stonebear

long-form musings of a net.curmudgeon.

‹‹Zuerst kamen sie wegen der Kommunisten.... ››

There's been a lot of mention of The Poem of late, and I thought I would dig into it. As I so often do, when digging into something, I discover a whole new level...

Martin Niemöller was a Lutheran pastor in Germany. Initially, being an anti-Communist, Niemöller supported Hitler, but when der Führer insisted on state supremacy over religion, he was like “Scheiß drauf” and became the leader of a group of German clergy opposed to the Reich. For this they eventually threw him in Dachau, which was liberated 29 April 1945.

The origins of The Poem weren't verse at all, nor in English; the ideas were part of a speech he gave in a church in Frankfurt in 1946, in German. When asked thirty years later about it, he said, “There were no minutes or copy of what I said, and it may be that I formulated it differently. But the idea was anyhow: The Communists, we still let that happen calmly; and the trade unions, we also let that happen; and we even let the Social Democrats happen. All of that was not our affair.” The American verison of the poem mentions “socialists”, not “Communists”, because, well... The British version has both...

And I think that really highlights the good pastor's point: Even if we don't like somebody, if we sit by and allow injustice to exist, that gives the Overton window a shove towards injustice for ourselves.

So, I've posted what he actually said about it, the short form; if you want the poem, or the long form, or even more details, here's the Wikipedia article I got this from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_...

But I thought you should know.

When I first dove headfirst into journalism in 2003, there was still this idea of “objectivism”. One's personal views should never interfere with one's reporting. Just the facts, mixter.

I slowly came to realise that this is, well, so much bovine scatology. Kant tells us that we Kant get out of our own heads to really be objective. We are all biased by our own perceptions, both external and internal. So I came up with a better idea: Transparency. Simply say UP FRONT, “these are my biases, this is where I'm coming from, and filtered through those lenses, this is what I see, this is my truth.” It is perfectly okay to have a liberal rag, or a radical right-wing fishwrapper, alongside upstanding mainstream old-school newsprint, as long as you're flying true colours. In fact sometimes it's needful.

It's when people blatantly tell lies, or spin things at 1400 RPM without the requisite disclaimers, that we get things like President Felon, or the recent Tory debacle on the other side of the pond. (Thanks Be that that one's over! Not that Starmer doesn't have a massive mess to clear, but he's working on it... #hopepunk )

So yeah. This is where I'm coming from. I mostly align Left and Up – Roughly with European Greens (save the planet!), and those who support the EU – having a larger federation helps keep all of us sane and aligned with the rights of humans no matter where they're from or how weird they are. As I said elseBook last night, I've mostly given up my American political position out of disgust... Although I do admire Ms. Obama for choosing principle (boycotting the inauguration) over diplomacy (her husband is attending)...

Also, this is a Credo for me: It is up to the People – wherever they are – to tear down the walls built by men (mostly) with Too Much Money that hold them in, away from the freedom to be their best selves, and to use those stones to build ... the first thing in my head is “libraries” – and other places where they can learn, build community, and build a better world.

They CAN... if they know they can. It is up to those of us who can write, to do so, because a great community, be it a dozen folk or two dozen countries, is founded on good information.

Sometimes I get down a rabbithole verifying a quote and come up with something better; right now, this moment, is one of those. I was looking for the tag end of the Will McAvoy rant from the cold open of The Newsroom, but I found something (later in that episode) that really does it for this moment.

Will: What does winning look like to you? Mac: Reclaiming the fourth estate. Reclaiming journalism as an honorable profession. A nightly newscast that informs a debate worthy of a great nation. Civility, respect, and a return to what's important; the death of bitchiness; the death of gossip and voyeurism; speaking truth to stupid. No demographic sweet spot; a place where we *all come together.*

Mac – and her writer Mr. Sorkin – are precisely correct. He was, as many authors in many mediums were before 2016, trying to tell us something.

Charlie: Anchors having an opinion isn't a new phenomenon. Murrow had one and that was the end of McCarthy. Cronkite had one and that was the end of Vietnam.

Jen Rubin certainly has one. Hopefully that's the end of President Felon.

Sources: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Newsroom_(American_TV_series)

https://contrarian.substack.com/ – Jennifer Rubin, Norman Eisen, Andy Borowitz, and a a whole lot more.

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-mind/ (not a source so much as a “read more here”... )

My surname is Stone and my chosen-name is Bear and there is a slight flaw in my character. Storyteller, translator from Geek to English, long-time denizen of the greasy underbelly of the 'net, recently escaped and recovering American, newly-minted resident of the Netherlands.

Here I hope to publish slam poetry, a rant or two, some history, personal or no, and most of all, I hope to bring Hope.

To all who care for their fellow sentient being, no matter who you or they are? Welcome.