Barbarians at the gate
The assault on the Roman empire by Goths in 410 AD gave rise to the phrase ‘Barbarians at the Gate’. This is how an attack by a foreign and rival group of people was perceived. When the Ottoman armies in 1529 and 1683 got as far as the gates of Vienna, the Viennese felt the Barbarians were at the gate. The Greek poet Constantine Cavafy wrote an ironic poem ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’. He wondered why the Roman Senate had not adorned themselves with fine robes and jewels as they waited ? He viewed the exercise of waiting to be fraught with excitement.
In one way or another we have waited for Barbarians all our life and they are not waiting anywhere, simply advancing. If the kaleidoscope shifts a little, new colours appear in global landscapes, new thoughts, newly interpreted vocabularies and sensibilities are the Barbarians of our age and we use many platforms to welcome, safeguard, retard their advance and denigrate them.
Recently, a distraught and distinguished film maker moans “ I don’t recognize my industry anymore”.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“I cannot shoot a film which is non European. Any attempt now to deviate from my north European heritage is called voice appropriation.”
“Oh just ignore it”, I shoot back.
“ I make films and they wont get funded .” he spits out savagely.
Then the unseemly whine of an author of good books.
“I am not writing Victim Literature ,stories of immigration woes as well the collective guilt of colonial ancestors. My new work is being rejected by publishers.” she is also spitting the words out savagely.
“Hey manuscripts have never been colour coded,” I leap to a naive defence.
“Wrong. Publishers pay full homage to diversity or they will not get tax benefits or win awards.”
“Just remember Malcolm Lowry had 37 rejections before ‘Under the Volcano’ was picked up. It was more than a winner.” I console.
“Fill out any provincially or federally funded grant application lately ?. Seen the racial profiling sections? Wish I could add , hey my teeth are white but my gums are dark.” she splutters with defeatist laughter.
Of course I cannot tell her my own little dark secret. Gender, that silly nonsense of a bygone era is frowned upon. Of course all the biologists were wrong. Non-binary gender is fluid now and lots of people we thought were male are now females. I love surprises, don’t you? However, a visit to the sole washroom of a theatre which, simply put, was for everyone, had gripped me with unease and so in a cowardly fashion I crossed the street to use a conventionally separated one. That was two years ago and I have settled down since that. But if I am checking to see if my hose is lined up correctly and need to hike up the skirt of my dress I still don’t want a man hunched over a wash basin next to me. What if he peeked? What if I got excited and the spectre of washroom sex reared its thoroughly European head.? Sigh…..I am not that cool yet.
The world is a busy place now as blocks of vocal educators, Psychologists and social justice activists re-arrange how we even talk let alone think. We are now ‘woke’. That means we are on the higher rung of the evolutionary ladder. Finally we are acutely aware of societal injustices namely racial ones. It is no longer your country but everyone’s so the pie is now to be shared. Check with the statue toppling gang they have been quiet for a while now. No country is a melting pot, mosaic or multicultural. Simply ghettoes within affluent ghettoes. There are now myriad festivals and celebrations replicating cultures from all over the world. If you try and get frisky and enjoy this don’t forget the ‘We shall not forget gang’ has their placards and marchers ready. Choose which side of the barricade you want to be on.
“Listen I am Dutch and i want my grandchildren to see Windmills, Tulips and Cheese around them. Now we have Minarets of mosques, Shawarma wrappers and Kebabs,” said the blonde Dutch visitor..
“That’s a narrow world view . Aren’t you afraid of being accused of racism.”
“No. My family has been here for seven generations. We love our Dutch culture. These , these people…. have just arrived and they cannot take over . They want to live here they have to learn to be Dutch.”
“Your progressive government does not think so,”
“We will change the Government then. I don’t know how they got into our country.”
Who will tell her that Barbarians have entered her country in Planes with legitimate visas and others as refugees. They are a solid labour force boosting the economy and being very polite even scrubbing floors and toilets to meet their rents and grocery bills.
Who is a gatekeeper? A person who guards access. Now there are hordes of Barbarians turned gatekeeper and their mission is not to let the other side in. Check the performing Arts. ‘Oscars so White’ slowly turning into ‘Oscars so Black’. What is under threat here is ‘Merit’. Books are being removed from Libraries and academic curriculums as the authors were unfortunate to be born in the pre woke eras. This is a nasty picture of the world. Everyone was a racist and many basked in the marauding injustices of colonial ventures. So much creative magic trashed as the barbarians turned gate keepers are censoring ruthlessly. The bad cannot mix with the good anymore. I am getting bored. Are you ? I want a dash of evil so crusaders will rise against it. Conflict gives rise to excitement. The world is in motion. We cannot all be alike. So lets just keep the barbarians at the gate a while longer as we learn how to recognize and equalize.
yes, i remember rhe street parties.
Great article. Enjoyed it :)