Alterman's Group-fantasy quip (ph slip)

Letter to Nation 5.31.06

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060612/alterman

Responding to Eric Alterman’s, uh, deep insight into TIME’s life today:

Recently, Time added to its stable Caitlin Flanagan, who debuted with an unsourced attack on Democrats for family hating. They also added Ana Marie Cox, a putative liberal whose specialty on her blog, Wonkette, were posts about--sorry, Mom--"ass-****ing," as im to prove the conservatives' point about liberal perversity….

In the interest of a little PC around here, it’s called “butt-banging” over where I post. Male-talk, admittedly, but it gets by mom.

But, seriously (as in reversals), what he touches on here is nothing more nor less than anal male rape (or maybe it wouldn’t be); “gaynxiety,” my friend dubbed it. It's everywhere. Mostly only fantasized about; and that, unconsciously. It illustrates the notion of "unconscious group-fantasy" -- by individuals, but projected into their participation in group relations, and acted out.

This is the psychosexual component Freud analyzed in the Daniel Schreber case. The abuse and humiliation of naked Iraqi men in Abu Ghraib is subscripted by Freud’s 1923 “the Economic Problem of Masochism”: the desire to be beaten by the Father is also the desire to ‘have some passive (feminine) sexual relations with him’. A trend of “moral masochism” connects with this “love” of Father (-’s abuse); being the ‘good boy” who lays the stick on the “bad guy” expresses that kind of “love” (and keeps the Old Man off his back).

“The phantasies,” he writes, referring to ‘phantasies of masochistic persons, who are often in consequence impotent;…either terminate in an onanistic act or else themselves constitute the sexual gratification”, “ …are in complete accord with the real conditions sought by the masochistic perverts, whether these situations are enacted as an end in themselves or serve to induce potency and lead up to sexual intercourse.” Cf. the Lynddie Endland affair. “In both cases,” he continues, “—for the real situations are in fact only a kind of make-believe performance of the phantasies – the manifest content is of being pinioned, bound, beaten, painfully whipped, in some way mishandled, forced to obey unconditionally, defiled, degraded.”

That is what the American male wanted to see (and women wanted to see if they could bring it about), and so it was brought about. The underlying psychodynamic has been to defend “our” “backsides” – asses -- from that hot Arab/Muslim jihad masculinity; protect our women and children. The reversals belonging to the fantasy condition have been evident all. “What did you think all those turbans and sheets was about?”, in the words of Willie Nelson’s great song “Cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other”, adapted from “saddles and boots.” No opening our southern border to little brown aliens, or letting Arab Emirates of Dubai gain control of our vulnerable ‘ports’. Not if Lou Dobbs, Chuck Schumer, and Hillary Clinton can help it.

This hypothesis is not just metaphor, it is a grand sweeping analysis of the root psychosis. Since the condition is unconscious it cannot be addressed directly. However even as “moral values” directly affected the ’04 election, ’06 is shaping up as the year to sanctify marriage and end the Iraq war. End the shame “gay” sinfulness has brought on the nation. “You don’t have to call it God”, they could say. – And start one against Iran. That G-d’s still safe to fight for.

Or is it.

KEYWORD for psychogooglesearch.com.//2006 : SHAME