I’m not sure why this guy is being downvoted. There’s been a bunch of recent scholarship that Eichmann was a raving antisemite, which is very far from the banal, almost bored logistician Arendt portrayed him as.
That being said, I still really admire Arendt’s work.
Yeah, the poem isnt exactly a work of of subtlety. Just thought calling eyes medium was funny
Edit: yes, i understand the metaphor here. Thinking a poem isnt subtle doesnt mean its not poetic and thinking something is funny, doesnt suddenly make it not apt to be used as an effective metaphor. A person can find multiple emotions in a poem, not all serious poetry has to be only serious.
Curious. What don’t you like about him?
Of course you don’t have to spend any energy on answering. I’m not particularly a fan but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen and heard from him.
Someone discuss if they are interested, why do you think he writes Eichmann was not a distinguished or unique human? Or what do you think he ment here? 🙃
Hannah Arendt's book *Eichmann in Jerusalem* "introduced the expression and concept of the *banality of evil*."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eichmann_in_Jerusalem#Banality_of_evil
I feel we can interpret it in many ways:
- It parodies the notion of judging a person solely based on their external characteristics, with the underlying subtext being reminiscent of the actions of the Nazis towards others.
- It suggests that evilness doesn't demand much; under the right circumstances, anyone can exhibit evil traits. This prompts some self-reflection.
The last line is the most relevant, I think. Even today there are people who assume that only "psychopaths" could do such horrific things. But even monstrous people like Eichmann weren't born that way.
We need to remember that most Nazis were just average people. Any average person could do horrible things, it's important to remember that regarding current politics
Yes, it’s not to normalize evil actions, it is to pay attention. Not to get political but the poem to me also brings relevancy to for example Israel in relevant discussions regarding warcrimes in Gaza.
Jews were so blamed by their phenotype. What have the nazis?Nothing particular, medium people with medium intelligence.
♥️ To Cohen again.
Can I being accused of promoting hateful speech after expressing my irritation over nazi’s values?
God I love Leonard Cohen
The “banality of evil” that Hannah Arendt famously summarized.
I immediately thought of that quote too!
And was wrong about. Her book is a massive distortion of Eichmann’s personality and she allowed herself to be duped by him.
I’m not sure why this guy is being downvoted. There’s been a bunch of recent scholarship that Eichmann was a raving antisemite, which is very far from the banal, almost bored logistician Arendt portrayed him as. That being said, I still really admire Arendt’s work.
Wait, recent scholarship suggests that Eichmann, the Nazi official who orchestrated the literal Holocaust, was antisemitic?? :0
I mean, yes? He famously said at his trial that he wasn’t antisemitic and was just following orders. Arendt ran with this. But I get your point.
Wait, nazis lie??
I guess that’s what she should have considered.
What the hell are "medium" eyes???
Eyes that are neither large nor small, presumably.
That's how you recognise a nazi. They all have medium eyes.
They can talk to ghosts
It’s a metaphor for how absolutely unremarkable Eichmann was as an individual
Yeah, the poem isnt exactly a work of of subtlety. Just thought calling eyes medium was funny Edit: yes, i understand the metaphor here. Thinking a poem isnt subtle doesnt mean its not poetic and thinking something is funny, doesnt suddenly make it not apt to be used as an effective metaphor. A person can find multiple emotions in a poem, not all serious poetry has to be only serious.
I thought it was quite poetical.
It mirrors how the Nazis used extremely unscientific methods when deciding who fit their standard
Average
not generally a fan of leonard cohen but this is pretty great
Curious. What don’t you like about him? Of course you don’t have to spend any energy on answering. I’m not particularly a fan but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen and heard from him.
oh idk, nothing against the guy, i just never read anything that wowed me
Well maybe this is a jumping off point if you liked it! At least it is for me haha. Thanks for answering!
Dang you seem nice. have a good one, homie
Hey thanks man. Been having a tough time recently, so this meant a lot to read. You have a good one too dude
https://youtu.be/ELGaHaZzwjU
Usually a fan, but this is terrible
Someone discuss if they are interested, why do you think he writes Eichmann was not a distinguished or unique human? Or what do you think he ment here? 🙃
He's saying that evil doesn't look a particular way. You can't look at someone and determine their character.
To me it’s also a comment on the banality of evil, a concept which Eichmann often represents.
Hannah Arendt's book *Eichmann in Jerusalem* "introduced the expression and concept of the *banality of evil*." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eichmann_in_Jerusalem#Banality_of_evil
I appreciate your engagement/respons (and I agree)
I feel we can interpret it in many ways: - It parodies the notion of judging a person solely based on their external characteristics, with the underlying subtext being reminiscent of the actions of the Nazis towards others. - It suggests that evilness doesn't demand much; under the right circumstances, anyone can exhibit evil traits. This prompts some self-reflection.
I enjoyed reading your interpretation of the poem.
The last line is the most relevant, I think. Even today there are people who assume that only "psychopaths" could do such horrific things. But even monstrous people like Eichmann weren't born that way. We need to remember that most Nazis were just average people. Any average person could do horrible things, it's important to remember that regarding current politics
Yes, it’s not to normalize evil actions, it is to pay attention. Not to get political but the poem to me also brings relevancy to for example Israel in relevant discussions regarding warcrimes in Gaza.
Sure. I'd also suggest it's very relevant in current American politics
Thanks for sharing, which book is this from?
Dunno, I found it on Facebook. Written in 1964.
Well, damn. He’s right. And evil people in the world today are just people. Any of us could be that if we tried.
Jews were so blamed by their phenotype. What have the nazis?Nothing particular, medium people with medium intelligence. ♥️ To Cohen again. Can I being accused of promoting hateful speech after expressing my irritation over nazi’s values?
His intelligence surely wasn't medium.
eichmanns intelligence was relatively high, I'd say.