Read on Twitter
Had a strange-feeling realization today, questioning my own views on racism in a new way
My grampa fled Germany in WWI then fought the Nazi& #39;s for the US in WWII.
A thread ...
My grampa fled Germany in WWI then fought the Nazi& #39;s for the US in WWII.
A thread ...
I grew up hearing him compliment people with "so and so is a real Mensch! "
Translation: upstanding citizen, moral and righteous, worthy of respect
Today this phase feels deeply racist. Is it just me? 2/n
Translation: upstanding citizen, moral and righteous, worthy of respect
Today this phase feels deeply racist. Is it just me? 2/n
My teen mind connected this idea to some of Nietzsche& #39;s writings. According to Wikipedia, the phrase is much older.
Those writings were used as justification for racism, for genocide. The same rhetoric in the air today. 3/n
Those writings were used as justification for racism, for genocide. The same rhetoric in the air today. 3/n
My grampa was proud when I learned German, and when I read Nietzsche (and others) in the original.
In my memory, he hated the Nazi& #39;s for their racism, and yet he prized a value system they used to justify war.
Oh, how history repeats itself! 4/n
In my memory, he hated the Nazi& #39;s for their racism, and yet he prized a value system they used to justify war.
Oh, how history repeats itself! 4/n
I can apply this idea in the way I think Nietzsche meant it - about overcoming our own "simplistic urges", "base instincts", to "turn our mind into a tool we control"
To become a trustworthy member of civil society, with integrity and honor... 5/n
To become a trustworthy member of civil society, with integrity and honor... 5/n
Or... I can use the same idea to categorically other any group (race, etc) whose value system prizes those things Nietzsche so hated, and/or whose societal norms are different enough to be incompatible with upper class European strictures! 6/n
Like non-dyadic love, and being lesbian, and wanting a society that cares for the sick and prizes different ways of living in relation to the earth ...
which all sounds pretty great to me
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤷🏽♀️" title="Achselzuckende Frau (mittlerer Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Achselzuckende Frau (mittlerer Hautton)">
(that& #39;s my interpretation of Nietzsche& #39;s bad things list, not his words) 7/n
which all sounds pretty great to me
(that& #39;s my interpretation of Nietzsche& #39;s bad things list, not his words) 7/n
So here& #39;s what I& #39;m struggling with
Every stratified social system I& #39;m familiar with, from Germany to India to China, posits for itself a noble goal for socially-lower citizens to aspire to.
As a result, they& #39;re all vulnerable to the same hijacking! 8/n
Every stratified social system I& #39;m familiar with, from Germany to India to China, posits for itself a noble goal for socially-lower citizens to aspire to.
As a result, they& #39;re all vulnerable to the same hijacking! 8/n
And now we - the US tech oligarchy and all the intelligencia whom they employ, myself included - have built a machine so capable of swaying opinion of entire societies ...
wait, that& #39;s what ppl said about TV and radio and ... the printing press!
No, tech isn& #39;t the problem 9/n
wait, that& #39;s what ppl said about TV and radio and ... the printing press!
No, tech isn& #39;t the problem 9/n
That members of any society which doesn& #39;t share the same goals CAN BECOME SEEN as "animal", less than human, incapable of becoming Mensch, and therefore to be treated as such.
That& #39;s the vuln. Humans are the vuln.
Social media? just the latest exploit used by ideologues
10/n
That& #39;s the vuln. Humans are the vuln.
Social media? just the latest exploit used by ideologues
10/n
Oh, how history repeats itself.
I think I& #39;ll stop here. That was a lot.
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙏" title="Folded hands" aria-label="Emoji: Folded hands">
/fin
I think I& #39;ll stop here. That was a lot.
/fin
