Try to avoid garish and crude American trash mags if you can; fact is, you can't. We can't escape the horrible display of the exploitation of the murder of little JonBenet Ramsey. Since the spotlight has shined on an alleged killer, this story is impossible to avoid. It's everywhere. The question that comes to mind is; Why?
The child was murdered. The same media that serve to sexualize children, to exploit them, are all agog now over the arrest of her alleged killer. But it is not JonBenet Ramsey they are concerned with. It is the murder of, as they say, the little "beauty queen". The real JonBenet was a little girl with all the same attributes of any. Naturally, she went along with the attention and the demands that she performed for the adults around her. She naturally and innocently found direction from the adults in her world. She had no way of knowing that she was being shamelessly exploited as a child sex object. Underneath all the grotesque tack, she was a real child who trusted the adults around her. Erase the tack, the paint and make-up, and we would naturally find a wonderful little girl.
We can't blame everything on capitalism; not everything. But the exploitation of JonBenet Ramsey as well as the exploitation of her murder is married to capitalism. More generally, we can blame the cult of personality, the worship of tacky idols, and the drive to turn children into plastic people and to sexualize them for a buck. How capitalism owns the blame may not be as straighforward as we may think. It may be a little deeper, a little more complex, than the simple drive to make money.
The Alienated Identity
It's a fairly safe assumption to suggest that the child would have grown, had she not been murdered, to learn to value herself as a commodity.
To make the point, let's consider two opposing social poles. First, let's consider small hunter gatherer societies. We can also think of family, local community, or any intimate social grouping. In hunter-gatherer societies, human beings are valued for their intrinsic humanness. There may be small pecking orders of authority and so on, but even individuals that provide little or no product or services maintain value simply for being who they are. Just 'being' is qualification enough to be valued. The same is true of families. Babys and the old are given loving care and attention with no expectation of reciprocity. Human nature on its own is truly an honourable and compassionate phenomena.
On the other end of that spectrum is capitalism.
How humans are valued within the world of capitalist culture is rooted in the process of developing capital. From the get-go, all participants and processes are mere means to the end, which is profit. And in the process, humans learn to value only that which contributes to the acquisition of money.
If we consider money itself, we may notice that it is without any tangible value. Its value is completely abstract. It has only exchange value and no use value. It is of the world of phantoms and illusions. It is not part of the tangible world of things and people.
The relationship between money and identity and status is complex and it begins in the process of the manufacture of commodities. As commodities themselves are valued within this context for their potential to make profit - money, so too is the worker him or herself valued and commodified for exactly the same reason. To the extent that we accept this identity, we become alienated from ourselves. We also become alienated from other people and from the tangible world of things, family, and community.
The aspect of the individual that is 'worker' is constrained, owned, exploited, and enslaved. But it is through this psychological construct that the human individual is most valued. He or she may or may not have a good credit rating, or a lot of money, or be poor. The difference has perhaps the greatest impact on who we are, how we get along, and especially, how we are valued in capitalist society. The worker has no choice but to sell his or her labour and time to an owner who has immense control over the workers life.
Beyond that, the individual accepts and owns this key aspect as a defining characteristic of who he or she is. The worker is a cop, a plummer, a teacher, or a lawyer. It has tremendous impact on the identity of the individual. Aside from mere psychological affect, the role of the worker and his or her status in capitalist society has more tangible aspects. That is, depending on how much we make will mean whether we can do things and have things - or not. To be with money in capitalist society means that we are secure, free, and valued. People treat us well if we have money and display status symbols such as jewelry and expensive cars. On the other hand, if we are without it, the state will demand to know the intimate details of our lives and demand to know them in order to grant subsistence for ourselves and our children. There is no freedom for people that must rely on the dole in capitalist society. Poverty in modern capitalist society is brutal.
There is a price we must pay for status; for buying into the face and role that capitalism has provided for us. That price is alienation.
Like the ethereal phantom that money is, so is the identity that emanates from it. It is alienated from the world of human emotion, compassion, and human value. This identity is at odds with human value and will act in the interests of profit to the point actually harming or murdering people to that end. Unfortunately, there is no need to point out examples. We see them every day.
The Rich
Workers strive, in many cases, to shed worker identities and to get real. Look behind the scenes in any workplace and you will see the phony face of 'thank you ma'am' and 'can I take your order' replaced with swearing, comical antics, and human revelry. It is an alien and imposed facade and imposed by a force that is explicitly in control and demanding. It isn't much wonder workers resent it.
But then there is little JonBenet Ramsey.
JonBenet was being fitted with the workers cloak before she could read. She was to be exploited like a sideshow clown.
But there is a big difference. The clown suit and face paint was never to come off. It was aimed at actually becoming her. JonBenet would eventually contort her desires, habits, and behaviour, to meet the most unnatural of standards. Her future was to actually become that beauty queen. As a female in that world, she would eventually be a coveted prize that rich men would bid for so they could have a status symbol with them at dinner parties. She would become a human Porche or Rolex watch. The plastic smile that was being carved into her face would have to stay, no matter how torn up, confused, and alienated she actually felt inside.
From that, she would find no escape. There would be no back room antics where she could let her hair down. She would eventually assimilate the characture into who she actually is. And like all rich people, she would learn to value others based soley on their status and wealth.
She would find, in this world, the strange irony of having the freedom to buy and own what she wants and at the same time, experience no freedom at all. Trapped she would have been in a world of vulgar values, overt pretense, and deceit. Strange it is that this is coveted by workers and non workers in the very human world of the lower classes. Stranger still is the desire for working classes to clamour for details of the hidden lives of these human aberrations. Perhaps it is the betrayal of the of the mirage of the gods of capitalism that sells. The media fascination of the rich has much to do with the fact that media is owned by them. But there is also the appetite within the lower classes to see them, to be close to them, and the desire to become one of them.
The rich are living embodiments of that strangest of all commodities; money. Their personalities and their grotesque facades are just as ethereal and paradoxically, as powerful, as money.
If we are proletariat, we may think the wealthy classes are rife with happy inhabitants. After all, they are rich. But then, when we read those contemptible rags, filled to the brim with stories about Donald Trump, Michael Jackson, or any rich person that they uncover, it doesn't look so un-human or plastic. In reality, they are all exactly the same as the rest of us. Their human-ness will never go away; try as they may. They will be lonely, they feel pain, and they will all die. Reality is inescapable. And for those that aim to distance themselves from reality, we may assume that their lives are marked with tremendous suffering. Their foe (reality) never loses and it always wins.
And in reality this little girl was murdered. Not a beauty queen. And it is likely her vulgar sexualized and imposed facade had something to do with it. In reality, some monster thought he was killing a beauty queen. But he killed an innocent little girl.
This blog is an archive of articles I've published in MWC News, Indymedia, and on Newsgroups.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Bold Proclamations of Lebensraum
The utterances of Coni Rice and Tony Blair since the Israeli slaughter in Lebanon began are nothing short of alarming. What is also alarming is the muted response. State functionaries the world over appear to have barely noticed. The myriad of political wizards residing in popular media have also seemed to pass off these comments as if they are irrelevant. Are they really that blind and stupid?
No modern state since the Nazis in Germany has expressed intent to take over the world. America's intent to do so has been expressed in deed since 9-11 and recently, it has been expressed explicitly in word.
Rice stated that the map of the Middle East is to be re-drawn; that these are the birth pangs of a new Middle East. She said, "This is a different Middle East. It's a new Middle East. It's hard. We're going through a very violent time." She has explicitly stated that they will give birth to a new Middle East. She implies a Middle East fashioned in the likeness of occidental mores and values.
Blair's utterances are no less alarming. He makes the following grand proclamation in a speech to The World Affairs Council in Los Angeles on August 1st: "We are fighting a war, but not just against terrorism but about how the world should govern itself in the early 21st century, about global values." Please take a moment and consider what that languages suggests; the mentality it reflects. He actually said that he; the infamous American poodle, and his master are at war with Middle Eastern values. This mentality is the mentality of genocide, of lebensraum.
Blair wants us to swallow the lie that it is a certain interpretation of Islam that causes extremism. But if we look at it, we will see that it isn't Islam at all that is the genesis of violence in the Middle East. It is always rooted in foreign (read European and American) meddling in a place where they really have no business whatsoever. Blair has also said that they need to wage war against extremism as he presides, alongside Bush, over the World Order that intends to dominate and control foreign lands through the use of terror, concentration camps, and mass slaughter. Hezbollah, for instance, is a reaction against their aggression. It is very important that we, those of us that live under the relatively safe umbrella of American hegemony, understand that.
In 1938 - 39 the same kind of bizarre and psychotic speech was ignored.
Undoubtedly, the worst feature of Nazi Germany's reign of terror on the world had been their indiscriminate mass murder of civilians in order to terrorize, cower, and take over other nations and other parts of the world. They had to crush people that would be naturally opposed to their ideological bent and their designs on securing power. The Nazis were imperialists of the worst kind.
And undoubtedly, the worst feature of modern America is its reign of terror on the world and their indiscriminate mass murder of civilians in order to terrorize, cower, and take over other nations and other parts of the world.
Clearly, there is an agenda, a conspiracy, a plan, to dominate the world militarily, politically, and economically.
Psych-ops
We have entered a time that is similar in many respects to the onset of Germany's foray to dominate the world militarily. The question on everybody's mind is; who will be next? The events play out and as they do expectations gradually change. Disbelief that had been psychologically suspended turns to the realization that we are entering a time of unrestrained war and terror.
Through the process, we become ever more jaded. Reports of concentration camps and extraordinary rendition are given a collective ho-hum by media commentators, law makers, and by much of the population. Reports of carnage and massacres are commonplace. The atrocities in Lebanon have shocked the world and again, this will redefine normalcy.
But this is not 1939 and America is not Nazi Germany. What the future holds remains to be seen. But judging by what is being said and what has already occurred, its a pretty safe assumption to suggest that in many respects, much of what the Nazis did will be repeated; is being repeated. There is one large difference however. Hitler was up against equally powerful and ruthless states and it was the Soviet Union that done him in. Today, the maniacs are not facing Stalin, Churchill, or Roosevelt. They are facing Iran, Syria, and North Korea. In other words, they can act with impunity. And act with impunity they do. Even media commentators are hard pressed to take a stand against this global war for oil. Consider the statements made by Rice and Blair. They are statements that are nothing short of bizarre and still they are swallowed, tacitly supported, and tucked neatly away in the collective consciousness; again, serving to change the context of normalcy.
America is not a fascist state, it is a democratic state. Bush is not the maniac Adolph Hitler was. There are substantial differences, not least of which is the observation that Nazi Germany depended on the charisma and personal power of one mad man. What is happening in the world today is far more predictable and systemic. We can't blame Bush. What is happening today is practically written into the script of history. If Bush wasn't at the helm, this all may have waited a few more years, but it would occur nonetheless. Bush is simply an imperialist on speed and 9-11 provided the green light for plans that had already been in the works.
What is in the works is the American state is manifesting the full and fiercest expression of capitalism; imperialism. It had to come; eventually. It's here.
For many of those that have been brought up believing in Superman and the Justice League of America, in liberalism, and in freedom and democracy American style, world events must seem quite bewildering. Each new day the mind must rationalize a new atrocity, a new ugly face on the once kind and benevolent Uncle Sam. As the mind stretches under the strain of cognitive dissonance, it will snap; one way or another. You will either accept the new America or you will become enraged and defiant. If you have a choice, may I recommend the latter. The former will leave you a bitter savage and eventually, you, yourself, may have blood on your hands.
Accepting the imperialist designs on global conquest brings contemporary events into the light of day. The more naive views, the views that have been touted by spin doctors may result in tremendous confusion and bewilderment The spin, this pablum that has been provided by the imperialist state aims to allow the truth to slowly sink in. It is propaganda and it is psych-ops. The sudden truth would be too much a shock to the system.
Like the frog that is dropped in boiling water, the violence to the system is too violent and reactive. But like the frog that sits in water that is slowly heated to the boiling point, it doesn't notice the change and slowly dies without a struggle. The same thing is happening to innocent naivete.
Control of the Middle East
The need to control petro-dollars require world capitalism to take control of the Middle East. On a more strategic and political level, the Middle East is not only ground zero in terms of oil wealth, it is also strategically placed centrally, on the doorsteps of Asia, Europe, and Africa.
In the short term, America intends to extend its footlhold into Lebanon; though it will not succeed. The Americans will not accept UN resolutions for peace that are short of the de-clawing of Hezbollah. So far, they have succeeded in removing Syrian influence in Lebanon to a large degree. They are hoping that the present obscene slaughter will result in America gaining de-facto control of Lebanon; control through proxies such as UN bodies, the Lebanese government, and the Lebanese army. In a greater regional conflict the last thing they need is a force like Hezbollah ready and willing to open a front on Israel, a nation they have come to depend upon to secure control of the Middle East.
Iran and Syria find themselves alone on the level of governors of Middle Eastern states. But the Muslim street is with Iran and Syria and vehemently against the dictatorial heads of state in the rest of the Middle East. So much for the myth of democracy. America will not tolerate democracy in any shape or form in the Muslim world. Hezbollah, a popular entity in Lebanon, is in the process of being made impotent. It is precisely what the American State will not tolerate; an expression of the local population. The people of Lebanon and the Palestinians in Gaza are being collectively punished for voting contrary to America's wishes.
The Americans aim to take control of the Lebanese army. A clever strategic move if they can pull it off. But they won't. In their insane massianic glee they barely touch reality. They may install a NATO/UN force in southern Lebanon but if they do, pray that neither you or anybody you are attached to is on the job. They will be attacked by people that are defending themselves; by people that don't accept control by foreigners. And those people that are defending themselves will be, predictably, called terrorists. Like the Nazis, American foreign policy is deeply rooted in utter and complete idiocy. That, more than anything else, is their own worst enemy.
They will also re-draw the map of Iraq. They have already ripened conditions for it by ushering in civil war. Iraq will be split in three; a nation for the Sunnis, a nations for the Shi'ites, and to Turkish chagrin, a Kurdish nation. The grand plan will require the domination of the bulk of Shi'ite regions, including Iran. It is they that live on the seas of oil. There are jobs opening up for dictators in the Middle East. It's an extremely dangerous position where you don't even know if your boss will kill you, but it comes with benefits.
Our Responsibility
It is our responsibility to demand peace, to fight imperialism, and even to put an end to it. For now, let us concentrate on peace. People have started to hit the streets again to demand the end of war. We can't comfort ourselves in the notion that we can't make any difference. People are being murdered - today.
It's crucial that we notice each and every atrocity and that we notice it when the likes of Blair and Rice make Nazi-like speeches about taking over the whole Middle East. It's important that we stay awake and not allow ourselves to be jaded to the point where we accept the wholesale slaughter of civilians and allow it to be justified with the flimsiest reasoning. They are intentionally deploying psych-ops through mass media and through their actions and pronouncements. And to some extent, it is working. It's hard to continue to be outraged when atrocities occur repeatedly, every week, every month, every year.
Isn't it strange how alarmed we may be when we hear of a serial killer on the loose but at the same time, state madmen are slaughtering people by the thousands and we treat as if it's just 'the news'. The horrors happening today are very real.
But remember, today, in Lebanon, in Iraq, and in Afghanistan, there are people living in the depths of hell and if you ignore it, you are no different than the coward walking by a victim being raped or murdered and doing nothing. Doing so makes you a coward in the house of imperialist hegemony, no different than those Germans that turned their faces away at the slaughter of Jews.
Think about that before you slip into sleep tonight. And think about the women and children in Lebanon and Iraq and Afghanistan that can't sleep at all.
No modern state since the Nazis in Germany has expressed intent to take over the world. America's intent to do so has been expressed in deed since 9-11 and recently, it has been expressed explicitly in word.
Rice stated that the map of the Middle East is to be re-drawn; that these are the birth pangs of a new Middle East. She said, "This is a different Middle East. It's a new Middle East. It's hard. We're going through a very violent time." She has explicitly stated that they will give birth to a new Middle East. She implies a Middle East fashioned in the likeness of occidental mores and values.
Blair's utterances are no less alarming. He makes the following grand proclamation in a speech to The World Affairs Council in Los Angeles on August 1st: "We are fighting a war, but not just against terrorism but about how the world should govern itself in the early 21st century, about global values." Please take a moment and consider what that languages suggests; the mentality it reflects. He actually said that he; the infamous American poodle, and his master are at war with Middle Eastern values. This mentality is the mentality of genocide, of lebensraum.
Blair wants us to swallow the lie that it is a certain interpretation of Islam that causes extremism. But if we look at it, we will see that it isn't Islam at all that is the genesis of violence in the Middle East. It is always rooted in foreign (read European and American) meddling in a place where they really have no business whatsoever. Blair has also said that they need to wage war against extremism as he presides, alongside Bush, over the World Order that intends to dominate and control foreign lands through the use of terror, concentration camps, and mass slaughter. Hezbollah, for instance, is a reaction against their aggression. It is very important that we, those of us that live under the relatively safe umbrella of American hegemony, understand that.
In 1938 - 39 the same kind of bizarre and psychotic speech was ignored.
Undoubtedly, the worst feature of Nazi Germany's reign of terror on the world had been their indiscriminate mass murder of civilians in order to terrorize, cower, and take over other nations and other parts of the world. They had to crush people that would be naturally opposed to their ideological bent and their designs on securing power. The Nazis were imperialists of the worst kind.
And undoubtedly, the worst feature of modern America is its reign of terror on the world and their indiscriminate mass murder of civilians in order to terrorize, cower, and take over other nations and other parts of the world.
Clearly, there is an agenda, a conspiracy, a plan, to dominate the world militarily, politically, and economically.
Psych-ops
We have entered a time that is similar in many respects to the onset of Germany's foray to dominate the world militarily. The question on everybody's mind is; who will be next? The events play out and as they do expectations gradually change. Disbelief that had been psychologically suspended turns to the realization that we are entering a time of unrestrained war and terror.
Through the process, we become ever more jaded. Reports of concentration camps and extraordinary rendition are given a collective ho-hum by media commentators, law makers, and by much of the population. Reports of carnage and massacres are commonplace. The atrocities in Lebanon have shocked the world and again, this will redefine normalcy.
But this is not 1939 and America is not Nazi Germany. What the future holds remains to be seen. But judging by what is being said and what has already occurred, its a pretty safe assumption to suggest that in many respects, much of what the Nazis did will be repeated; is being repeated. There is one large difference however. Hitler was up against equally powerful and ruthless states and it was the Soviet Union that done him in. Today, the maniacs are not facing Stalin, Churchill, or Roosevelt. They are facing Iran, Syria, and North Korea. In other words, they can act with impunity. And act with impunity they do. Even media commentators are hard pressed to take a stand against this global war for oil. Consider the statements made by Rice and Blair. They are statements that are nothing short of bizarre and still they are swallowed, tacitly supported, and tucked neatly away in the collective consciousness; again, serving to change the context of normalcy.
America is not a fascist state, it is a democratic state. Bush is not the maniac Adolph Hitler was. There are substantial differences, not least of which is the observation that Nazi Germany depended on the charisma and personal power of one mad man. What is happening in the world today is far more predictable and systemic. We can't blame Bush. What is happening today is practically written into the script of history. If Bush wasn't at the helm, this all may have waited a few more years, but it would occur nonetheless. Bush is simply an imperialist on speed and 9-11 provided the green light for plans that had already been in the works.
What is in the works is the American state is manifesting the full and fiercest expression of capitalism; imperialism. It had to come; eventually. It's here.
For many of those that have been brought up believing in Superman and the Justice League of America, in liberalism, and in freedom and democracy American style, world events must seem quite bewildering. Each new day the mind must rationalize a new atrocity, a new ugly face on the once kind and benevolent Uncle Sam. As the mind stretches under the strain of cognitive dissonance, it will snap; one way or another. You will either accept the new America or you will become enraged and defiant. If you have a choice, may I recommend the latter. The former will leave you a bitter savage and eventually, you, yourself, may have blood on your hands.
Accepting the imperialist designs on global conquest brings contemporary events into the light of day. The more naive views, the views that have been touted by spin doctors may result in tremendous confusion and bewilderment The spin, this pablum that has been provided by the imperialist state aims to allow the truth to slowly sink in. It is propaganda and it is psych-ops. The sudden truth would be too much a shock to the system.
Like the frog that is dropped in boiling water, the violence to the system is too violent and reactive. But like the frog that sits in water that is slowly heated to the boiling point, it doesn't notice the change and slowly dies without a struggle. The same thing is happening to innocent naivete.
Control of the Middle East
The need to control petro-dollars require world capitalism to take control of the Middle East. On a more strategic and political level, the Middle East is not only ground zero in terms of oil wealth, it is also strategically placed centrally, on the doorsteps of Asia, Europe, and Africa.
In the short term, America intends to extend its footlhold into Lebanon; though it will not succeed. The Americans will not accept UN resolutions for peace that are short of the de-clawing of Hezbollah. So far, they have succeeded in removing Syrian influence in Lebanon to a large degree. They are hoping that the present obscene slaughter will result in America gaining de-facto control of Lebanon; control through proxies such as UN bodies, the Lebanese government, and the Lebanese army. In a greater regional conflict the last thing they need is a force like Hezbollah ready and willing to open a front on Israel, a nation they have come to depend upon to secure control of the Middle East.
Iran and Syria find themselves alone on the level of governors of Middle Eastern states. But the Muslim street is with Iran and Syria and vehemently against the dictatorial heads of state in the rest of the Middle East. So much for the myth of democracy. America will not tolerate democracy in any shape or form in the Muslim world. Hezbollah, a popular entity in Lebanon, is in the process of being made impotent. It is precisely what the American State will not tolerate; an expression of the local population. The people of Lebanon and the Palestinians in Gaza are being collectively punished for voting contrary to America's wishes.
The Americans aim to take control of the Lebanese army. A clever strategic move if they can pull it off. But they won't. In their insane massianic glee they barely touch reality. They may install a NATO/UN force in southern Lebanon but if they do, pray that neither you or anybody you are attached to is on the job. They will be attacked by people that are defending themselves; by people that don't accept control by foreigners. And those people that are defending themselves will be, predictably, called terrorists. Like the Nazis, American foreign policy is deeply rooted in utter and complete idiocy. That, more than anything else, is their own worst enemy.
They will also re-draw the map of Iraq. They have already ripened conditions for it by ushering in civil war. Iraq will be split in three; a nation for the Sunnis, a nations for the Shi'ites, and to Turkish chagrin, a Kurdish nation. The grand plan will require the domination of the bulk of Shi'ite regions, including Iran. It is they that live on the seas of oil. There are jobs opening up for dictators in the Middle East. It's an extremely dangerous position where you don't even know if your boss will kill you, but it comes with benefits.
Our Responsibility
It is our responsibility to demand peace, to fight imperialism, and even to put an end to it. For now, let us concentrate on peace. People have started to hit the streets again to demand the end of war. We can't comfort ourselves in the notion that we can't make any difference. People are being murdered - today.
It's crucial that we notice each and every atrocity and that we notice it when the likes of Blair and Rice make Nazi-like speeches about taking over the whole Middle East. It's important that we stay awake and not allow ourselves to be jaded to the point where we accept the wholesale slaughter of civilians and allow it to be justified with the flimsiest reasoning. They are intentionally deploying psych-ops through mass media and through their actions and pronouncements. And to some extent, it is working. It's hard to continue to be outraged when atrocities occur repeatedly, every week, every month, every year.
Isn't it strange how alarmed we may be when we hear of a serial killer on the loose but at the same time, state madmen are slaughtering people by the thousands and we treat as if it's just 'the news'. The horrors happening today are very real.
But remember, today, in Lebanon, in Iraq, and in Afghanistan, there are people living in the depths of hell and if you ignore it, you are no different than the coward walking by a victim being raped or murdered and doing nothing. Doing so makes you a coward in the house of imperialist hegemony, no different than those Germans that turned their faces away at the slaughter of Jews.
Think about that before you slip into sleep tonight. And think about the women and children in Lebanon and Iraq and Afghanistan that can't sleep at all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)