#In #a #traditional #German #toilet, #the #hole #into #which #shit #disappears #after #we #flush #is #right #at #the #front, #so #that #shit #is #first #laid #out #for #us #to #sniff #and #inspect #for #traces #of #illness. #In #the #typical #French #toilet, #on #the #contrary, #the #hole #is #at #the #back, #i.e. #shit #is #supposed #to #disappear #as #quickly #as #possible. #Finally, #the #American #(Anglo-Saxon) #toilet #presents #a #synthesis, #a #mediation #between #these #opposites: #the #toilet #basin #is #full #of #water, #so #that #the #shit #floats #in #it, #visible, #but #not #to #be #inspected. #[...] #It #is #clear #that #none #of #these #versions #can #be #accounted #for #in #purely #utilitarian #terms: #each #involves #a #certain #ideological #perception #of #how #the #subject #should #relate #to #excrement. #Hegel #was #among #the #first #to #see #in #the #geographical #triad #of #Germany, #France #and #England #an #expression #of #three #different #existential #attitudes: #reflective #thoroughness #(German), #revolutionary #hastiness #(French), #utilitarian #pragmatism #(English). #In #political #terms, #this #triad #can #be #read #as #German #conservatism, #French #revolutionary #radicalism #and #English #liberalism. #[...] #The #point #about #toilets #is #that #they #enable #us #not #only #to #discern #this #triad #in #the #most #intimate #domain, #but #also #to #identify #its #underlying #mechanism #in #the #three #different #attitudes #towards #excremental #excess: #an #ambiguous #contemplative #fascination; #a #wish #to #get #rid #of #it #as #fast #as #possible; #a #pragmatic #decision #to #treat #it #as #ordinary #and #dispose #of #it #in #an #appropriate #way. #It #is #easy #for #an #academic #at #a #round #table #to #claim #that #we #live #in #a #post-ideological #universe, #but #the #moment #he #visits #the #lavatory #after #the #heated #discussion, #he #is #again #knee-deep #in #ideology.”
#- #Slavoj #Žižek, #The #Plague #of #Fantasies
#meme #memes #nostrmeme #nostrmemes #memestr #nostr
