From: Sunthar Visuvalingam <suntharv@yahoo.com>
Date: 23 May 2011 22:42
Subject: [ontologicalethics] "Dominique Strauss-Kahn: The Colonial Predator Legacy" (James Petras)
To: Abhinavagupta@yahoogroups.com, WTC-911 <WTC-911@yahoogroups.com>, Dia-Gnosis <dia-gnosis@yahoogroups.com>, Ontological Ethics <ontologicalethics@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: Akandabaratam <Akandabaratam@yahoogroups.com>, Indo-Roma <Indo-Roma@yahoogroups.com>
The attempted rape and sexual abuse of an African cleaning woman by the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) embodies, in microcosm, the entire historical and contemporary legacy of colonial neo-colonial relations. Efforts to portray this criminal act as an individual obsession or a personal failing or a "Latin idiosyncrasy" fail to take account of the 'deep history' in which these psychological pathologies are embedded.
The first clue is evident on the very surface – skin deep – of the antagonists: On the one-hand, a powerful white European politician representing the collective will of an organization representing the global capitalist class, one with the financial resources to severely punish poor and indebted countries that disobey its prejudicial economic fiats; on the other, a single mother, a black working woman from a former French colony in West Africa (Guinea), which was 'stripped clean' by the departing French colonial officials for daring to assert its independence and subsequently forced to submit to endless 'neo-colonial' economic impositions ensuring its stagnation and subordination.
Was it "lunacy", as Martin Wolf of the Financial Times would claim, that DSK would throw over a powerful, prestigious post and likely the Presidency of France, for a moment of violent sex? Or was it the playing out, and living through, the historical roles, deeply embedded in the psyche and cultural mores of a descendant and practitioner of colonial realities: imposing his sexual demands on a 'black servant'. No doubt the fact that the cleaning woman spoke French and came from a former French colony, one which had suffered numerous subsequent 'French' and IMF impositions, gave the powerful predator the sense of 'entitlement' to prey on black flesh, just as so many of his compatriot predecessor officials had done to 'their' servants in the course of administrating the colony. No doubt, in more recent times , it is common for top officials from international financial institutions visiting Africa to pad their expense accounts by hiring hookers to "service them," while they impose austerity policies impoverishing countries and forcing millions to flee overseas in search of menial labor … as cleaning workers in luxury hotels. "Colonial familiarity", the 'shared' language of oppressor and victim – perhaps excited the perverse sexual obsession. […]
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The French Socialist Party has a long and sordid history of supporting bloody colonial wars: Indo-China, Algeria and dozens of military interventions in Africa. Today they support the wars against Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan. As always, there are "dissidents", left-wingers, "critical" intellectuals and "Trotskyist" factions who speak for the "rights" of the accused, as well the victim, but who looked to DSK, the head of the IMF and his millionaire backers, as their ticket back to the Palace Elysee, the Presidency and the spoils of office.
"Colonial Socialism" in Europe, like "imperial liberalism" in the US, has a long and ignoble history: Both 'trust' the word of innocence of an indicted financier over the accusations of an immigrant black cleaning woman, which is not too surprising. They have a history of converting criminals into victims and the victims into criminal… conspirators.
One has only to look at the French Socialists and US Liberals support for Israeli colonialist over the Palestinians "terrorists"; or NATO occupiers against the Afghan resistance; or Tunisian autocrats over pro-democracy protestors. […]
If there is any 'conspiracy' to frame DSK it certainly does not come from any 'elite' or 'banking cartel'. What is much more likely, is that after the initial jailing and indictment, the financial powers backing DSK will move into action – they have secured his conditional release under bail; the victim and accuser has been subject to intense police interrogation and more 'media' and legal pressure can be expected to force her to retract charges. The legal system rarely ever works in favor of working-class victims facing a high powered legal team backing a millionaire predator, especially one who speaks and works for the international capitalist class.
James Petras, "Dominique Strauss-Kahn: The Colonial Predator Legacy" (23 May 2011)
Respond only to WTC-911 (politics) or Dia-Gnosis (economics).
Sunthar
From: Sunthar Visuvalingam
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2011 8:56 AM
To: Abhinavagupta; WTC-911; Dia-Gnosis
Cc: Akandabaratam; Indo-Roma
Subject: "Regime Change at the IMF"? - "Strauss-Kahn screws Africa"
http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=1790
http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/strauss-kahn-screws-africa-by-greg-palast/
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Sunthar
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