocre fiddler, maybe, but serious music requires exceptional, solitary dedication. It’s brutally competitive: there’s concert-masters, first violins, and everybody else.
Socialism might crank-out a few “everybody elses”, I guess.
……
An earlier thread, Perfect: couplets are fine and your triplets could never be unclean.
Comment for your first poem.
Please permit me to be the first who suggests that, if the assailant did, indeed, manage to incur life-long damage to this accomplished and professional musician’s hand, then—should this miscreant be allowed to reside in the Schengen Area—that same malefactor would need to find his entire lifetime earnings subjected to financial garnishments that served to compensate for the damaging results of his vicious attack.
If said assailant is permitted to depart from the Schengen Area without having satisfied these remunerative obligations, the political or governmental membership which allowed for this evasion ought to find such costs subtracted from their own collective pensions—as there can be little doubt that they were directly responsible for the introduction (into Austria) of such undesirable elements.
There’s nothing like simple, personal (financial) accountability to persuade these insular, overly-protected, anti-Western termites that their actions will become part of the general reconciliation. Many far-less-accommodating political environments—as are all-to-common in this modern world—would see these saboteurs dancing from a hemp leash.
You know, about 3 years ago, when watching the New Year’s Concert in Vienna, Austria, I started saying: “is this our last Radetzky?” as in: “are the barbarians going to delete us before the next year? Us and our culture? With this Vienna tradition and thousands of others wonderful things that western culture created and introduced the rest of the world to?”
If we fight we can save ourselves and a large portion of our culture, it is rapidly approaching the time when it will be to late to save our civilization. I am afraid that we will have to sacrifice our civilization to save the first two.