“Ok, “at least try to explain”. Jews have always lived all over the Middle East. When the Hashemites had to leave Mekka because the British Vice-king of India had promised Mekka to the Saudi’s, the Hashemites got Jordan, because the British Vice-king of Egypt had promised also them a country. Meanwhile the British minister of Foreign Affairs promised the Jews free settlement in Palestine. All these areas had been Ottoman for a longtime, and went after the British victory on the Ottomans into British control. Jordan, Saudi-Arabia and Israel are all three artificial creations born out of negotiations with the colonial power. Yes it were mainly Jews from Europe who took the initiative to found Israel, but the oriental influence was strong from the beginning, in a way that Hannah Arendt felt estranged with Israel officials. Anyway, Israel was born out of anticolonial terrorist activity against the British colonizer. Next point is that Israel became a refuge for Jews from all other countries from the region, already in the 1970’s most Israelis were born in the region and not in Europe. Yes, US-American Jewish organisations were – and are – financing a lot of those resettlements, but we are talking about people from the region. I do not think that the share of Jews in the whole Middle East population is higher today than under Ottoman Rule. Where do you see a colony? Yes, there where evictions and murders which justify Nakba as a Palestinian description of what had happened. But by now Israel is there for 75 years, if we should want to reverse all border changes of the last 75 years, we should talk about Tibet for example. The Israelis have the right to have their own country, as the Kurds should have one. Yes, the colonization of the West bank should be reversed, yes the actual Israeli government shows no concern for civilian rights in Gaza at the moment. Yes the actual government should be critizised. But as much as we critizise Russia without demanding the dismantling of Russia and we critizise Rwanda for its war in the Congo without demanding the dismantling of Rwanda, we should also critizise Israel without calling for its dissolution. Independently of how bad the actual Israeli government behaves, Israel has the right to stay an independent country. Following Arab propaganda of Israel as a colony is following the same people who refuse the Kurds their own country, following Hamas terrorists and their warcrimes. Both sides break international law here. Engagement from outside does not help if it chooses sides. The only two sides one could try to support are the civilians on both sides and international law. My great-grand-mother was expelled from Silesia, as a result of the Second World war. No way that I would demand restitution. My family has made their living elsewhere. Why Arab countries still keep Palestinians in “refugee camps”, 75 years later instead of having integrated these people into their societies long time ago? Half of the Syrians who came to Germany in 2015 are already 10 years later integrated into the German labour market. It gets far too long for a Facebook post, and i should have mentioned the PLO’s attempts to overthrow the Tunisian, the Jordanian and the Lebanese governments, I should have mentioned that Palestinian citizens of Israel enjoy more political freedom than in any Arab country and still a lot more arguments to go. But I have to finish. Middle Eastern History is to complicated to be judged by Europeans in two-minute-slogans.Those smell also a little bit like neocolonial attitude…”

Malte Woydt, reply to a Facebook post…, 23.7.24

“Otherworldliness became spirituality, an Indian cultural essential that promised her a future cultural perfection unattained in the West. Passiveness became at first passive resistance and later nonviolent resistance – the age-old Indian character thus provided a revolutionary technique by which to bring on that future perfection. The supposed penchant of India to accept despotism led Gandhi to reject the state entirely. The backward and parochial village became the self-sufficient, consensual and harmonious center of decentralized democracy. An absent national integration turned into the oceanic circles of a people’s democracy. Insufficient Indian individualism became altruistic trusteeship, and inadequate entrepreneurial spirit turned into non-possessiveness. This ‘affirmative Orientalism’ owes much to Europeans like the vegetarian Henry Salt, the Theosophist Annie Besant, the Hindu convert Sister Nivedita, the simplifier Edward Carpenter, and the champion of spiritual nonviolence, Tolstoy, all of whom employed these positive stereotypes against a modernized, aggressive, capitalist, materialistic, and carnivorous Europe for which they bore little love. …

Gandhian utopia reacts against negative orientalism by adopting and enhancing this positive image. It therefore ends up with a new Orientalism, that is, a new stereotype, of India, but an affirmative one, leading to an effective resistance. …

Orientalism did not only serve European domination. Affirmative Orientalism furthered the resistance by Europeans to Western capitalism and modern industrial society.”

aus: Richard G. Fox: East of Said. In: Joan Vincent: The Anthropology of Politics, Main Street Maiden MA, USA u.a. 2009, S. 147/148.

07/24

“‘Paternalism’ is the name generally given to the sort of phenomenon we had noticed among the missionaries. I am not sure that the word is not, in most cases, too favourable ; affection and a sense of kinship, two important elements in a really paternal attitude, were both lacking, as far as I could see, in Belgian feeling towards the Congolese. The people we saw on these excursions were ‘the best Belgians’, among the few who had come to the Congo for another motive than that of enriching themselves. These missionary priests and nuns had dedicated themselves to the good of the Congolese and they led, without complaint, a hard and dangerous life for the sake of these Africans. They would do anything for them, short of actually liking them. …

If the attitude of the Belgian administration and the industrialists and missionaries had been genuinely paternal – as some of the British administrators in some other parts of Africa had been – there would have been much to be said for it. A good parent, after all, wants his children to grow up. He does not want them to stunt their intellectual growth ; he encourages them to take on responsibilities progressively ; he steps aside, and stays aside, as soon as he reasonably can. There is little evidence that Belgians in the Congo generally were paternalist in this good sense. The priest who, in the presence of Congolese colleague, emphasized not only the gravity but also the ineradicable nature of Congolese defects, was ‘paternalist’ in the manner of a father who enjoys sneering at a son’s awkwardness, and keeps impressing on him that he is congenitally and incurably defective. I found this form to be, on the whole, the prevalent type of paternalism in Katanga.”

aus: Conor Cruise O’Brien: To Katanga and back. London: Four Square 1965 (1962): 172/173.

06/24

“SNOB … stands for Social Naiveté of Behavior or Simple Necessities of Business, depending on which side you’re looking at. Those who espouse the SNOB theory hold dear the motto ‘Nothing so Blind as a Colonized Mind’. …

SNOB’s guiding principle is that human beings tend to imitate those they perceive as their social superiors. … With transnational capitalism, SNOB began to creep across frontiers … The goal of the practicing corporate (or development agency) SNOB is to enroll Third World bourgeoisies in the brotherhood …

Modern SNOB’s wouldn’t dream of using bombs and napalm when training programs, foundation grants, marketing experts, and mass media work so much more effectively. The fun of the game is to make the victim want your _______________. The blank may be filled in with ‘dangerous pharmaceuticals,’ ‘plastic shoes,’ ‘infant formula,’ ‘soft drinks,’ ad libitum, and easily extended to include ‘hospital based health care,’ ‘educational system,’ ‘agricultural techniques,’ etc.

This has proven almost too simple. The only element that adds spice and subtlety to the mind-colonizing game is this: The target population must be encouraged to abandon its own authentic culture in favor of a lower-middle class, Western, wholly commercialized ersatz. Third World elites must not, with very rare exceptions, be allowed to witness of to participate in the culture of Western upper classes, for the very reason that this upper class culture is often uncannily close to the one the conditioned victim must learn to despise as ‘backward’ and ‘inferior’ in his own country, for obvious commercial reasons. …

‘Savages’ breastfeed, as the quoted African doctor puts it. Western masses and nouveaux riches (and not so richs) Third Worlders bottlefeed with infant formula. Upper-class, educated Western women breastfeed.

‘Natives’ are thin because they work hard and often go hungry. Lower and middle class Westerners are often obese – as are rich Third World wives – living proof their husbands can afford to stuff them. Rich Westerners are slender – indeed they may spend as much money losing weight as putting it on. …

I believe SNOBism is here to stay. That is why I propose … that we encourage Third World imitation of Western modes, but that we make some effort in the direction of social equality … with volunteers from the best families … [devoted] to the display of authentic upper-class Western lifestyles. Trendy New York hostesses could lecture on how they serve unpolished rice and perfect vegetable terrines … Their husbands would explain that ‘nobody’ watches television or buys anything plastic when a natural substance is available …

Who knows? Western corporations could lose a few marginal markets, but Third World elites might begin to feel secure in their own traditions.”

aus: Susan George: Ill fares the land. Essays on food, hunger, and power. Washington D.C.: Institute for Policy Studies 1984, S.91-93, siehe auch erweiterte 1990 Internetversion.

04/24

“People trying to hide behind the shield of satire are interesting. For me, who makes a living making fun of race, making fun of white people, it’s hard to say what exactly is acceptable and what works and what doesn’t. It’s like the old ruling on pornography where the judge says I can’t define it but I know what it is when I see it.

You don’t really have to be that smart to tell when someone’s satire is coming from a place of intelligence and not a place of hate. It is so hard to disguise the hate that comes out of people who try to call it funny.”

Baratunde Thurston: How to be black. New York u.a.: Harper 2012, S.230

03/24

Common Questions that You’ll Have to Answer

“White noise” is the term for sounds that are such a regular part of your environment that they blend into a dependable background hum. White noise is a subtle sound track for your daily life. It’s like living next to a freeway. At first, the sound of the cars may seem so loud you can barely hear yourself think. But after a while the drone becomes familiar, a standard part of your daily routine. In fact, some days you can’t imagine living without it. Just kidding.

You may have heard these statements so often that you’ve begun to tune them out. It’s time to splash some cold water on your face and listen again to what’s being said around you. . . .

• ‘Do black people get tan? What I mean is, does your skin get darker? And then do you call that ‘tan’ or ‘darker’? You get blacker, right? Or do you get lighter? Do you get lighter in the sun?’

• ‘You speak English very well. You’re so articulate. You can talk without even sounding black. But you could sound black if you wanted to, right? Do it now. Say something and sound really black.’

• ‘I used to try to make friends with black people, but black people just don’t want to be friends with white people. I try to talk to them and they look at me like I’m crazy. What am I doing wrong?’

•”I thought it would be really fascinating to meet you since you’re from the Caribbean. Oh, you’re not from the Caribbean? Well, you could be. Are you sure you’re not?’

• ‘I’ve met a few black people in my life. They were interesting, always wore the most colorful clothes. I don’t remember their names. I liked to look at them. But I didn’t make friends with any of them. We didn’t have anything in common.’

• ‘How come black people don’t come to our group? I invite them. I have food I think they will like, but they don’t come. Week after week we wait, and no people of color come. They just aren’t interested in our group. I guess we’re going to stay an all-white group. I don’t know how to change that. It’s not our fault. We want to talk about racism, but how can we do that without people of color there?’

• ‘Why do you call yourselves black? I mean you’re not really black, you’re more of a brown color. Though I did see this man once who was so black. He was actually black, like the color, like my shoes. Actually black. He was beautiful. I thought so.’

• ‘You have such an interesting name. Are you named after [insert name of geographical landmark] or [insert name of ethnic food] or maybe [insert rhyming name of impoverished country]? I’ve never met anyone with your name. Did you make it up yourself?’

• ‘Why are you always talking about racism? Can’t you just relax? I tell people not to talk about race around black people ‘cause you’ll get really angry and call them racist.’

• ‘I really don’t have very much experience with people of color. I don’t know what to say or do. I’m from an all-white town, remember? Don’t fault me for my circumstances. If I’m surrounded by white people, I’m going to know mostly white people and know about white people. What am I supposed to do? Yes, all of my friends are white, but I don’t know any other people. Am I supposed to seek out black people? You think they’re going to talk to me?”

• ‘My grandparents are the most racist people you’d ever meet. I sit at dinner sometimes and they say the most racist things. I can’t believe it. There’s nothing I can do about it. Let me tell you some of the things they say. They are so racist.’

• ‘Last year I read this book, I don’t remember the name, but a black person wrote it. You know the one they made into a movie? It was great. You’d like it. It wasn’t like anything I’ve ever read. You’d probably understand it more than I would. It was really good. The main character was black and he killed a woman and he was running from the police. And I don’t want to spoil the ending or anything ‘cause you really should read it, but he gets killed. In the end. In prison. He was guilty. It was really good. Really realistic. A black person wrote it, so it was accurate. I think it was based on a true story. I bet it was true. You’d like it. You should read it. I’ll lend it to you.’

• ‘Where I went to school there was a lot of racism and the black kids were always protesting. I don’t really know much about it. I heard once that the campus police beat this kid up because he was black. But he must have done something wrong. Anyway, I didn’t really get involved with it. I had to concentrate on important things, like my schoolwork.’

• ‘All the black people I’ve met are so angry, it makes it hard to be friends with them. But you are easy to talk to. You don’t get mad every time I say something.’

• ‘You come from a big family. And you grew up in the ghetto, I mean, inner city. Right? How many brothers and sisters do you have? Did you have to share a bedroom with all of them? Do you know your father? And you were really poor and on welfare. Or did you have money? Then you aren’t really black. Like, you are black, but you are kind of white too. You kind of act white. I bet you can be black or white depending on who you’re talking to.’

• ‘Were your great-grandparents slaves? I just found out that my great-great-grandparents were slave masters. They owned slaves. Of course I don’t think that’s good or anything. I’m glad that it’s all in the past now. I can’t be held responsible for something my ancestors did hundreds of years ago. It was a really long time ago. Everything is different now. People are equal. I can’t keep paying for things my ancestors did that I don’t even believe in. What am I supposed to do, pay a special tax? A white tax?’

• ‘People think that you, I mean black people, are uneducated. But you’re different. I mean, I don’t think of you that way. A lot of people I know think that way. You’re easy to talk to. Most black people aren’t as easy to talk to as you are. I can say whatever I want around you and I know you’re not going to call me a racist or something. Right? Because I’m not. I’m not a racist. You know that, right?’

• ‘I don’t even see race. When I look at someone I don’t see their race at all. I’m really beyond all of that.’

• ‘I don’t think of you as black.’”

aus: Damali Ayo: How to Rent a Negro (2005), im Internet.

Abb.: Pyris: White Noise, Plattencover, im Internet.

03/24

“First, platforms are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die.”

aus: Cory Doctorow: Marshall McLuhan lecture on enshittification, Transmediale festival in Berlin, 30.1.24, im Internet.

Abb.: Carmsie Melodie: Frozen Girls, Second Life Art, im Internet.

02/24

“The national conversation on racism seems to be stuck in an endless loop. … instead of the nuances of racial inequality being understood, the issue is portrayed as a simple matter of people saying or doing bad things to each other, and we get a tiresome to and from between those ‘playing the race card’ and others ‘in denial’. Many of us just tune out, while the overall issue of racism in society – a real problem in need of an urgent solution – remains unaddressed.

That is why, six years ago, the Reframing Race initiative was set up. … We discovered – plainly – that words make a difference. …

The first problem we found was that people don’t agree on what the basic facts mean. For instance, ‘black people are stopped and searched at seven times the rate of white people’: some will believe this indicates a racist bias in policing; others will simply say it’s a sign of criminality in the black population. It is therefore important to tell the full story, which is that the over-representation of black people in the criminal justice system does not imply they are more inclined to commit crime. …

We did find one particularly effective way to communicate the problem of racism: namely, a CV investigation that showed recruiters were biased in favour of white applicants. In telling the full story of this study, we were able to rule out any explanations other than race-based discrimination. Choosing to represent structural racism in this way allows a mainstream audience to see it for themselves, and leads the discussion away from the ‘Is it racist?‘ ping-pong game. …

Another thing we found is that showing some intention behind structural racism – even naming a ‘perpetrator’, such as a government department – leads to a more fluent discussion about how to address it. This approach is also more likely to inspire hope that things can be changed; if something was designed in a way that disadvantaged certain racial groups, it is reasonable to suppose we could redesign it.

Surprisingly, our research also tells us that it is possible to be bold – even radical – in challenging racism, so long as your ideas are explained well enough. For instance, we found most people agreed with the idea of investing in mental health services so that police did not have to do the job of mental health professionals, and for teaching schoolchildren of all backgrounds their shared history. I doubt the phrases ‘defund the police’ or ‘decolonise the curriculum’ would have generated the same support.”

aus: Nina Kelly: How to have a meaningful debate about racism? We asked 20,000 people, and this is what we found, The Guardian Online, 28.12.23, im Internet.

Abb.: Sara Dilliplane, BLM, im Internet.

12/23

“Fleas dream of buying themselves a dog, and nobodies dream of escaping poverty: that, one magical day, good luck will suddenly rain down on them – will rain down in buckets. But good luck doesn’t rain down, yesterday, today, tomorrow or ever. Good luck doesn’t even fall in a fine drizzle, no matter how hard the nobodies summon it, even if their left hand is tickling, or if they begin the new day on their right foot, or start the new year with a change of brooms. The nobodies: nobody’s children, owners of nothing. The nobodies: the no-ones, the nobodied, running like rabbits, dying through life, screwed every which way. Who are not, but could be. Who don’t speak languages, but dialects. Who don’t have religions, but superstitions. Who don’t create art, but handicrafts. Who don’t have culture, but folklore. Who are not human beings, but human resources. Who do not have faces, but arms. Who do not have names, but numbers. Who do not appear in the history of the world, but in the crime reports of the local paper. The nobodies, who are not worth the bullet that kills them.”

aus: Eduardo Galeano, Nobodies/1, The Book of Embraces, 1989, im Internet

Abb.: Chiharu Shiota: A long day, 2014, Kunsthaus Interlaken, im Internet.

09/23

“What about when you get lost? ‘Oh my God, everyone asks that! Like getting lost is the worst thing that can ever happen to a human being,’ she exclaims. ‘So let me get this right: in exchange for the maps you will give away your democracy, the mental health of your children, your own mental health – for a map? I will get you a map! We are free! If you want to be free, you can free yourself.'”

aus: Zadie Smith: ‘I get in trouble when I talk about the state of the nation’, interviewed by Lisa Allardice, The Guardian online, 26.8.23, im Internet.

08/23