From Zizek's view he argues friendly politeness between others is excessively more oppressive than up front nastiness. What he states in different words is the horrible situation when you think you are not being oppressed only because you are so completely oppressed you can't bare to face it, subconsciously you've blocked it out
.
True oppression blocks out the ability to recognise the weight barring down on your shoulders. Like a monkey on your back it's not the monkey as such but the feeling that you don't have a monkey on your back that makes you unhappy, you begin to question your default position of being easy come easy go. In essence Zizek is arguing for a platonic version of tolerance in the face of racism. His thinking is it's better to know the true nature of what is occurring than rely on the faint outline of a reflection on a cave wall. In other words it's better to know you are secretly not free than believe that you are free when the big secret is that your aren't, like a chained man in the cave with the door open.
It's obvious 'obscene shared solidarity' is something that has happened consistently in society as a way to relieve stress. It's an upfront way of fully embracing our human state and nature. We are not robots we have prejudices irrational emotions and short comings embedded in our personalities either by genetic or environmental trauma. To completely dis-regard the factors that have shaped us and not be upfront with others hiding behind a veil of false politeness masking repressed racism is wrong. Because the people who are openly racist are not the problem they let their issues and prejudices seep out of them and can't really be helped. It's a problem but a much larger danger arises que Godzilla when people to polite acting as if they are completely without racism. This blocking off the issues makes it manifest in the dark recess of our mind so much faster out of sight completely unaware of the seemingly polite granny until it open them their brutal racism in fully formed juggernaut destroy mode.
Someone may have the audacity to call you a derogatory term to your face but its better than being on the wrong side of a government policy that eliminates a whole ethnic group of society, like the Jews were confronted with during the holocaust. The Nazi's were openly very racist but they weren't racist enough they always kept back they true level of racism in a way that allowed them to harness their hatred and keeping driving the jewish designed Volkswagen. Their prejudice kept stewing, their expressions and outbursts of racism weren't enough for them so they concocted something so terrible like a gas chamber to try and cure themselves of a misguided ideological constipation.
On the other hand at the opposite end of the spectrum Zizek notes that the 'patronising elevation' of the other is to be avoided due to its insincere nature masking a deep disrespect and hatred. His story of the 'native indians' caring for the the land so much that they never destroyed it or any animals is wrong. In really it's a smoke screen to hide behind while corporations pillage the land. You falsely hold something up as unobtainable ideal to make people understand they damage you are doing is not only not so bad its just normal behaviour in comparison to the heaven sent Indians who in reality burned vast tracks of land and hunted animals extinction with spears. Only using hand made spears imagine how much damage they would've done if they had developed guns independently the bastards haha they'd be nothing left for the white man to descrate.
Zizek's view opposes open racism but what he is really trying to get at can be summed by two types of people described in a forgotten film I watched. The first are 'bottlers' the second are people 'who don't bottle'. Bottlers do not get angry abusive or aggressive when confronted with abuse they take all horribleness one experiences in the world and bottles it up inside them. People without bottles instead can get very angry, aggressive and dish out abuse when other human beings annoy them. The problem arises not for people who don't bottle for those that do for bottlers will inevitable in the long run crack up under the immense levels of hatred inside their coke bottle of emotion and let the dragon out of the box by flipping and going on a shooting rampage killing everyone indiscriminately .
Better to exercise a normal amount of racism, prejudice and abuse towards others when faced by it than act political correct because inevitable bottling everything up is gonna make blow your top!
No comments:
Post a Comment