Bozur
Amicus
Posts: 5,515
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Post by Bozur on Apr 29, 2010 21:31:07 GMT -5
In Europe, Remorse Has Turned to Masochism
by Daniel Pipes National Review Online April 27, 2010
"Nothing is more Western than hatred of the West." So writes the French novelist and essayist Pascal Bruckner in his book La tyrannie de la pénitence (2006), capably translated into English by Steven Rendall and recently published by Princeton University Press as The Tyranny of Guilt: An Essay on Western Masochism. "All of modern thought," he adds, "can be reduced to mechanical denunciations of the West, emphasizing the latter's hypocrisy, violence, and abomination."
Cover of Pascal Bruckner's "The Tyranny of Guilt: An Essay on Western Masochism."
He exaggerates, but not by much.
He shows how Europeans see themselves as "the sick man of the planet" whose pestilence causes every problem in the non-Western world (what he calls the South). When the white man set foot in Asia, Africa, or America, death, chaos, and destruction followed. Europeans feel themselves born with stigmata: "the white man has sown grief and ruin wherever he has gone." His pale skin signals his moral defectiveness.
These provocative statements undergird Bruckner's brilliant polemic arguing that European remorse for the sins of imperialism, fascism, and racism have gripped the continent to the point of stifling its creativity, destroying its self-confidence, and depleting its optimism.
Bruckner himself concedes Europe's blemishes but he also praises it for self-criticism: "There is no doubt that Europe has given birth to monsters, but at the same time it has given birth to theories that make it possible to understand and destroy these monsters." The continent, he maintains, cannot be just a curse, for its sublime achievements complement its worst atrocities. This he calls "proof of grandeur."
Paradoxically, it is Europe's very readiness to acknowledge its faults that prompts self-hatred, for societies that do not engage in such introspection do not lacerate themselves. Europe's strength is thus its weakness. Although the continent has "more or less vanquished its monsters" such as slavery, colonialism, and fascism, it chooses to dwell on the worst of its record. Thus, his book's title, The Tyranny of Guilt. The past, with its violence and aggression, is frozen in time, a burden Europeans expect never to throw off.
The South, in contrast, is deemed perpetually innocent. Even as colonialism fades into the past, Europeans righteously blame themselves for the plight of once colonized peoples. Eternal innocence means infantilizing non-Westerners; Europeans flatter themselves as the only adults – itself a form of racism. It also offers a way to preempt criticism.
About one million Spaniards protested the terrorist bombings one day after they took place, on March 12, 2004 - by blaming the atrocity on their own prime minister, José María Aznar.
This explains why Europeans ask what they "can do for the South rather than asking what the South can do for itself." It also explains why, after the Madrid bombings of 2004, a million Spaniards marched against not the Islamist perpetrators but their own prime minister. And worse: why they saw Spanish civilians "torn apart by steel and fire" as the guilty party.
As shown by the Madrid bombing and countless other acts of violence, Muslims tend to have the most hostile attitudes toward the West, and Palestinians rank as the most hostile of Muslims. That Palestinians face off against Jews, the extreme victims of Western murderousness, makes them a perversely ideal vehicle for rebutting Western guilt. Making matters worse, even as Europeans disarm themselves, Jews take up the sword and wield it unashamedly.
Europe exonerates itself of crimes against Jews by extolling Palestinians as victims, no matter how viciously they act, and by portraying Israelis as latter-day Nazis, no matter how necessary their self-defense. Thus has the Palestinian question "quietly relegitimated hatred of the Jews." Europeans focus on Israel with such an intensity that one could think the fate of the planet will be determined "in a tiny stretch of land between Tel Aviv, Ramallah, and Gaza."
And America? Just as "Europe relieves itself of the crime of the Shoah by blaming Israel, [so] it relieves itself of the sin of colonialism by blaming the United States." Excommunicating its American child permits Europe to preen. For his part, Bruckner rejects this easy out and himself admires American confidence and pride of country. "Whereas America asserts itself, Europe questions itself." He also notes that, in time of need, the wretched of the earth invariably turn to the United States, not the European Union. To him, the United States is "the last great nation in the West."
He hopes that Europe and America will cooperate again, for when they do, they "achieve marvelous results." But his own evidence points to the unlikelihood of that prospect.
Mr. Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University.
www.danielpipes.org/8293/europe-remorse-turned-masochism
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Post by Emperor AAdmin on Apr 29, 2010 21:33:18 GMT -5
Basic idea that seems to appear in western countries without explicitly saying it with exactly those words is
If you are of European extraction ('White') be ashamed, be very ashamed
Fact is that whites constitute a small minuscule percentage of overall world population (certainly bellow 20%) that will drop further in numbers (while it is already noticeably aging) and percentages to well bellow 10% by mid century.
Someone wants whites to either;
a) Become ashamed of themselves well before then and hopefully start seeking interracial mixing as means of their own 'salvation'
b) Or perhaps as means of angering more far right elements amongst whites to conduct a move.
c) Isolate third world countries and leave them to their own devices (as it has been done with say Rhodesia turned Zimbabwe).
d) Combination of mentioned outcomes.
Either way possible variables are countless.
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Post by Emperor AAdmin on Apr 29, 2010 22:07:10 GMT -5
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Post by Emperor AAdmin on Apr 29, 2010 22:30:22 GMT -5
In retrospect there is nothing that can only be assigned to whites and to whites only that is deemed negative and lets cover some topics;
1) Colonialism. Whites have conquered and colonized many parts of the world but only recently. Americas are one example where they have brought much pain to the American natives. The latter are mongoloid in race and their Mongoloid cousins have laid waste across eastern Europe much earlier (Turks and especially Mongols etc) as well as enslaved so called whites while using their resources.
2) Slavery. Middle eastern, Roman, Greek and Egyptian markets were filled with 'white' (northern European) slaves thousands of years before 1700s. Wars were assumed to be followed by pursuit of booty which consisted of slaves also. Slavery still persists within so called black countries of Sudan and Mauritania while ancestors of today's African Americans were sold by enemy chieftains to European slave owners who saw this as pursuit of business.
3) Racism. Albinos are killed on sight in certain parts of east Africa as they are deemed as demons and I doubt if whites were to visit same regions that they would be showered with gifts either. Hutus and Tutsis tried finishing each other in late 20th century although both are black while Japanese had plans of exterminating Chinese although both are mongoloid. Romans called Germans as half humans. No love lost there and is one to assume that although some people can not stand members of same race who are slightly different in some aspect from themselves that they are supposed to be amazed with someone of fully different racial and cultural background. This is wishful thinking.
Not one negative point can be made that only relates to Europeans (so called whites). In fact it was Europe that moved the world into modern era and have defined what it means to be west as we known it while many of the other parts of the world offered human sacrifice, cavemen like societies and cruel absolute rulers in some cases deemed as Gods where a death of such ruler would have meant death of his entire 'entourage' as they would be burred alive with such ruler.
I am pretty sure that these aspects are kept hidden in today's history books that demonize anything European while glorify anything else.
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yeni
Moderator
gulash freak
Posts: 327
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Post by yeni on Apr 30, 2010 0:04:39 GMT -5
this sounds more like a typical American b$, they are the ones who always care about these race issues. The Szekely, the Romanian and the Black are in the hospital, all of them waiting for the birth of their children. The nurse comes: ’Congratulation, the babies are healthy, but we accidently mixed up the children. Please come in and choose which is your baby.’ The Szekely immedietly runs into the room and pick up the black child. The Black goes there: ’hey Szekely, what are you doing? don’t u see this baby is mine? He has the same skin colour as me’ ’I dont care, until it turns out which one is the Romanian, this kid will stay with me!’ no i think only you bought bad history books.
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Post by hellboy87 on Apr 30, 2010 0:31:30 GMT -5
Daniel Pipes is a racist moron.
OK,he does make a valid point there on Europe,but a lot of his suggestions just reek of Eurocentrism,that the West cannot,in any way,be bowed down(and I mean in a humble way),to the non-Western world,to allow them to like,"hit back".
The effects of colonialism is far from dissapearing in most of the once colonized European countries of the world.
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Post by hellboy87 on Apr 30, 2010 0:36:10 GMT -5
Not one negative point can be made that only relates to Europeans (so called whites). In fact it was Europe that moved the world into modern era and have defined what it means to be west as we known it while many of the other parts of the world offered human sacrifice, cavemen like societies and cruel absolute rulers in some cases deemed as Gods where a death of such ruler would have meant death of his entire 'entourage' as they would be burred alive with such ruler.I am pretty sure that these aspects are kept hidden in today's history books that demonize anything European while glorify anything else. Not really true.You still have this backwardness in much of Eastern Europe.Look at that Pole that died recently.
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Post by Emperor AAdmin on May 1, 2010 23:28:19 GMT -5
Daniel Pipes is a racist moron.
OK,he does make a valid point there on Europe,but a lot of his suggestions just reek of Eurocentrism,that the West cannot,in any way,be bowed down(and I mean in a humble way),to the non-Western world,to allow them to like,"hit back".
The effects of colonialism is far from dissapearing in most of the once colonized European countries of the world. Who in their wright mind allows to 'hit back'? It is unnatural concept thus a false one at that. If one is not satisfied with oneself then such person brings nothing of any real value to the table. Europeans should be proud of their origins as anyone else is (and surely there is much to be proud of) without a shred of thought about how any outsiders would deem that. One does not exist because of another but for oneself. Not really true.You still have this backwardness in much of Eastern Europe.Look at that Pole that died recently. How can one judge an entire culture by actions of one. When actions of one become actions of many then we can see some value in such assessments.
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Post by Anittas on May 3, 2010 6:03:14 GMT -5
Well, Aadmin tries to turn this into a racialist argument (which is not what the article tries to convey).
I think the article pretty much excludes the Scandinavian countries because they are immune to shame. Also, if Western Europeans were so ashamed of themselves, you would think they would not be so racist. You would think that right-wing parties would not have the success they're having.
What the author probably means to say is that the Western European intellectuals are ashamed and are self-critical.
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Post by hellboy87 on May 4, 2010 2:06:27 GMT -5
I think so too anittas.I dont see and feel this I am ashamed of being European/white by Europeans,at all. Especially since most Europeans(I mean whites) are white supremacists(I dont mean the militant type)
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Post by Emperor AAdmin on May 4, 2010 13:14:13 GMT -5
The sheer fact that western states import all those non-white workers fr decades now inside their borders nullifies that these states are racist. If anything they are creating conditions where they will eventually be out-bred by newcomers (compare Turks and Kurds versus Germans in terms of natality). In terms of the ultra-right wing parties becoming powerful it actually appears that EU has a silent consensus that the moment a EU state has a more extreme rightist party in power or close to power that they band together and make moves to take power away from such party. Example Coalition government with Wolfgang Schüssel's People's party en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B6rg_Haider#Coalition_government_with_Wolfgang_Sch.C3.BCssel.27s_People.27s_partyIf most Europeans are white supremacists then they would be governed by such.
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Post by Anittas on May 5, 2010 4:51:51 GMT -5
The political elite made that decission for the people. If we talk about the people, it's a different matter. The goverment may not have a racist agenda, but the culture can still be racist and discriminating.
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Post by Emperor AAdmin on May 5, 2010 11:55:07 GMT -5
The political elite ALWAYS makes that decision for the people (87% follow what others due anyway as bellow video denotes while 80% are easily swayed by media centers).
I do not consider it racist since it may show preferential status towards its own versus outsiders (may they be from another state or continent). People in a remote village will show the same towards its own versus outsiders and why not -- should they expect different if they were outsiders somewhere else.
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Post by Anittas on May 6, 2010 1:12:22 GMT -5
It becomes racism when you decide to discriminate against people living in your country on a regular basis (to show "preferential status" as you put it). Altough the reasons may differ from country to country, the problem remains the same: there is racism in the Western European culture, along with prejudgement.
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Post by Vizier of Oz on May 6, 2010 6:30:43 GMT -5
I agree with Anittas. In a sense, when reading people like Anittas, I start to think that there is hope for Europe.
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Post by Anittas on May 6, 2010 18:06:01 GMT -5
Vizier, you're too kind
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