[MGSA-L] Greek Deputy Minister of Education on the Holocaust and the Asia Minor Catastrophe

akis at sfr.be akis at sfr.be
Mon Sep 19 02:00:21 PDT 2016


We were writing almost simultaneously



Κάντο όπως το Ισραήλ: η καταστροφή ως nation branding


---- Message d'origine ----
De : Paris Papamichos Chronakis <pchronakis at gmail.com>
À : Mike Sotiropoulos <mikysamurai at gmail.com>
Objet : Re: [MGSA-L] Greek Deputy Minister of Education on the Holocaust and the Asia Minor Catastrophe
Date : 18/09/2016 18:56:16 CEST
Copie à : mgsa-l at uci.edu;
   Study of the CIVILWAR in GREECE <eui-civilwar at list.cineca.it>;
   socialhistory at uth.gr


Dear Michali,


Of course I am not saying this. It goes without saying that enlightened elites will not "solve" the "problem" and I am certainly not thinking in such reductionist and unilinear terms. But they are not called policy makers for nothing. As you very well know, not every discourse is hegemonic and not every voice speaks at the same volume. Nor is the public sphere called the public sphere for nothing.



Moreover, the widespread, sanctioned and unproblematic usage of antisemitic discourse in Greece is troubling. To the best of my knowledge, antisemitic discourse is not part of "legitimate", everyday, conventional political/academic discourse anywhere else in the EU. In fact, whenever it is articulated in such milieus, there is usually an uproar (even in Poland and Hungary, not to mention Jeremy Corbyn's problems). In Greece by contrast, such statements are considered conventional wisdom. This is troubling. Accepted, the problem might not be exclusively Greek if you are willing to compare Greece to Turkey and Russia. And such statements might not be unheard of in a modern western democracy. But their silent acceptance, the fact that they pass unnoticed, certainly is.



Finally, even if the elites were enlightened and could miraculously educate the masses, I would still not be that happy with the other two ministers. On February 20, 2012 Sia Anagnostopoulou claimed that "we are the Jews of the 21st century" ("Είμαστε οι Εβραίοι του 21ου αιώνα!"). We can endlessly debate whether this is an antisemitic statement, but I guess we can at least agree that it is as ahistorical, self-victimizing, relativist, self-complacent, and inappropriate as Pelegrinis's. And the fact that her article is to be found in a site advocating for the defense of democracy and society troubles me even more.



Best regards,



Paris


On Sun, Sep 18, 2016 at 10:43 AM, Mike Sotiropoulos <mikysamurai at gmail.com> wrote:

Pari, although I agree with what you said about the legitimate form of reasoning, do u want to say that what is urgently needed is 'enlightened elites' that will delegitimise this form of reasoning and instill it to the masses?
 
If that is the case then we can be probably happy with the other two ministers of education (to whom Pelegrines is to an extent accountable). 

But are we? I sincerely hope that after so many decades of attempts at cultural decoding, delegitimising, deconstructing - you name it- we have not been left with such a simplistic view of cultural politics ('cultural' here is at least redundant - I am keeping it in order to 'sound' more complex). 

   

We can at least agree, I hope, that the problem you are describing is not exclusively 'Greek'.



Michalis Sotiropoulos





2016-09-18 10:48 GMT-04:00 Paris Papamichos Chronakis <pchronakis at gmail.com>:

Bent it like the Jews.


All core elements of racist/antisemitic discourse are here informing the historical understanding and policies of deputy minister of Education Theodosis Pelegrinis, former rector of the University of Athens. Unfounded generalizations ("the Jews"), a simplistic and conspiratorial view of history (The Jews succeeded in appropriating the Holocaust), and parallel love-hate feelings of jealousy and admiration for the ultimate "victim" (let's do with "Catastrophe" what they did with the "Holocaust").


"Όσο κι αν το ολοκαύτωμα παραπέμπει, γενικώς, στον διωγμό και στην γενοκτονία που επιχειρεί κάποιο κράτος ή καθεστώς εναντίον εθνικών, θρησκευτικών, κοινωνικών ή πολιτικών ομάδων, που δρουν στους κόλπους ενός λαού, οι Εβραίοι πέτυχαν να ταυτίσουν το ολοκαύτωμα προς την τραγική μοίρα του έθνους των, προκειμένου να αναδείξουν τα εγκλήματα του ναζιστικού καθεστώτος εις βάρος των, με απώτερο στόχο να προκαλέσουν την οργή εναντίoν εκείνων που εγκλημάτησαν κατά της εθνικής των υπόστασης και την συμπάθεια του πολιτισμένου κόσμου για όσα υπέστησαν. Με υπομονή και επιμονή εξασφάλισαν την οικειοποίηση του ολοκαυτώματος έτσι, ώστε να διεκδικήσουν την δικαίωσή τους.



Με ανάλογο τρόπο, ίσως, θα μπορούσαμε, κι εμείς, να οικειοποιηθούμε την καταστροφή, σταθερό παρακολούθημα της ιστορίας του ελληνισμού."



http://www.minedu.gov.gr/eidiseis/23534-15-09-16-omilia-tou-theodosi-pelegrini-gia-tin-imera-ethnikis-mnimis-gia-tin-katastrofi-tou-mikrasiatikoy-ellinismoy



The main problem with antisemitism in Greece is not that it is widespread among the "masses", but that it is a legitimate form of reasoning. Despite the occasional condemnations, it is sanctioned and officially condoned, part of the discourse of the elites, the media and the politicians. It is in essence a "cultural code" that "speaks truth to (Jewish) power".



A very nice Sunday to all,



Paris Papamichos Chronakis






-- 

Paris Papamichos Chronakis

Lecturer

Department of Classics and Mediterranean Studies

University of Illinois at Chicago

601 South Morgan Street (MC 315), 1818 University Hall

Chicago, IL, 60607-7117

tel. 310 560 2732

skype name: pchronakis

















-- 

Paris Papamichos Chronakis

Lecturer

Department of Classics and Mediterranean Studies

University of Illinois at Chicago

601 South Morgan Street (MC 315), 1818 University Hall

Chicago, IL, 60607-7117

tel. 310 560 2732

skype name: pchronakis



_______________________________________________
List-Info: https://maillists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/mgsa-l

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://maillists.uci.edu/pipermail/mgsa-l/attachments/20160919/7d9bf841/attachment.html>


More information about the MGSA-L mailing list