Will we ever be able to think of Hannah Arendt in the same way again? Two new and damning critiques, one of Arendt and one of her longtime Nazi-sycophant lover, the philosopher Martin Heidegger, were published within 10 days of each other last month. The pieces cast further doubt on the overinflated, underexamined reputations of both figures and shed new light on their intellectually toxic relationship.
My hope is that these revelations will encourage a further discrediting of the most overused, misused, abused pseudo-intellectual phrase in our language: the banality of evil. The banality of the banality of evil, the fatuousness of it, has long been fathomless, but perhaps now it will be consigned to the realm of the deceitful and disingenuous as well.
The first of the two new reports—and the one most overlooked here in America, perhaps because it's not online—appeared in the sober pages of London's Times Literary Supplement on Oct. 9. It was titled "Blame the Victim—Hannah Arendt Among the Nazis: the Historian and Her Sources." Arendt—the German-born refugee intellectual, author of the influential The Origins of Totalitarianism and the controversial Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil—has come under fire before for "blaming the victim" in her Eichmann trial book, but the author of the TLS piece, the distinguished British scholar Bernard Wasserstein, breaks new ground here with material I found shocking.
In a long, carefully documented essay, Wasserstein (who's now at the University of Chicago), cites Arendt's scandalous use of quotes from anti-Semitic and Nazi "authorities" on Jews in her Totalitarianism book.
Wasserstein concludes that her use of these sources was "more than a methodological error: it was symptomatic of a perverse world-view contaminated by over-exposure to the discourse of collective contempt and stigmatization that formed the object of her study"—that object being anti-Semitism. In other words, he contends, Arendt internalized the values of the anti-Semitic literature she read in her study of anti-Semitism, at least to a certain extent. Wasserstein's conjecture will reignite the debate over Arendt's contemptuous remarks on certain Jews who were victims of Hitler in her Eichmann book and in her letters.
Could these revelations help banish the robotic reiteration of the phrase the banality of evil as an explanation for everything bad that human beings do? Arendt may not have intended that the phrase be used this way, but one of its pernicious effects has been to make it seem as though the search for an explanation of the mystery of evil done by "ordinary men" is over. As though by naming it somehow explains it and even solves the problem. It's a phrase that sounds meaningful and lets us off the hook, allows us to avoid facing the difficult question.
It was the banality phrase—and the purported profundity of it in the popular mind—that elevated Arendt above the ranks of her fellow exile intellectuals in America and made her a proto-Sontag figure, a cerebral star of sorts and a revered icon in cultural-studies departments throughout America. It was the phrase that launched a thousand theses.
To my mind, the use of the phrase banality of evil is an almost infallible sign of shallow thinkers attempting to seem intellectually sophisticated. Come on, people: It's a bankrupt phrase, a subprime phrase, a Dr. Phil-level phrase masquerading as a profound contrarianism. Oooh, so daring! Evil comes not only in the form of mustache-twirling Snidely Whiplash types, but in the form of paper pushers who followed evil orders. And when applied—as she originally did to Adolf Eichmann, Hitler's eager executioner, responsible for the logistics of the Final Solution—the phrase was utterly fraudulent.
(much more at link)Will we ever be able to think of Hannah Arendt in the same way again? Two new and... more
Incredible footage from inside the secret training camp of Neo-Nazi skinheads who claim they’re preparing for a war against immigrants.
From Russia with hate is an uncompromising documentary that delves deep into the Neo-Nazi culture that has developed in Russia. It explores the feelings of hatred and acts of severe violence that are being carried out against immigrants and foreigners. Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel infiltrates the training camps of the skinhead gangs that lead the attacks and speaks directly to the victims. From Russia with hate is an extreme and provocative Vanguard documentary.
From Russia with Hate, Monday 2nd November at 10pm, Sky 183 and Virgin 155Incredible footage from inside the secret training camp of Neo-Nazi skinheads who... more
In an Op-Ed column for the New York Times contributor Antony Beevor discusses recent speculation, by American researchers, that the jaw supposedly belonging to Hitler was actually that of a young woman.In an Op-Ed column for the New York Times contributor Antony Beevor discusses recent... more
The White Rose was led by 19-year old Sophie Scholl, a student at the University of Munich. During the height of WW2 Sophie and her friends pamphleted Munich and other cities denouncing Hitler and Nazism. They called for the end of Nazism and told the German people of the horrific crimes that the Nazis were commiting. Arrested by the Gestapo, Sophie Scholl and several other White Rose members were tried and executed in a repellent show trial. Mrs. Suzanne Zeller-Hirzel was sentenced to 6-months in prison.
Mrs. Zeller-Hirzel is now 89-years old. She is an active member of an anti-jihad organization in Germany. Mrs. Zeller-Hirzel is seen as a saint and hero by all lovers of goodness and freedom around the world no matter their political leanings, right or left. Mrs. Zeller-Hirzel sees the fight against jihad, sharia and Islamization as the same fight fought by the White Rose. Mrs. Suzanne Zeller – Hirzel is one of only two survivors of the White Rose Society. She is a member of the Peoples Movement PAX EUROPA” (BPE) that opposes the Islamization of Germany and Europe.
Please give this interview to all of your multiculturalist and post-modernist friends. When they have read the interview ask them this: If the last survivor of the White Rose, Sophie Scholl’s best friend, says that the fight against Islamism is the same as the White Rose’s fight against Nazism how can they condemn you for opposing Sharia and Islamization in the United States or elsewhere?
This interview should be a wake up call to everyone on the political left in the United States who defends Islam but know nothing of it; who condemn those who oppose Sharia and Islamization; and retain their ignorance believing that their ignorance gives them the moral high ground. Multiculturalists must answer to Mrs. Zeller-Hirzel, and embrace Sophie Scholl and people like her wherever they are found.The White Rose was led by 19-year old Sophie Scholl, a student at the University of... more
Huge corporations and foreign nations take a proprietary interest in the government of the United States because they own it. They bought it at the on-going auction called 'K-street' where is sold to the highest bidders the services of Congress, the White House and even the US Supreme Court.Huge corporations and foreign nations take a proprietary interest in the government of... more
Nazis always think they're fighting the Nazis. It's the eternal wisdom of "whoever smelt it dealt it" scaled to address the psychoses of the terrified, gullible, angry, armed, hate-prone demographic.
[...much more at the link...]Nazis always think they're fighting the Nazis. It's the eternal wisdom of "whoever... more
A group waving flags adorned with swastikas traded insults with and challenged a crowd of about 250 onlookers from behind yellow wooden barricades manned by police including SWAT members during a midday protest Saturday.
After an hour of loud protesting by white supremacists, who were countered by a silent demonstration, police ended the two downtown rallies at 12:30 p.m.
While a police sniper watched from the roof of the police station, 22 members of white supremacist groups, shouted obscenities and made obscene hand gestures. One man, who had a crew cut and wore a black uniform, told the crowd of onlookers, "Wake up white America!"
"We were out there to denounce the violence," said Belleville resident Jason Bonn, who is a corporal with the National Socialist Movement, a group with a name similar to the Nazi Party of Germany during World War II. Bonn’s group is "fighting for white civil rights."
Around the corner from the shouting protesters on West Washington Street, several dozens participated in a silent counter-rally on South Illinois Street. The Rev. John Curry, of Conqueror’s Christian Center in Belleville organized the counter protest: "Our message is to preach love for all groups, skinheads, KKK, Nazis, all groups. Hate has got to stop. Our message is silent love."
The white supremacist rally was held in response to a Sept. 14 attack on a Belleville West High School bus, where two black students beat a white student. Members of the National Socialist Movement were joined by other pro-white groups and held signs that said, "It was a hate crime."
More @ linkA group waving flags adorned with swastikas traded insults with and challenged a crowd... more
We’ve all seen those cheesy Jim Breuer “JACKPOT!” commercials, and probably have all thought times were tough for him. Turns out, he just really likes Pizza Hut. Watch as he tries to take a bite of a slice after each take only to have the pizza nazi crush his dreams.We’ve all seen those cheesy Jim Breuer “JACKPOT!” commercials, and probably have... more
The GOP has either allied themselves with the bigot-based 'tea bagger' movement or it is the instigator of it. Just when I had come to believe that the GOP could not possibly sink lower, it is now clear to me that this endemically bigoted party is positioned to exceed all previous lies, idiocy and hate talk spewed on that party's behalf by Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and a legion of venom filled wannabes. Indeed, the GOP --apres Bush --is a deluge, a jack-booted army of right wing hate mongers.The GOP has either allied themselves with the bigot-based 'tea bagger' movement or it... more
What Matters Is What Putin Says
Marcin Wojciechowski
2009-08-24, ostatnia aktualizacja 2009-08-24 08:11
From the Secrets of Secret Protocols, a 45-minute film about the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact is all the rage on Russian state TV and the country's web portals. To call it a propaganda piece would be putting things mildly.
Vyacheslav Nikonov, a renowned sociologist and grandson of Vyacheslav Molotov, argues in the film that the Soviet Union was not acting aggressively towards Central and Eastern Europe in the late 1930s. Those claiming so 'extrapolate from the post-war situation,' and therefore 'think ahistorically.'
The film also mentions, quoting pre-war documents from the Polish intelligence, that the Ukrainian nationalist movement leaders met in Galicia in the 1930s with German intelligence officers. This is a well-known fact, but while getting at the Poles one can also give the Ukrainians a poke. This cocktail suggests that the film must have had many authors, more, in any case, than are mentioned in the final credits.
What is the film's purpose? Probably to unnerve us. To provoke Polish politicians, for instance those close to the president, or Lech Kaczyński himself, to make some sharp comment about Russia. Aggressive words from the someone high up in the Polish government would be a perfect pretext for cancelling president Vladimir Putin's planned visit on Westerplatte, Gdańsk, on 1 September.
Perhaps the point is only to cause an uproar in the Polish press. To provoke angry comments from scandalised commentators and calls for the government to react sharply, which can always be sold to the public in Russia as proof of the Poles' inborn Russophobia.
It is worth remembering that this is just a TV film. Produced and broadcast by the state TV, but not an official position of the Russian government. So there is no reason to react too sharply. Let historians and press commentators speak. Let Sławomir Dębski, director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs, whose comments have been obviously manipulated in the Russian film, speak. But the president, the ministers, and the political parties should keep their cool.
Russia's official position on the outbreak of World War II and perhaps also the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact will be presented on 1 September by Vladimir Putin. It may prove milder than the primitive television propaganda for the ordinary mortals. But it cannot be ruled out that Mr Putin will reiterate the film's theses. This would be unpleasant for us but would really bear testimony about Russia. Not only in the eyes of the Poles but also the world, such as chancellor Angela Merkel. Western intellectuals, historians, politicians would see with their own eyes how Russia is trying to distort history. How it is unable to confront its Stalinist past even though 56 years have passed since the tyrant's death. It is Russia that will shoot herself in the foot if its leaders start repeating the film's arguments about the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact. As for us, we shouldn't allow ourselves to be provoked by those who are defending the Stalinist vision of Russia's history as if their life depended on it.
Translated by Marcin Wawrzyńczak
Źródło: Gazeta WyborczaWhat Matters Is What Putin Says
Marcin Wojciechowski
2009-08-24, ostatnia... more
In his weekly roundup of the crazy world of 24-hour media madness, Conor Knighton looks at Miley Cyrus' controversial dancing on this year's Teen Choice Awards. This week he also looks at a shark attack survivor on 'Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader,' people's attempts to score some cash on 'Shark Tank,' neighbors fighting on 'There Goes the Neighborhood,' networks' reluctance to call gay things gay, Kathie Griffin's love for Levi Johnston, sex in Egypt, the overly-Botoxed emotionally-devoid faces of 'Addicted to Beauty,' and Glenn Beck's Nazi-filled discussion of health care.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, Bryan Safi and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at http://current.com/infomania/ or on Current TV. And make sure to check out our facebook profile for special features at http://infomaniafacebook.com.In his weekly roundup of the crazy world of 24-hour media madness, Conor Knighton... more
This week on infoMania the health care debate takes an unhealthy turn, we show you how to bone like an Egyptian, that bump in your belly may be a baby, Ben sits down with Kato Kaelin, and Sarah looks at commercials a whole new way now that she's thirty.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, Bryan Safi and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at http://current.com/infomania/ or on Current TV. And make sure to check out our facebook profile for special features at http://infomaniafacebook.com.This week on infoMania the health care debate takes an unhealthy turn, we show you how... more
Megan Fox recently put out a PSA against bullying, but promoting being yourself: ie killing and eating the boys at school. Mario and Hannah weigh in on if this is considered bullying, and how Inglourious Basterds should make us feel about killing Nazis.Megan Fox recently put out a PSA against bullying, but promoting being yourself: ie... more
"WASHINGTON -- The FBI and police were investigating after a swastika was painted outside Rep. David Scott's district office in Georgia, an act the suburban Atlanta Democrat said reflects an increasingly hateful and racist debate over health care and should remind people to tone down their rhetoric.
Scott's staff arrived at his Smyrna, Ga., office Tuesday morning to find the Nazi graffiti emblazoned on a sign bearing the lawmaker's name. The vandalism occurred roughly a week after Scott was involved in a confrontational argument over health care at a community meeting.
Scott, who is black, said he also has received mail in recent days that used N-word references to him, and that characterized President Barack Obama as a Marxist."
Is this 2009 or 1969?"WASHINGTON -- The FBI and police were investigating after a swastika was painted... more
Rush Limbaugh:
I think it might be helpful to keep a list of all the things we are according to the president of the United States and his gang, the State-Controlled Media and all of his other cronies.
Now what are the similarities between the Democrat Party of today and the Nazi party in Germany? Well, the Nazis were against big business. They hated big business and, of course, we all know that they were opposed to Jewish capitalism. They were insanely, irrationally against pollution. They were for two years mandatory voluntary service to Germany. They had a whole bunch of make-work projects to keep people working one of which was the Autobahn.
They accuse us of being Nazis and Obama's got a health care logo that's right out of Adolf Hitler's playbook. [Editor's comment: I posted the logo and I can't see the similarity]
They were against cruelty and vivisection of animals but in the radical sense of devaluing human life, they banned smoking. They were totally against that. They were for abortion and euthanasia of the undesirables as we all know and they were for cradle-to-grave nationalized health care. I have always bristled when I hear people claim that conservatism gets close to Naziism. It is liberalism that's the closest you can get to Naziism and socialism. It's all bundled up under the socialist banner. There are far more similarities between Nancy Pelosi and Adolf Hitler than between these people showing up at town halls to protest a Hitler-like policy that's being heralded by a Hitler-like logo.
Well, I feel sorry for this guy and especially for his listeners.Rush Limbaugh:
I think it might be helpful to keep a list of all the things we are... more
Using Nazi analogies to criticise Israel and Zionism is offensive, but should it be banned, criminalised or branded as antisemitic?
The authors of a new report, Understanding and Addressing the "Nazi Card": Intervening Against Antisemitic Discourse, from the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (EISCA), take a different line. The chairman of EISCA is Denis MacShane, and the report carries a strong endorsement from Shahid Malik, minister for communities and local government, the government department that gave a £20,000 grant to EISCA to produce the report.Using Nazi analogies to criticise Israel and Zionism is offensive, but should it be... more
The Zionist propaganda rule #1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and (I think) #76 to deflect criticism, evoke Hitler and the Holocaust. More proof that their public relations efforts are flailing wildly out of control.
****
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has ordered diplomats to use an old photograph of a former Palestinian religious leader meeting Adolf Hitler to counter world criticism of a Jewish building plan for East Jerusalem.
One official said Lieberman, an ultranationalist, hoped the photo would "embarrass" Western countries into ceasing to demand that Israel halt the project on land owned by the mufti's family in a predominantly Arab neighbourhood in East Jerusalem.
Asked why Lieberman issued the order, a spokesman said: "because it's important for the world to know the facts" and would not elaborate.The Zionist propaganda rule #1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and (I think) #76 to deflect criticism,... more
Once again, as in Denver when they fenced and herded protesters into a "protest area" (more like a prison yard), police attempted to fence off black protesters in Paris Texas, USA. But the protesters would have none of it. Apparently they had some crazy notion about freedom of assembly.
They protested the dragging of Brandon McClelland under a pickup truck. I guess it's gets pretty boring for Paris Texas skinheads who don't have enough guts to join the genocide in Afghanistan. Someone might shoot back.
"We're going to be boxed in?" said protest leader Jimmy Blackwell of the Tarrant County Local Organizing Committee. "No, we're not your slaves!" They were met by opposing skinhead neo-Nazis.
Thomas Jefferson said, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." Apparently the black protesters are the most patriotic of people, having braved possible retributions in defying police authority, while the skinhead pro-torturers would be little more than traitors, if you give any weight to what Thomas Jefferson has to say.Once again, as in Denver when they fenced and herded protesters into a "protest area"... more
On July 27th, an explosion is heard in the neighborhood of the small dessert town of Yermo, California. After the fire was put out, fire fighters found the chard remains of Ali Mohammed, a 51 year old Muslim leader well known in the San Bernardino and High dessert communities. Days before, Mohammed came home to find racial hateful graffiti inside his home. Mohammed leaves behind a wife and seven children. His eldest son recounts the days of his fathers death. Investigators say that it will be weeks for them to find the perpetrators and their true motives behind the crime.On July 27th, an explosion is heard in the neighborhood of the small dessert town of... more
