Communism and Fire

Self-immolation is a way to get attention.  Just ask Ndreca, Palach, Plocek, and Zajíc.  There is a whole list that I can barely fathom, especially since the last one was in 15 days ago.  They've picked up popularity, though I wasn't aware of almost any of the immolations in the past 10 years, which have to do with Tibet or an Indian province that would like to separate.  But they had a strong tradition in the USSR.

Monday Book Review!

It is no secret that I really love Slavenka Drakulić.  She ranks right alongside Vàclav Havel, Ryszard Kapuściński, and Dezső Kostolànyi as one of my favorite authors to read from the other side of the Iron Curtain.  Her journalistic writings have the same narrative power as Kapuściński with the idealism and compassion of Havel.  I was aware she had a number of fiction novels to her name as well, but it wasn't until recently that I gave it a try.  I ended up buying A Guided Tour Through the Museum of Communism at THE bookstore in NYC during my first ever visit to that metropolis.  The title, the author, and the subject matter all sang to me.  I thought it would be a continuation of what I loved so much about her writing.

Topical Tuesday: NPD aka Neo-nazis

I had found this data visualization from Der Spiegel on one of my favorite blogs, Global Sociology.  There isn't much explanation on the article about the rise of NPD's popularity, particularly in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.  There is actually a pretty simple explanation of the phenomenon and it goes like this: NPD is the successor of the overly-familiar Nazi party of yore and has the same legacy of xenophobia and extremist nationalism.  Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the most economically depressed region of Germany and I have often heard Germans remark on the rural character and insularity of that region; some have said that it was like it's own land that they can't understand.  When people are economically depressed, they turn to more extreme politics (like in 1920s Germany? 2010s Greece? Anyone?).  It's surprisingly a pretty straightforward connection and though it sounds overly simplistic, it's the truth. People are angry they don't have economic security and they turn to the "other" to scapegoat and place blame on economic forces that do not have a face.  It's not satisfying to blame an immaterial thing, like fate or the global market at large.

Love Letter to Europe

Dearest Europe,

I write to you out of deep affection and a respect that can only be earned through acquaintance.  You are, and will, remain a fixture of my soul.  My time abiding with you has touched me in ways that cannot be erased or forgotten in the sands of time.  Though I have not yet met the darker corners, hiding secrets so old and deep they forge into myth, and the depths of your trials, I feel a great kinship with you.

I have spent time in your central areas, those that have driven history and been subject to its many forces.  The aggressors, the supposed innocents, and the brow beaten, yet ultimately idealistic have all welcomed me in their borders.  These countries are glimpses into the human condition writ large: they have fought, despaired, blasphemed, and given up.  The whip of German masters awoke resentment in the heart of the Austrians and the despair of losing was in their vise grip and strangled in their fervor.

Statues of the Past

This is a topic that interests me and it was provoked by an article I retweeted from The View East (which I highly recommend you click and browse!) about Lenin statues in Tajikistan.  As a BA-level trained anthropologist, I have studied the use of symbols and the political and cultural connections of them, which as proved to be a useful analysis tool for eastern Europe.  My infinitely wiser friend, James, sent me an article by Matti Bunzl (my admiration started here) entitled, "On the Politics and Semantics of Austria's Memory: Vienna's Monument against War and Fascism" (Indiana University Press); I have a personal connection to this since I lived only 2 blocks away from that monument and saw it every day.  There's a great deal of research on the topic, including Santino's astounding work on Northern Ireland, and I cannot reference everything I've read on it nor could I do the field of inquiry any justice with my citations.