The serf mentality
Odd, isn’t it, how despite the fundamental changes over the centuries here in Malta, the dominant mentality remains that of helpless and hapless feudal serfs.
“Keep your head down and don’t move or act. Then you might escape the notice and the depredations of the robber baron/feudal overlord/rais, and survive.”
Pathetic.
Whenever I hear people talk like this, I wonder whether I grew up on a different planet. How can they respect themselves, let alone command the respect of others?
Oh yes. They have reclassified timidity, cowardice, pragmatic amorality and the absence of a civic conscience and as ‘wajs’.
With advisers like the one quoted in The Times today (see beneath), I’m not surprised that the Maltese government comes across as a bunch of wusses at best and a gang of serf-like peasants with a survivalist mentality at worst.
A military adviser who asked to remain anonymous (said) (…) “We are dealing with a man who is a survivor. It is becoming increasingly likely that this will end with Gaddafi still in place.” Recognising an alternative government could put Malta in a position “it doesn’t have to be in”.
“To be really, really honest, what we say doesn’t matter. And looking at it only from a narrow perspective, it pays us to keep our heads down,” he said, adding that Malta’s neutrality gave the island a good, but genuine, reason to do so.
PAYS TO KEEP OUR HEADS DOWN. Spoken like a true serf. The way they don’t even bother to disguise their unprincipled cowardice as something else – you know, to at least try maintaining some kind of respectable facade – shows that they are proud of it. They don’t think they’re wusses. They think they’re ‘wajs’.
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a rabbit (malta + 1000+/- soldiers) goes in front of a lion (libya + armaments) and tells him F*** off.
[Daphne – It is clear that you don’t understand much about the issues involved here. Define coalition.]
Look if we’re going to get metaphorical, we might as well do it properly.
“David and Goliath” is a story in the bible which is used metaphorically when an entity of lesser power wins against another of higher power.
Malta: David and Goliath x4 (Carthaginians (successful rebellion), Ottoman Turks, French (successful rebellion), Axis Powers (Italy and Germany)).
In your metaphor where did these empires/countries fit in comparison to the shell shocked ‘Lion’ of Tripoli?
You can’t say anything about other powers helping out, what do you expect? We’re a city state, huge countries are expected to feel sympathetic towards us and the last thing neighbouring countries want is a military base right on their doorstep. Foreign powers helped us out before and they’ll help us again. Gaddafi attacking Malta would have been the perfect excuse for EU countries to invade Libya.
Next to what our ancestors faced, it’s a like a rabbit facing a physically disabled dog. The difference is that somehow or another we’ve become so cowardly that we’re scared of its bark.
Well, Malta is a place where if you stand up to be counted you are made to suffer. And God forbid you are a whistleblower. One threatens the innocent and spares the guilty.
[Daphne – Those who stand up to be counted pay the price everywhere and not just in Malta. The difference is that they do it regardless.]
Indeed, although many times the one who stands up is first urged to do so by those around them, only to realise that once they’re standing, they’re there alone facing the music naked and vulnerable.
Everybody else is looking the other way and pretending to be busy with something else. “Ma tarax, dat-trouble x’irridu!”.
How many of us have learnt, possibly even at home: “Jekk tara l-inkwiet, baxxi rasek u ibqa’ sejjer. U jekk jistaqsuk x’rajt ghidilhom li kont qed thares in-naha l-ohra.”
I think this poem by Martin Niemöller should be taught in schools everywhere (there are several variations of it but the essence is the same):
When the Nazis arrested the Communists,
I said nothing; after all, I was not a Communist.
When they locked up the Social Democrats,
I said nothing; after all, I was not a Social Democrat.
When they arrested the trade unionists,
I said nothing; after all, I was not a trade unionist.
When they arrested me, there was no longer anyone who could protest.
German version:
“Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten, habe ich geschwiegen, ich war ja kein Kommunist.
Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten, habe ich geschwiegen, ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.
Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten, habe ich geschwiegen, ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter. Als sie mich holten, gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.”
Only cowards do NOT stand up to be counted. On another thought, I think the Government OWES (capitals intended) Daphne a letter of thanks for trying to show them how to act in a crisis such as the present Libyan one.
‘Meglio un giorno da leone che cento da pecora’. That ill never apply to the Maltese in general but only to the very few.
[Daphne – Please don’t quote Mussolini to back up my views. He wasn’t a lion, but a lowlife bully.]
Yes he was but the quotation is great!
You forgot the realistic reason for ‘keeping our heads down’ and it’s got nothing to do with serfdom: unlike you, many believe that war will not only solve nothing, but will in fact exacerbate the problem. It’s not a matter of cowardice or being ‘wajs’, as you put it, but of being insightful and clear-headed.
Speaking of serfdom, I hope you read and understood Hayek’s ‘Road to Serfdom’ – like Huxley’s “A Brave New World” and Orwell’s “Nineteen Eight Four” it is becoming prophetic.
That’s not what the article said. It said we should keep our heads down because, you know, Gaddafi might still be there tomorrow.
What solution do you propose then, kev? Surely you know things cannot go on with Gaddafi and his spawn in power there, the way you must know that Gaddafi doesn’t make compromises either.
King, the solution is not war, especially after a long period of propping up Gaddafi.
But before even going there, one first needs to question this missionary quest to ‘democratise’ the ‘uncivilised’ world. It did not work in Vietnam, which eventually ‘democratised’ itself in its very own way. It did not work in Iraq or Afghanistan – check out the hard facts. It did not even work where it ‘worked’, such as in Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria – not to mention Palestine, where democracy voted in Hamas (nothing wrong with Hamas, but we know what the far West and their patrons think about them).
So I’ll ask YOU a question: if this is all about democracy and not entirely a parochial obsession with ‘that man next door’, can you tell me where next should the West attack? Do your homework, now, the list is endless and you might even spot the odd Western state here and there, but you’re allowed to ignore that.
If it’s not about democratisation, then the local crusaders’ quest is to get rid of the man – nothing to do with bleeding hearts, if you see what I mean.
Which brings us to another question. If this is not about bleeding hearts, why is suffering being used to justify war (and more suffering)?
I suspect for most of you here it is all about Mintoff. That is how parochial you are.
Leave him alone, Kev. I’ll answer. We should attack, and should have attacked long ago, Saudi Arabia. It’s the nexus of all the evils of Western foreign policy since someone dug a pit for his palm tree and this black liquid started oozing out.
We did not attack Saudi Arabia, and we made a mistake. But fate has now given us a golden opportunity to right our wrong and has brought us one step closer to toppling the House of Saud. Attacking Gaddafi and killing him will fan the flames of rebellion in the Middle East and the Arabian peninsula. Excellent. That is precisely the road that leads us to our strategic goal.
Alas, the US is in hock to the Saudi lobby, so this will never happen. But we can salvage something by attacking Libya.
So the solution IS war.
P.S. This should never be about democracy or human rights, but about our interests. Next stop after Saudi Arabia should be China – the most duplicitous, evil, twisted empire the world has ever seen. Screw democracy. Let’s fight for our interests.
@kev
Two hundred and fifty odd words and not a solution in sight.
Straight answer – how do we get rid of Gaddafi and his regime or are we to assume you prefer he clings on to power?
Iraq and Afghanistan had nothing to do with ‘democratisation’. 9/11 gave Americans the excuse to flex some muscle and send a warning to the world’s tinpot cocky dictators – screw around and your lifestyle is forfeit. Pity Obama has no balls to continue that policy.
Getting rid of Gaddafi will neither give me back my lost youth that Mintoff stole from me and many others nor will it erase the memory of Malta’s “allies” in his time. I burn with shame every time someone reminds me of our “friends in the 80’s” China, Libya and North Korea.
‘long period of propping up Gaddafi.’
Who propped up Gaddhafi. Gaddhafi came to power via a revolution and shaped his country’s political landscape in such a way as to ensure that he didn’t lose power through the same way. Working with someone because there is no alternative and propping up are two different things.
“But before even going there, one first needs to question this missionary quest to ‘democratise’ the ‘uncivilised’ world.”
Who is sending missionaries to democratise Libya? The rebels have had enough of Gaddhafi and what something else.
“It did not even work where it ‘worked’, such as in Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria ”
So you are telling my friends there to turn the other cheek and remain denied of the privileges that you enjoy
“not to mention Palestine, where democracy voted in Hamas (nothing wrong with Hamas, but we know what the far West and their patrons think about them).”
You’re a nasty piece of work. Nothing wrong with Hamas? They throw Fatah opposition members off roofs and deny them aid in Gaza, not to mention the fact that are genocidal fundamentalists.
“So I’ll ask YOU a question: if this is all about democracy and not entirely a parochial obsession with ‘that man next door’”
No it is not about democracy but the West should help the regional governments in Puntland and Somaliland fight Al Shabab and take out Isaias in Eritrea. They should also do something about Meles in Ethiopia. It would be lovely if they were to depend less on Saudi Wahhabi oil too.
Stefan, you really need to read more carefully.
@ Baxxter – I agree with much of what you wrote – given your perspective, that is, which I don’t share.
But at least you know what needs to be done to get what you want, and I fully understand your logic: it used to be called ‘imperialism’, and it was justified in part by the missionary quest to convert heathens into Christians (before that, we had the crusades).
You are different from the rest in that you are inherently of the warrior type and very much aware that the quest to democratise is a sham.
Where you are wrong is in the interpretation of Western intentions. For they WILL eventually backstab their ‘friends’ in the Gulf – and NOT to democratise. The whole region is in for a revolutionary change. CIA and MI6 infiltration in this region is well documented. Less known is their connection with the Muslim Brotherhood…and this of course flows into Pandora’s Box, so let’s not go there, for if you don’t see the higher order there’s no discussion.
As for “the most duplicitous, evil, twisted empire the world has ever seen,” you’d be surprised, Baxxter, but you’re missing the invisible.
I’m surprised you don’t seem to have gone through the works of Carroll Quigley, or interesting documents such as the “Project for the New American Century” (PNAC) – which is not American at all, but globally oriented, with the American taxpayer suffering the most.
Look into ‘New-World-Order’ related documents published, dug up or leaked over time. This subject had long existed in the realm of ‘conspiracy theorists’ before Bush I announced it in 1992 (even Gordon Brown had his New World Order speeches, not least in the European Parliament in 2007).
Once you understand how it works, and why, then you can spot the players and see through the games they play, which involve triple-thinking and the perennial Hegellian dichotomy that ultimately hoodwinks the people into accepting the illusion. The endgame is known, the road is in itself serendipitous, but only within certain parameters since their are various ways to reach the same objective.
I don’t read that sort of stuff, Kevin. It is long, tedious, and over-interpreted. What I write here is the fruit of my own ruminations. I call them as I see them. I have my own concerns, and unlike you, I have been personally affected by the New World Order or whatever you call it. So this is a personal fight. And, as always, I have nothing to lose. Thermonuclear war, bring it on. One flash of light and it’ll be over.
“..or whatever you call it…” ? Well, well, well, Baxxter. How, exactly were you affected by the NWO?
And by the way, Quigley is not a dissenter and he interprets nothing. He is the one with the facts, and the one who wanted to inform the world that there are benign intentions behind ‘the secret’ – or so he seemed to believe.You need to polish up, Baxxter, or all you’d be is plain fodder.
Kevin, if by fodder you mean cannon fodder, then nothing would suit me more. Cannon fodder. The best way to die. This is a game to you, talking about geopolitics and the new world order. Not to me it isn’t.
You’re bored, Baxxter. The world is by far more interesting than you think it is. I cannot wait to (officially) retire so I can have more time to find out more.
I’ve read all three (pat on my own back), but have you seen idiocracy? Now that’s prophetic.
Indeed, how very convenient to govern a bunch of idiots.
KEV,
The happenings over the sea were not planned to be a war. What started out as legitimate protests got put down violently (anti-aircraft fire into crowd, shown on a BBC documentary showing how it all erupted in Benghazi some weeks ago. The BBC do tend to do a factual job of reporting.
The people took up arms to protect themselves and now they are fighting for their freedom. You might not like it but they were stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
Yes, Yor, I know the story.
The BBC? Rubbish
It is very telling that the first two comments on this subject in less than 30 minutes from publication of your blog confirm your contentions.
Sir Rodney from the Wizard of ID would be an apt symbol for the very vast majority of the Maltese.
This bit is equally awful. It translates as “it’s NATO’s fault that Malta doesn’t take a stand.”
Yes, right. And who’s fault is it that Malta schmoozed Gaddafi for 42 years?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110408/local/libyan-former-minister-says-nato-is-not-doing-enough
History professor Henry Frendo argues that since Nato took over the military operation, the action had slowed to a stalemate. This has discouraged countries like Malta from taking a stronger stand.
“Nato must pull up its socks and target the heavy artillery which is butchering students and soldiers with illegal ammunition,” he says, pointing out that Malta was impotent when it came to Nato because it was a non-member.
So although, idealistically, Malta should recognise the council, the prevailing uncertainty makes it difficult to do so, he says.
The prevailing uncertainty shouldn’t come into to it. His Eminence, our saintly PM, also told Gaddafi’s envoy that the dictator must go. So what’s the issue? Have we become like the Italians in WWII, swapping sides and allegiances as if they were calciatori football stickers ?
La Redoute,
Your Henry Frendo quote shows that our ELITE lack basic knowledge of military doctrine. Air power alone shall not win a war. The correct term of reference now is air superiority.
Nato has the sky but as the saying goes ‘the grunts must conquer the land’. With Gaddafi forces being helped by several hundred mercenaries from Belarus (ref The Telegraph) who have put some steel into the Gaddafi army. They have gone to ground and changed tactics making life very difficult for fast jets.
The rebels are going to have to get up close and illuminate targets for coalition jets. They are going to have to use soldiering skills.
What the Henry Frendo quote shows is that we’re quite happy to criticise what others are doing while doing very little ourselves.
There comes a time when every person and every nation MUST stand up and be counted and declare which side of the fence it is on.
It is a question of choosing to be on the right side of history or on the wrong side.
If we are not capable of doing this, then we are not worthy of having a say at any level in international politics and we are a disgrace to our forefathers. This is, indeed, our time of reckoning. Let us act before it is too late.
Sounds more like a goddamn academic-turned-bureaucrat than a military man. He’s a foreign policy advisor at best.
Well said, Daphne. Sitting on the fence while twiddling thumbs seems to be the national official past-time.
Funny (pathetic actually) how the party in government and the opposition both have the same blinkered vision on international affairs. They can argue endlessly about the question in the divorce referendum, but cannot muster enough guts to declare clearly that Malta is on the side of NATO and its allies to oust Gaddafi – ‘ma jmurx allahares qatt jibqa hemm!’
In fact the less they say about the subject, the better. Tonio Borg and George Vella exposed their inherent serf mentality on TV recently, but the worry is that unfortunately they actually reflect the feelings of a good chunk of the people of thiis country. Poor show indeed.
“Those who stand up to be counted pay the price everywhere and not just in Malta. The difference is that they do it regardless”
Pity the kids couldn’t have that drilled into their heads instead of MUSEUM’s dogma.
Having given such ignominious ‘advice’, it’s no wonder that the military adviser wishes to remain anonymous.
At any rate, the reasons he (I assume it’s a man) gives for “keeping our heads down” are of a political not military nature. Even neutrality itself is a political concept and so would fall outside the competence of a purely military adviser.
KEV I do not lose sleep over Mintoff. He is part or will be part of history soon. What does irk me is the deep divide that still exists between our people – this one man has a large responsibility to bear, especially for lumping us with KMB.
For what it is worth I believe bishop Gonzi was also partly responsible for the divide that exists to this day.
Mintoff in his foreign policies dumped us in a pit that has been hard to climb out of. What I cannot stand is the GOD like adulation that people offer to our political and religious leaders. Kev, you see all the wrongs done by the west, look at it as a war waged by other means – business.
The ex Soviet Union collapsed because it could not keep up with the west (USA included). This subtle battle is ongoing and it helps prevent the all out wars that could obliterate humanity
La Redoute, No, your quote shows that Henry Frendo wants Nato to establish a clear cut winner so that Malta can then stop hedging its bets and take a side.
La Redoute Oops sorry mate but I was skip reading. You were right all along.
Zvinturatament is-sistema f’Malta ma tantx taghmillhekk kuragg li tkun”Whistleblower” jew tiggieled l-ingustizja li tkun saret l-iktar meta in-naha l-ohra tkun Dipartiment Governattiv.Ma ssib ghajnuna minghand hadd l-anqas minn Ministeru li l-istess Dipartiment jaqa tahtu.
Kullhadd “Hokkli dari u nhokklhok tieghek”. Ibni ghadda minn ingustizzja kbira meta applika biex jidhol pulizija. Dejjem xtaq li jidhol hemm u ghalkemm kellu kwalifiki, tul u kull ma kien jehtieg biex jidhol baqa barra.
Ir-raguni kienet li l-vista ried jikkoregiha b’nuccali meta mieghu kien hemm min applika b’vista aghar min tieghu u dahal. Inkreddibilment ulied il-Kummissarju u l-ufficjali kollha jidhlu inkluz shabu li nzertaw kollha homor dahlu kollha ukoll u ibni li hu blu baqa barra.
Wegga hafna fuq hekk u weggajt izjed minnu jien. Iz-zmien jghaddi u jasal dak il-mument meta jigu jhabbtu l-bieb ghax f’dawk iz-zminijiet jiftakru fik. Dak li tizzra tahsad u zgur li ibni se jirreciproka dak kollu li ghamlu mieghu f’dak il-mument!
Nifhmek. Jien qtajt qalbi minn Malta fuq hekk. Lanqas tghid jippruvaw jahbu l-cronyism. Issa qed isir fil-miftuh, bla pudur.
U l-verità hi li mhemm xejn li nistghu naghmlu. So much for democracy.
I think that the situation has become too hot to handle. In truth, I believe that our politicians do not really know how to handle this present crisis. Just think – what is happening around us is really serious and you get the Leader of the Oppisition joking in New York.
A serious politician would have stayed here to try and give a hand in the tackling of the refugee problem. The government, it seems, needs all the help and advice it can get; and the Leader of the Opposition is IN DUTY BOUND to offer advice.
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