0

O

+

-

The oppressor can’t know the The oppressor can’t know the oppressed by the gaze, or oppressed by the gaze, or however, which homogenizes.however, which homogenizes.

The oppressed can know the The oppressed can know the oppressor, because she oppressor, because she heterogenizes; she becomes aware heterogenizes; she becomes aware of both the one and the other.of both the one and the other.

The subaltern can speak. Can the The subaltern can speak. Can the superaltern listen?superaltern listen?

+

_

The Yin-Yang form The Yin-Yang form entails complementation: entails complementation: the form is virtually both the form is virtually both

Yin and Yang, locally, Yin and Yang, locally, and it is neither Yin nor and it is neither Yin nor

Yang, globallyYang, globally

Its complementation as both Its complementation as both the one and the other and the one and the other and

neither the one nor the other neither the one nor the other is a matter of becoming, or is a matter of becoming, or of processing rather than of processing rather than

product. To get a sense of product. To get a sense of this becoming, consider…this becoming, consider…

Speaker/Listener: Speaking-ListeningSpeaker/Listener: Speaking-Listening Signifier/Signified: SignifyingSignifier/Signified: Signifying Oppressor/Oppressed: OppressingOppressor/Oppressed: Oppressing Gazer/Gazed: GazingGazer/Gazed: Gazing Superaltern/Subaltern: AlteringSuperaltern/Subaltern: Altering Dancer/Danced: DancingDancer/Danced: Dancing Trumpeter/Trumpeted: TrumpetingTrumpeter/Trumpeted: Trumpeting Dialogeur/Dialogeur: DialoguingDialogeur/Dialogeur: Dialoguing Consenseur/Consenseur: ConsensingConsenseur/Consenseur: Consensing Positive/Negative: ComplementingPositive/Negative: Complementing

Complementing, asComplementing, as

Think of the innumerable alternate Think of the innumerable alternate possibilities in Jorge Luis Borges’s possibilities in Jorge Luis Borges’s ‘The Garden…’, and other stories‘The Garden…’, and other stories

Think of Italo Calvino’s Think of Italo Calvino’s ‘membrane’ that separates what ‘membrane’ that separates what isis from what from what is not is not in in T-ZeroT-Zero

Think of Lispector’s ‘IT’ in Think of Lispector’s ‘IT’ in The The Stream of LifeStream of Life

It is becoming a matter It is becoming a matter of a fusion of truths of a fusion of truths

and what they are not, and what they are not, to create the equivalent to create the equivalent of of portmaneauportmaneau terms terms

Truth/Lie Truth/Lie ‘Trie-Luth’‘Trie-Luth’• Of the nature of Nelson Goodman’s ‘Grue Of the nature of Nelson Goodman’s ‘Grue

emeralds’ in his ‘New Riddle of Induction’emeralds’ in his ‘New Riddle of Induction’

• The Devil is in the details, of rendering The Devil is in the details, of rendering truth as half-truthing, rendering green as truth as half-truthing, rendering green as ‘grue’, or of transforming the earth the ‘grue’, or of transforming the earth the center of the universe to the Sun as center of the universe to the Sun as center of the Universe center of the Universe

But what if there’s no Devil?

‘I’m a writer who feels challenged by the enigma and the lies’ (Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano)The universal system of the lie practices amnesia. The North behaves as if it had won the lottery. Its wealth, however, is not the result of good fortune, but of a long, very long historical process of usurpation, which goes back to colonial times and has been greatly intensified by today’s modern and sophisticated techniques of pillage’ (Galeano)It is as if the oppressor (superaltern) were to say ‘I am lying’, but amnesia erases awareness of the statement

There is no Devil. He was a lie, There is no Devil. He was a lie, invented in order to perpetuate the invented in order to perpetuate the forgotten lie called the ‘conquest of forgotten lie called the ‘conquest of America’. There is no Devil:America’. There is no Devil:• Among indigenous culturesAmong indigenous cultures• In indigenous drama in the Andes, where In indigenous drama in the Andes, where

conquerors and priests move their conquerors and priests move their mouths but no words come outmouths but no words come out

• In rituals throughout Latin America and In rituals throughout Latin America and especially among African slaves: the especially among African slaves: the conquerors and slave owners are the conquerors and slave owners are the DevilDevil

‘‘When I give food to the When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. poor, they call me a saint. And when I ask why they And when I ask why they have no food, they call me a have no food, they call me a communist [the Devil?]’communist [the Devil?]’

Bishop Helder CámaraBishop Helder Cámara

There is no Devil. He was a lie, There is no Devil. He was a lie, invented in order to perpetuate the invented in order to perpetuate the forgotten lie:forgotten lie:•Capoeira among Afro-descendentsCapoeira among Afro-descendents•Candomblé, that Afro-Brazilian hybrid Candomblé, that Afro-Brazilian hybrid religionreligion

•The lie is truth ‘upside down’ The lie is truth ‘upside down’ (Galeano)(Galeano)

The Devil is nonetheless The Devil is nonetheless necessary: he is the necessary: he is the opposing force, author opposing force, author of the lie, opposite to of the lie, opposite to the truth, the goodthe truth, the good

Another complementarity: Another complementarity: Leader/Led: LeadingLeader/Led: Leading• ‘‘Speaking and listening is how true men and Speaking and listening is how true men and

women learn to walk. It is the word that women learn to walk. It is the word that gives form to that walk that goes on inside gives form to that walk that goes on inside us. It is the word that is the bridge to cross us. It is the word that is the bridge to cross to the other side. Silence is what Power to the other side. Silence is what Power offers our pain in order to make us small. offers our pain in order to make us small. When we are silenced, we remain very much When we are silenced, we remain very much alone. Speaking, we heal the pain. alone. Speaking, we heal the pain. Speaking, we accompany one another. Power Speaking, we accompany one another. Power uses the word to impose his empire of uses the word to impose his empire of silence. We use the word to renew ourselves. silence. We use the word to renew ourselves. Power uses silence to hide his crimes. We Power uses silence to hide his crimes. We use silence to listen to one another, to touch use silence to listen to one another, to touch one another, to know one anotherone another, to know one another’’

Subcomandante MarcosSubcomandante Marcos

Reason/Irreason: Reason/Irreason: Styles of ReasoningStyles of Reasoning•Nothing is categorically either Nothing is categorically either

good or bad, true or false, but good or bad, true or false, but contextualized thinking and contextualized thinking and talking can make it sotalking can make it so

‘‘I know I can be accused of sacrilege I know I can be accused of sacrilege in writing about political economy in in writing about political economy in the style of a novel…. But I confess I the style of a novel…. But I confess I get a pain from reading valuable get a pain from reading valuable works [by academes] who write in works [by academes] who write in code. Hermetic language isn’t the code. Hermetic language isn’t the invariable and inevitable price of invariable and inevitable price of profundity…. [I]t can simply conceal profundity…. [I]t can simply conceal incapacity for communication raised incapacity for communication raised to the category of intellectual virtue’to the category of intellectual virtue’• Eduardo GaleanoEduardo Galeano

The nobodies; nobody’s children, The nobodies; nobody’s children, owners of nothing. The nobodies: owners of nothing. The nobodies: the no ones, the nobodied, running the no ones, the nobodied, running like rabbits, dying through life, like rabbits, dying through life, screwed every which way.screwed every which way.

Who are not, but could be.Who are not, but could be. Who don’t speak languages, but Who don’t speak languages, but

dialects.dialects. Who don’t have religions, but Who don’t have religions, but

superstitions.superstitions. Who don’t create art, but handicrafts.Who don’t create art, but handicrafts.

• Eduardo GaleanoEduardo Galeano

Who don’t have culture, but folklore.Who don’t have culture, but folklore. Who are not human beings, but Who are not human beings, but

human resources.human resources. Who do not have faces, but arms.Who do not have faces, but arms. Who do not have names, but Who do not have names, but

numbers.numbers. Who do not appear in the history of Who do not appear in the history of

the world, but in the police blotter of the world, but in the police blotter of the local paper.the local paper.

The nobodies, who are not worth the The nobodies, who are not worth the bullet that kills them’.bullet that kills them’.• Eduardo GaleanoEduardo Galeano