There are some feelings that are politic to have and some that are not so. One of the strongest political feelings emanating from the newborn to the former colonialising countries is that people who are evil (i.e. whites who lived in the actual colonies) do not suffer, or if they do, one ought not to acknowledge this, for this would undermine the value of the suffering of those who were "genuine" victims of the colonial regime.
I know I am not deluding myself as regards the moral reasoning stated above. This is profoundly ubiquitous, pervasive, and has seeped into most people's unconscious to become a form of "common sense". So, if you do not have any element of that reasoning in your consciousness, well done. You are exemplary, have passed the test of being a decent human being with flying colours, and you are out of this world. But, in any case, and if you haven't manage to escape the plague of contemporary reason, then this is just what I had expected, and it is normal, and too bad.
2 comments:
Well, I already had a pretty poor impression of both England and Australia as countries, but your descriptions of them convince me they are quite a lot more awful than I thought ... !
You seem to be dealing with very limited people and extreme provincialism. I think you should really move to Zim if at all possible, or even ZA since the economy is larger if not better. If you're teaching ESL remotely, you can do it from there just as well, right -- and money will go further.
You must get a situation in which you will feel less isolated. I'd guard against ending up in some academic or para-academic position in Asia, you know ... it is far more in your interests personally to be in Africa somehow.
It's really all ressentiment, dressed up as morality over here.
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