As I commented earlier in German: Thumbs up! It is not an inappropriate or „disgusting“ action, as some leading German propaganda media put it (and why am I not surprised? After all, this action tackles the hegemonic narrative of the German nation, including sacrifices, heroic death, and, finally, unity). What is really disgusting is that the European public eventually shows some signs of indignation (not compassion) when dozens or hundreds of refugees die in their swimming pool. And they always die by the dozens or in hundreds and thousands. Individuals and their individual tragedies are usually ignored. Drowned refugees never appear as individuals in the media, because masses have it that they are anonymous, and anonymous deaths are easy to digest. Unlike the individual death of those persons who were shot as refugees in Berlin, and who are commemorated by white crosses in the centre of Berlin. And unlike the coverage of prominent individuals like what-the-f-do-I-care-about Renée Zellweger’s dissected face, Michael Schumacher’s skiing accident, or even tax dodging fall guys like Munichs sausage maker and soccer dickhead Uli Hoeneß. I really, really do not want to know all this garbage, but I do. And I don’t know, and most of us don’t, the refugees’ individual tragedy. The only individual story I know is the one of a pregnant African woman and single mother of two kids from Lampedusa, who was hosted for a couple of months by my sister (and by the way, I don’t know anybody else who decided to host a refugee at home). In theory, we all could know more such individual stories - if we were solidary enough, or if the media reported accurately about it. This may sound like the usual media bashing, but in the end, we all literally ARE a medium, and therefore, I think it’s the least I can do: to bash the media and to support this action. Getting closer to individual life stories, which could disseminate solidarity, compassion, and a deeper understanding of real living conditions outside the European wealth bubble, would inevitably involve the dismantling of the European Union’s foreign policy, and the logic of nation state hermetics and borders in general (and it is not enough to criticize the EU; there are other nation-states which have their share in the killings). Obviously, this kind of awareness is not wished, and that’s sick. In that sense, I completely support the action of the Centre for Political Beauty, who transfer at least some dignity to our sisters and brothers who died and keep dying in the Mediterranean. And to all those who dismiss this action as tasteless or disgusting, I either suggest trauma therapy or a trip to Lampedusa. Some of the critics come from family members of the killed refugees from Berlin; and experiences with traumata show that self-identification as a victim leaves little space for granting other persons the same status. But in the end, they will be fine. The removed crosses will be replaced by new ones, and that is good: in a moment of silent commemoration of the murdered victims at the inner German border, we can ask them how they would think of our treatment of present refugees in Europe.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 11:34:14 +0000
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