It’s those who talk all the time about Malta and the Maltese not being inferior who actually have an inferiority complex, however latent
I am tired already of the way ‘inferiority’ has become a running theme in Maltese political discourse. “We are not inferior”, they say. “Malta is not inferior.”
The Labour Party is truly guilty of this, with all its hang-ups, but sometimes the less enlightened Nationalist politicians are not much better.
Now the prime minister has even seen fit to tweet about it. How ridiculous. Just grow up, will you, and all those who think as you do.
Nothing is less guaranteed to get respect and equal treatment than a ‘how dare you treat me as less than I am’ stance, because it shows that you don’t think much of yourself to start with.
I’m not impressed by all this talk of being “Mediterraneans”, either – see Muscat’s other tweet here. He seems to be presenting this business as Mediterranean Malta versus Rest of Europe.
He and his supporters really need to ferret out an online atlas and discover just how much of Europe lies on the Mediterranean – certainly a whole lot more than tiny Malta. Much of Spain and France lie on the Mediterranean, and so do almost the whole of Italy and Greece, and Cyprus in its entirety. Slovenia has a Mediterranean border larger than Malta’s, and Croatia – the newest member state – has an extensive and very famous one which attracts many hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
29 Comments Comment
Leave a Comment
Note his ‘reasonable partners’. Don’t think I remember him ever saying ‘full members’.
I’m really curious to know what he vowed, marrying Michelle.
‘Partnership’ anyone?
I told Joseph we should pay him what he’s worth. He said no way, I’m already getting more than that.
There’s no such thing as “the Mediterraneans”. Both ethnically and culturally the region is extremely diverse.
And the EU has never “forgotten” North Africa so Joseph is breaking down (or pretending to) an open door.
He’s one to talk eh? By “North Africa” he means Libya, and at a stretch, Tunisia. We don’t even have embassies in Morocco, Algeria and Egypt, so who is he to wag his finger?
Sure. No sense of inferiority. All hail China.
We’re not inferior. That’s why we plan to be the new Chinese province in the Mediterranean.
I, for one, acknowledge our new Chinese overlords.
Can you believe that with our Chinese partners we will form about 20% of the world’s population? How can we be “inferior” then?
Overlords, not partners. This is real slavery, not EU membership.
However, I, for one, acknowledge once again our Chinese overlords and perhaps is there any service I might render?
The moment any person states that he does not feel that he is inferior to others, that would be a confirmation that he DOES feel inferior.
If one were to listen again to what Dr. Muscat said about Dr. Gonzi yesterday in Parliament, one would notice that when he became Leader of the MLP he felt very inferior to the P.N. leader, and he confirmed this in his speech witout mentioning the word ‘inferior’.
Regarding which E.U. countries are in the Mediterranean, I think you were expecting too much, if not from Joseph Muscat himself, then from the majority of his followers, even if a good number of them may have visited some of these countries whilst on holiday.
Fernand Braudel is famous for his study of the Mediterranean.
[Daphne – What does that have to do with anything, David?]
And what the heck is he doing tweeting in English.
Tweet in Maltese. Or are you ashamed of your mother tongue?
If #EU want to know what you say, they will rush to have it translated.
I partly disagree with you on this one.
Many people in Malta live under the illusion that Malta is a mighty and powerful country and the centre of the universe.
Their woolly understanding of history supports all of this too. They think Malta defeated the Ottoman Empire and saved Europe in the little squabble they call “The Great Seige”, for example.
But when faced with the reality ( we are only 450 000 people) their illusion is threatened.
The careful use of words like “Mediterranean” or “Southern Europe” by Muscat sends a very clear message: I know how you feel, and look I try and support that very same delusion too and would like to help you do the same.
That is one of the main reasons why China has suddenly become our best friend. Although they don’t realize that they are the only ones who care about China. China doesn’t give a damn about Malta.
That illusion was bolstered by the Peter Serracino Inglott/Oliver Friggieri/Guido Demarco/Mintoff brigade.
All that rubbish about the sea as common heritage of mankind, bridge between wotsits, solving the Arab-Israeli conflict, gojell f’nofs ta’ bahar and such tripe.
Malta is an accident on the map. That’s all it is.
Of course it’s inferior.
Whilst I agree with you that Malta is a tiny dot on the map – we as a nation have given much more than our share as a small island during the the first and second world wars and again during the Libyan civil war.
Regarding the sea being a common heritage, this was decided by the UNO when Malta presented two important motions which were adopted by the United Nations, one regarding the sea and the other the rights and respect of old aged persons – maybe someone out there might have detailed information on these two resolutions.
You cannot agree with me, because that is not what I said.
‘Accident’ means accident of history. If it weren’t for one bastard named D. Mintoff, and a bunch of misguided philo-Fascist agitators on the other side, history would have taken its natural course, and Malta would have become a British dependency. That would have spared us all the hang-ups about the language, the tiny dot, the geographical position, and the cultural identity.
The “important motion” presented by Malta was bollocks. Like most of the airy-fairy concepts which we seem to indulge in. It did nothing to change anything. But it was enough to turn some of our people into household names, and give us illusions of grandeur.
During the First World War, Malta did bugger all. Except for one man, Dwardu Ellul, who enlisted in the French Army. And a handful of officers serving with the British Army (which belies al the rubbish about konna mjassrin u ma stajniex navvanzaw).
As for the Libyan Civil War, spare me the tripe. Malta did nothing. It just stood on the sidelines and hoped that Gaddafi would pull through.
I bumped into John Galliano the other day. As you know, he was born in Gibraltar. He’s short and stumpy with a giant hook nose and Sephardic Jewish features. Probably even uglier than me. Hence his anti-Jewish rant. I felt like going up to him and giving him a hug. But because Gibraltar is a British dependency, to all the world he is British, with a British passport, a British accent and British everything. And he doesn’t go on about how Gibraltar is a tiny dot on the map but how it has given more than its fair share.
Independence was the worst disaster ever to befall Malta.
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
After Joey’s feet stamping, and KZT’s impassioned article extolling The Great Leader, I saw this headline and thought Joey’s crew had gone to demand ‘solidarity’ in Spain.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130717/local/Stompers-take-bulls-by-the-horns-in-Pamplona.478293
It’s not a complex, Labour IS inferior….. and appeals to those who are.
If you have sold your soul to anyone – whether literally, figuratively or subconsciously – you have placed yourself in an inferior position.
There is much envy in Malta for those who haven’t, and who walk with head high in that full knowledge. Where there is envy, misinformation is spread.
The weak find it convenient and expedient to use the dagger to finish off their work.
The strong look at other elements besides the flash of gold coin; elements that create a harmonious balance – spread over past, present and future.
The weak can be lead in any direction, any way the wind happens to be blowing: black one moment, white the other.
The strong choose with care and principle, irrespective of where the crowd goes.
The weak place conditions on having principles.
The strong will keep them where none are present.
The weak will depend on others to create the environment in which they are able to act. They fail to notice they are simply toeing a line.
The strong create their own conditions and actions.
The weak are never free, but forever subservient.
The strong place their brand of freedom on every action taken.
Ultimately, it all lies in choices and actions taken.
Nobility of spirit lies in intention. Valour, in determination.
Even the noble can be servile.
We are the southernmost border of the European Union. The smallest nation state in the world that divides two large continents. A nation whose culture, unlike that of other Mediterranean states, except Cyprus to a lesser extent, has been blended with the British culture. When one compares Malta to say Sicily, the comparison is stark. We think like the Sicilians but behave like the British. We eat Mediterranean food but consume alcohol in an Anglo-Saxon fashion while speaking a Bedouin language, understood by the Arabs while we do not understand them.
We could have used English as our Communication language having served as a colony for almost 200 odd years, but preferred Maltese as our official language in the EU parliament. In fact Maltese, is a primary requisite in our University and the fact that so many students fail to attain Maltese at o;level standard, disqualifies them from further studies, irrespective of their Education course, some of whom are forced to continue their education overseas.
When it comes to the inferiority complex issue, we are, after all, the smallest state in the EU but insisted on buying ourselves one of the largest Building sites in Brussels, believing that size does matter
I think that’s what Joseph Muscat means by his term Mediterranean.
A “Bedouin” language, understood by the Arabs while we do not understand them…” What a thing to say.
“understood by the Arabs while we do not understand them.”
Why is that?
How come native Arabic speakers can understand the Maltese language more than a native Maltese speaker can understand spoken Arabic?
[Daphne – They can’t. That’s just the usual received wisdom.]
Psycholinguistic blockage, rather than anything else.
Maltese derives from Maghrebi Arabic of the 10th century. Maltese may not understand Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) but Tunisian dialect is pretty similar to the language variety of Malta.
From a strictly linguistic standpoint, when there is intercomprehension between two varieties, we no longer refer to them as separate and distinct languages; they are dialects of the same.
As for MSA, the Maltese are not the only ones who do not understand it. Many native Arabic speakers do not understand MSA either unless they have been to school.
To illustrate: if a non-educated Moroccan met a non-educated Iraqi, they would speak their respective Arabic dialects and intercomprehension would be pretty restricted. Nationals of Arab countries communicate using MSA as their respective dialects do not allow full understanding.
Maltese is therefore an offshoot/dialect of Arabic. Actually, at the French INALCO (Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales), Maltese is part of the Department of Arabic Language and Dialects (s).
This piece is a modest and humble scientific contribution to set the record straight. No offence is meant.
[Daphne – Yes, you are right. It is perfectly possible for a Maltese person to follow a conversation taking place at the next table in Tunis. Even some of the verbal tics are the same (“Smajtni, smajtni? Isma isma!” used to punctuate a narrative told to a person who is quite obviously listening.)]
Good explanation Carpediem, it solved one of my life’s unexplained mysteries, or one of it’s myths to be precise.
Min jaf kemm jghajjat ma’ Michelle meta ma joghgbuhx is-salad u r-ross il-forn.
He has to raise his voice hux… biex izommu reasonable partnership.
CENCERED THANKS IT MAKES ME FEEL VERY VERY GOOD
[Daphne – The word is ‘censored’. Censorship and editor’s decisions are two separate things. There are forums for people like you. Please go there.]
I found this quote which I think would be a suitable reply to Joseph Muscat’s tweet.
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt, This is My Story