The new brand of fascism

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President Macron has condemned the defacing of a memorial to the victims of a notorious Nazi massacre in the Limousin. In 1944, SS troops stormed into the village of Oradour-sur-Glane, and killed nearly all of its 642 inhabitants. The men were shot in the legs and then set alight; the women and children were burnt alive in the church. Only a handful of residents survived. Oradour has been preserved as a memorial ever since. Last week, vandals crossed out the word “martyr” on the main entrance sign, and added “menteur” – “liar”.   (The Week, 29 Aug 2020)

My comment:  The rise of extreme right wing know-nothings is not confined to the United States.  It is fueled by social media where you can say the most outrageous, cruel and hurtful things with little or no come-back, prepping impressionable young people with lousy “education” to reject moderation, kindness and decency, the hallmarks both of Epicureanism (and genuine Christianity).  We have to forthrightly fight back against this monstrous trend, used by ruthless politicians and racists to undermine social peace and well-being.

(One of my university tutors was simultaneous translator at the war crimes trial of the people who ordered the Oradour atrocity – I will never forget the tears that welled up in his eyes as he described what he heard.  Too few people are educated on the terrible damage wrought by extreme, violent bullies who deliberately violate historical fact)

An Epicurean Poem ( about peace of mind)

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    Dawn   

A still, warm, and breathless tropical night,

Before the birds awake and fishes stir.

There is no breeze or whisper from the palms,

Only a gunmetal gloom and swish of waves

Gently shifting seaweed on the sand.

I lie on a hammock counting intervals

Between the flashing lights of marker buoys,

And watching the passage of a distant ship,

Lights blurred and blinking in the sea-fog.

As I sit there the dark morphs into misty grey,

And, herald of the day, a lonely fish

Skitters the water beneath the wooden jetty.

Robert Hanrott,  February 2006

The holocaust was not only about Jewish people

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When you read about the Holocaust consideration is mainly given to anti-semitism.  Added is often the information that “millions of others” were also killed. In reality Nazi racism extended to Roma and Sinti people, (Gypsies, as they are otherwise known).  In the former Czechoslovakia 90% of the Roma and Sinti people were murdered, and those left have tried for many years to get reparations, but have been ignored by government officials and museum boards, who seem to assume that the murders were somehow unconnected with the Jewish holocaust.

A letter dated 10 March 1944, signed by Himmler, expressed the goal of genocide against Romani and Jewish people in brutally bureaucratic language.  Roma victims were, like Jewish victims, deported to concentration and death camps, Auschwitz included.

The fact is that the Roma holocaust is not only forgotten, but anti-Romani racism is very common, even in England where in the recent election the Tory Party manifesto outlined a pledge to “seize the property and vehicles of trespassers who set up unauthorized encampments”, a promise aimed at Gypsy and  Roma communities.  On the Continent there is a rise in the numbers of murders of Romanies. A Roma holocaust survivor is quoted as saying, “ I’m afraid that Europe is forgetting its past and thatAuschwitz is only sleeping”.   (Prospect magazine March 2020).

My comment: My family had its run-ins with the “travelers” (as the Gypsies used to be called in England), but the worst that happened was that our hens and our toys disappeared at night – the culprits had nothing;  we were fortunate.  While we feared them, nothing excuses the treatment they have had over many years from racists and bigots.  More should be done to given them constructive alternatives to the wandering life.

Homelessness

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I have recently been traveling short distances by bus. On almost every (free) trip there is some poor soul, disheveled, hair down to his shoulders and carrying a weird assortment of plastic bags etc.

Homelessness where I live is all too common and affects both black and white communities.  They closed the hospital/ hostel called St. Elizabeth’s,  a haven for homeless people.  There seems nowhere for these poor souls to go. Recently, a man I spoke to said that he, his wife and children, were camping in the local library (there was no reason to think he was lying).

Many  have lost their jobs and homes (the virus is only one reason) and have psychological problems.  I keep some cash on me on the way to the gym to help anyone clearly in distress. (Yes, there is the drugs question – is that what the money will go on?) Notwithstanding the fact that you cannot know all the circumstances, I consider it a disgrace that these homeless people are not looked after.

For a quarter of the money handed by the current government to the ultra-rich in the last few years, every one of these homeless people could be given a roof over their heads, however basic.  Now that would be Christian!

Without  regard to gender, income, class and origin Epicurus welcomed people into his garden.  The least we can collectively do is to contribute towards giving the homeless shelter and food – and a bit of self-respect.  I will stay off the politics of all this, but the implications are obvious to everyone.

 

OK Boomer!

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 “OK Boomer.” is the retort from Generation Z (now in their teens to mid-twenties), to Baby Boomers (in their 50s to 70s) “who just don’t get it”. Teenagers use it to reply to Boomers ranting about “snowflakes”; to climate-change deniers; to Donald Trump’s tweets; to basically “any person over 30 who says something condescending about young people and the issues that matter to them”. It’s “the digital equivalent of an eye-roll”, blasé but cutting, and it’s all over social media.

It started as a meme, but now “OK Boomer” merchandise is selling like hot cakes: phone cases, bed sheets, stickers, socks, shirts, posters, water bottles. Many regard it as the “perfect response” – not least because it offends Boomers, who themselves are always going on about how easily offended the young are these days. There is, though, a serious side to the phenomenon.

“Anti-Boomer sentiment” is genuinely on the up, fed by “rising inequality, unaffordable college tuition, political polarisation and the climate crisis”. “OK Boomer” is a jokey phrase, but also a symptom of real hostility. Does it mark “the end of friendly generational relations?” (Taylor Laurenz, New York Times & The Week, Nov 9, 2019).

My comment:  I belong to the generation that preceded the baby boomers.  We lived through World War 2, experiencing rationing, bombing, and fathers absent at war.  No one had time, resources or inclination to spoil us.  But the generation after  this – the boomers – is another matter. They enjoyed the post- war boom, seemingly  unable to grasp how they, as a generation, enjoyed the voyage but then shoved the younger generation back into the cold water – overpriced housing, no job security, often no pensions, and outrageously expensive further education – to name just four parts of the problem.

My personal sympathy is totally with the young.  No wonder many are resentful and hostile!  Maybe Covid will change things, but I’m not betting on it.