The “black” and the “white” people

Many black writers speak of “black people” in a manner as if all black people shared common social characteristics and interests. For me, these writers are “black racists”, because they deny the fact that the only thing black people have in common is their skin colour. Not only there are significant differences between black people of different countries, but also within the borders of a particular country black people differ from each other enormously, such as is the case for “white people”. 

In Rwanda, in 1994, one million black people were killed by black people, only during three months. Most African countries have witnessed long-lasting wars between their black inhabitants. More than 70 million white people killed each other in WWI and WWII. The 1990s “Balkan Wars” between “white” Yugoslavians count as one of the darkest tragedies after the WWII. For the “anti-capitalists” and “anti-imperialists” among us a short reminder that wars between people of the same colour are not modern phenomena. Even in “prehistoric” times, tribes of the same colour fought against each other, killing people of their own “race”. 

There is no such thing as “black” or “white” people in a sociological or political sense. What does a black torturer in Nigeria have in common with his political prisoners?! What does a black rapist and murderer have in common with a black individual who follows humanistic principles?! Those who speak of “black” and “white” people suffer literally from a racist black-and-white-thinking. 

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London – Iranian parents 'wanted virginity check for daughter, after finding secret boyfriend'

Huffingtonpost - Iranian parents living in London 'wanted virginity check for daughter, 18, after finding secret boyfriend'.
Mitra Eidiani, 42, and Ali Safaraei, 56, also threatened to kill their daughter Sophia’s boyfriend, warning him they were “dangerous” because they were Muslim, a jury was told.
The teenager was bitten by her mum, threatened with a kitchen knife by her dad after returning from the doctor, had her passport taken from her and was told she would be sent “back to Iran to marry a cousin,” Kingston Crown Court heard.

Continue Reading:
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/parents-denied-virginity-check-for-daughter-18-after-discovering-secret-boyfriend_uk_5ba0ddd9e4b046313fbf6681

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Demonstrative Logic!

Demonstrative Logic: Those with better arguments win the battle?!

See Moliere’s “The Would-Be Gentleman”, Act II, Scenes ii and iii. 

(Image source: Internet)

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Illusions in the integration debate

One of the most discussed issues in the integration debate is the lack of a sense of belonging to the “native” community among immigrants. It is now fashionable to claim that this is the main cause for the growing numbers of Islamic extremists and terrorists in Western countries (a view I strongly oppose and which I have argued against in many articles written in Persian and German). The debates are often very emotional, lacking rational arguments and a thorough analysis of the facts. The opposing fronts use the same methods to influence their audiences. Whereas one front blames the “native” society for excluding immigrants, the other blames the immigrants themselves for not being willing to integrate. 

The bitter truth is that in many cases “integration” and “belonging” are impossible. One can only feel belonging to a group if (s)he and the group speak the same language (not verbally, but mentally!), laugh at the same jokes, have a similar world view, lifestyle, drinking habits, social behaviour and norms, etc. This is the case also for “natives”. That’s why the “natives” too have to search for like-minded people to prevent becoming socially isolated. And also among the “natives” there are people who feel different, and find it difficult to find a group they feel they belong to. No one can really be blamed for this condition. Just as it is ridiculous of a society to expect that all its members become “one”, it is ridiculous of its individual members to expect that the whole society becomes like them only because they want to escape social isolation. 

Both at individual and societal level there have been only two ways for this problem. The individual may be able to integrate himself/herself and become like the majority, otherwise (s)he has to stay isolated until (s)he finds some like-minded people (a search process which may often last lifelong without much success and with a lot of pain). At societal level, the minority group may be able to assimilate, otherwise it has to live its own life separated from the “native” society. The important thing here is that minority groups too have to follow the law and certain rules of the “native” society. 

As a person with migration background I know how painful it is to think that you don’t belong to any society or community, or as some would say, to feel “rootless”. Though I left my origin country when I was a child (living since then in Germany and the UK), and though I share Western cultural values, I still cannot think of myself as a European. But I find it too simplistic and unjust to blame either the European societies or myself (and my family) for this lack of a sense of belonging. I know that many people with migration background feel the same as me, as if they don’t belong properly to any culture or community. This is a fact which should not be glossed over or black painted. The main question here is not how to force all people in a society to become “one”, but how we all can peacefully live together, even when more or less separated from each other. 

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Our Ancestors in Your Penis

“An invisible crowd which has always existed, but which has only been recognized as such since the invention of the microscope, is the crowd of spermatozoa. 200 million of these animalcules set out together on their way. They are equal among themselves and in a state of very great density. They all have the same goal and, except for one, they all perish on the way. It may be objected that they are not human beings and that it is therefore not correct to speak of them as a crowd in the sense the word has been used. But this objection does not really touch the essentials of the matter. Each of these animalcules carries with it everything of our ancestors which will be preserved. It contains our ancestors; it is them”! 

Excerpt from “Crowds and Power” by Elias Canetti, p. 47

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The Islamic transformation of chickens into roosters

An Islamic grocery store in Bristol has chosen the picture of a bull and a rooster to cover its front door with. It’s difficult to guess what the store does offer its customers: Instead of milk products maybe bulls’ dung (or bull shit) for the plant pots in your kitchen, and instead of chicken breast and thighs maybe rooster testicles. 
Come on, don’t tell me that “It's the economy, stupid”!

Image source: Internet

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