On politeness

In the first version of the text Iphgenia wrote about me for 60pages, she described me as “not as polite as she seems.” In the final version that part of the sentence had disappeared. Maybe out of politeness. Maybe because sadly I am as polite as I seem. 60pages’ mission statement declares that it is directed towards speculations on “politics, elegance, travel, politeness, tennis, philosophy, shoes, love“ etc etc. Note that politeness comes before love (which comes after shoes), but follows behind elegance.

Christopher mentioned that Slavoj Žižek also talks about political politeness in the first edition of the 80*81 Book Collection. He talks about discipline and politeness, actually, and an “immune system of politeness,” and goes on to recount the time he accidentally witnessed the Soviet invasion in Prague at the age of 19, eating strawberry cake in the only operating patisserie on Wenceslas Square. “A perfectly intellectual position, enjoying the strawberry cake in deep solidarity.”

There is a passage about politeness in an Australian childrens’ book I grew up with, “The Magic Pudding: Being The Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and his friends Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff.“ The story revolves around said Magic Pudding, who, no matter how often he is eaten, always reforms in order to be eaten again.

“There you are,” said Bill. “There’s nothing this Puddin’ enjoys more than offering slices of himself to strangers.”

“How very polite of him,” said Bunyip, but the Puddin’ replied loudly—

”Politeness be sugared, politeness be hanged,

Politeness be jumbled and tumbled and banged.

It’s simply a matter of putting on pace,

Politeness has nothing to do with the case.”

“Always anxious to be eaten,” said Bill, ”that’s this Puddin’s mania. Well, to oblige him, I ask you to join us at lunch.”

Fundamentally Lacanian at its gelatinous heart, this foulmouthed and dour pudding’s mania is to be eaten. Self-sacrifice as the opposite of politeness – instead, egotistical fulfillment of one’s own hysterical dreams of consumption. What would Žižek say? Protect me from what I want? “Love is giving something you haven’t got to someone who doesn’t exist.”