well, it's pretty obvious that the reason for the expressions of collective shame in the hurriyet piece i bit above is that the information about this is travelling around the world on the internet--as is the nature of the piece--and so it makes folk look bad. this is not rocket science---of COURSE folk in that position would be ashamed.
the idea behind the piece makes it EVEN MORE embarrassing than it otherwise would be.
what it amounts to--not just as an individual rape and murder, but given the narrative that accompanied the project--->some guy in turkey demonstrates to everyone who reads about this that people are assholes.
who wouldn't be ashamed?
i expect that had the same thing happened in, say, ustwo's community, he'd be all sackcloth and ashes for the way in which it embarrassed the community as a whole, even as he might also be running his "people are assholes because they're genetic programmed to be assholes" line.
but i don't buy any of the genetics arguments.
these effectively justify the murder of this person by arguing that it is simply the performance of some in-built characteristic--and this by extension to exculpate everyone involved not only in this but in almost any action anywhere by any one ("whaddya mean? it's in my nature"...this is that odd little story about the scorpion)
which seems a genetics-based argument against civilization when you think about it.
but in this particular case, it's implication is that the "proper" attitude to have to this story is
"o well, shit happens. people are fucked up. next."
which i think is a kind of crass little response. little in every sense.
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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
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