The anti-system/nationalist/ethno-anarchist community of Barcelona (or at least of Sant Cugat) is currently up in arms in attempt to achieve freedom for Francesc Argemi (now ubiquitously known as "Franki"). Indeed, there seems to be nothing the kheffiyah-sporting weekend freedom-fighters from good Convergencia families won't hang banners from in order to secure his freedom.
Franki's terrible crime was to take down the Spanish flag from Terrassa town hall and burn it in full view of various policemen. One has to admire the dreadlocked goon's initiative, it is very difficult to find a Spanish flag to burn in Catalonia nowadays, he must have been searching for hours, poor lamb.
However, much as I despise bourgeois-vegan-ethno-nationalists-que-van-de-progre, I'm going to have to add my voice to the catala-cacophony calling for his liberation. While, I have no objection to Franki's prosecution for criminal damage, the flag was not his, and it's unfair that the tax-payers of Terrassa should have to pay for another one, this is not the reason Franki is in prison. Franki is in prison for offending the dignity of Spain's national symbols. This is a gross breach of his right to free-expression, and a sinister abuse of state power; if a man wants to wipe his arse on the flag then piss on a picture of the king (whether for political or sexual reasons) then surely that is his own business and nobody else's. End of story.
That doesn't mean I don't think he's a twat. He was ceremonially burning a symbol of an identity that he didn't share, and therefore implicitly stating that people who did share that identity had no place in his territory, or at the very least, were not equals there.
Paradoxically, if he had considered himself Spanish, I would support his actions. The burning of your own flag can be a powerful expression of rejection of the state, or of what you perceive as the corruption of your country. Burning somebody elses's flag is a different matter; an American burning the stars and stripes could be making a powerful call for renewal, a Canadian doing the same thing is a prejudiced wanker.
Let's get this straight, burning the Spanish flag and leaving the Catalan flag inviolate is not the gesture of a socialist or of anarchist (as some have described him) it is merely rank nationalism. Franki's stupid little performance was a profoundly negative gesture of cultural chauvinism, which I despise.
I demand his immediate unconditional release.
13 comentarios:
Good post. Actually, I haven't read any of the detail behind this case but I agree that it's ridiculous that any tax funds are wasted on punishing this guy. Curiously, an acquaintance is 'very good friends' with Franki and says that he wasn't even there at the time, but is well known enough to the police that they decided to nick him for it. Not sure how true that is, mind.
However, I don't believe that burning one country's flag and not another is inherently nationalist or non-socialist. It is perfectly possible to do that and remain a socialist. I mean, by that rationale he'd have to burn every flag in the world.
As to whether he was stitched up, I'm not placed to say. It's certainly not unusual in Spain.
I don't think people should burn flags of countries they don't consider to be their own, and from what I can tell on-line, Franki doesn't consider himself Spanish.
There is a large community in Catalonia who actively identify with the Spanish state, the action of burning the Spanish flag and not the Catalan one states that this community is not part of the Catalonia that he wants to create.
For me this kind of exclusion is not the act of a socialist. For the same reason I wouldn't consider Sinn Fein socialist, while they have many policies that I would agree with, their first condition of existence is a nationalism which explicitly excludes the desires of part of the Irish population.
If he had burnt both flags, it would have been a rejection of all national government in the territory, and I would probably have supported him. Personally, I would happily burn all the flags of the world, but that's a different story...
Sorry, to clarify, you have to burn, your own flag, or all flags.
I'm not sure what happens if you can only get your hands on a hundred or so. I suppose if it's a representative sample, then that's ok.
Bon sang, Boynameduse: permets-moi une petite remarque sur ton répértoire. Car, de même façon qu’on écrit un essai sur UN sujet, ou l’on joue un concert sur UN auteur ou UN ensemble, j’avais cru qu’un blog était objet de suivre UN leitmotiv. Or, je dois reconnaître que j’ai du mal à trouver, parfois, la cohérence nécéssaire dans le tien, à cheval de la politique-fiction, des drogues, la zoologie, la critique musicale, l’histoire, l’économie, saisonné avec du bloghunt (‘chasse au bloc’), l’antinationalisme du résident britannique expatrié, voire l’antihispanisme et la francophobie. Puisque je ne doute nullement pas de ton adroitesse, je t’en prie de nous renseigner un petit plus sur ton choix si aléatoire qui nous surprit autant qu’il nous plait. Je t’en remercie.
Puis, touchant à la question de l’incarceration de Francesc Argemi, l’indépéndantiste catalan accusé d’avoir et volé et brûlé un drapeau espagnol devant la police –quoique tom en dise-, il faut reconnaître que l’incendie volontaire du drapeau national est un acte de provocation et violence intolérable. Tu même en sors une comparaison très réussie avec la vague d’incendies d’images du roi d’Espagne en Catalogne recemment, dont il faut en extraire la conclusion qu’il s’agit de formes parallèles d’’executio in effigie’, plutôt de déclaration de guerre dans le cas du drapeau, et donc d’attac à l’État, à ses institutions, à ses représentants, moyennant ses symboles. Il appare que les radicaux pourraient attaquer l’État impunément, avec ses petites rastas, sa tenue baba, sa rhétorique démagogique, son recours constant à la violence.
Ce qui, par contre, n’a reconnu aucunement l’alentour du soi-disant ‘Franki’ c’est sa pétite histoire de petits vols et assauts à des magasins, justement la petite histoire qui l’a envoyé en prison à cause de ses précédents en justice, non pas l’incendie du drapeau stricto sensu. Dans la Barcelone vulgarisée des gauchistes sans-soux (Yomango, etc) qui decidèrent bâtir l’alternative au capitalisme et à la guerre en volant ses produits, Franki répresente le mythe du bon mec sans moyens contre un État opresseur tout-puissant.
Les iPods, les télévisions à l’écran de plasma et les appareils DVD qu’il a volés avant du drapeau espagnol, cependant, il y a temps que Franki les brûla aussi pour se rouler des joints à Terrassa.
Salut - la bête
I agree in that, as Boynamedsue points out, Lil' Franki is basically an asshole. Nothing more.
And nothing less.
This said, you guys are increasingly and dangerously soft on the anecdotal value of the acts of a social subprime element.
There are two things worrysome about Franki goes to Barcelona.
1) the recurrent tendency to arsoning that die-hard jerks in Catalonia are currently performing. You know: 'Jo també cremo la corona dels borbons', 'jo també cremo la bandera d'espanya'...what's next? 'jo també cremo el cotxe de l'espanyolàs'?. Symbols arsoning is, unsurprisingly, quite reminiscent of Germany 1939. Of course, to a lesser and more mediocre Catalan degree (where are the Heideggers, Riefenstahls or Speers in Catalonia?). I'm not saying that calimotxo mobs will get out of hand (their dads are all too bourgeouis to let the game go beyond the reasonable) I am saying that it is just too VULGAR.
2) Abuse of power. Since you won't find an equivalent mob burning Catalan symbols (in Catalonia, that is...) then the Spanish flag (a rarity in Catalonia, as BNS incidentally but rightly notes) is some sort of tiger subspecies whose protection should certainly be enforced.
The authorities won't mess with someone crushing a cat: there are just too many of them to possibly care (equivalent: Catalan senyeres). However, the authorities should care if one of the last Amur tigers are killed (equivalent: Spanish flag in Catalonia).
This said, to prove that I am not hawkish all the time -and as a pardon granted because Spain advanced into semifinals- you have my acquiescence to release Franki.
Someone has to buy Obrint Pas or Ovidi Montllor records after all. Francesc Argemí is the right man.
The search for narrative is one of humanity's defining characteristics, la bete. Unfortunately I will have to answer your implied question ("What the hell is this blog supposed to be about?") in a similar way to Binet, the inventor of IQ tests, who replied to the question "What is intelligence?" by saying "What my test measure".
This blog is about the things that are on it, at first I tried to limit it, but I lost it about early-June and now the whole thing's spiralling out of control.
I couldn't disagree more on the question of protection of state symbols, I believe the only controls on free speech should be against incitement to violence against people. We can't limit symbolic violence, and I think to do so would be counter-productive.
Also, I feel that in certain circumstances burning of one's own flag can be positive, after all there could be no tricolore if the fleur-de-lys hadn't burned.
De: you and me agreeing on something! Just like the old days...
Congrats to Spain, how very unlike the spoilt primera brats to not bottle it in the penalty shoot out (England do the same generally), perhaps they have developed some spine finally.
Just a point re flags...
your analogy with the tigers provided the kind of narrative coherence la bete is looking for, so I applaud you for it. However endangered as Spanish flags are, they can be still be bought in tourist shops on the Ramblas, something that can't be said of our tigrine amigos. The endangerment is not a question of numbers, it's a question of acceptability, quite apolitical catalans have now been taught that the national flag is a fascist symbol.
That's a good one indeed: perhaps those Spanish juvenile (and not so much) spoilt guys have developped a spine, finally...Italians, despite Bossi's rants, have historically proven to have the guts to defeat Spain at ease at penalty shots (a recurrent nightmare) but this time something strange happened. Was it the Estatut de Catalunya proving beneficial also in this regard? I have no freaking idea, but this must be taken as an exception rather than rule, and we dont want football to be included in the long list of topics this blessed blogs is about anyway, right, la bête?
Indeed, good remark, comme d'habitude: not only numbers, but acceptability. And the Spanish flag in Catalonia qualifies as CR (Critically Endangered, in UICN parlance) per both criteria.
BNS, we never stopped agreeing. You strive for a Marxist awakening, I want to whisper in the ears of Bossy the I, but we both agree on the radical change needed.
The rest are only details... ;)
De Jong.
Grim faces at ERC headquarters. Somber looks at PNV's, too.
The chief at the latter had expressed his sympathy for Russia's team (apparently he's a keen follower ever since the soviet school of football ¿?). In turn, the recently elected ERC chief has supported Turkey (is he aiming at multiculturalists, maybe?)
But the unbelievable truth is that the spoilt guys led by the old ugly guy have made it through the final. They developped some spine, finally (thanks to BNS for this great wording)
Fat cats and big whigs at the 25 years ruling regional nationalist establishments in the Basque Country and Catalonia are biting their nails, nervous laughs are heard...
...what if Spain won the Eurocup? would that unleash an unstoppable celebration in the streets sporting flags of Spain? (oh my!). If they did that, a 25 years old taboo would have been broken just for a fucking football game, which is by all means unacceptable. Could then a Tibetan-like uprising of otherwise silent white trash Spanish scum with little profficiency in Catalan ensue?
Obviously, before this scenario, the ruling heads would order the mossos d'esquadra to charge against that unacceptable display of otherwise despised symbols. Entire medium sized cities in suburban Barcelona could be temporarily out of nationalist control for a few hours.
What if the people out there happened to think that the Spanish are not only those extremly vulgar, freaky, lazy chauvinist folks with horrible teeth (typically Andalusian) which TV3 usually shows as to illustrate the Spanish breed?
Well, even if they dont win the final, there is some damage done by now.
The Catalan frozen and well controlled political scenario will certainly contain it. The work of decades will be proven solid.
But at least these little bastards are annoyed. That is, like mastercard, priceless.
Luis Aragonés (translated by De Jong).
Ho sento, nois (i noies, tots i totes, without exception, as it is now customary in Spain) but, what goes around, comes around...
... http://img186.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=79570_onwed_122_459lo.jpg
priceless indeed!
That really is priceless de...
Adeu Espanya...
Bon dia als campeons.
Hopefully ERC's last remaining voter/voteress/votertransgendered is cancelling his/her/its/their/our/thy subscription to Avui as we speak.
One day you are seen putting swastikas on anything German because Air Berlin didnt pledge to 'normalització' and then the next week 'avui tots i totes som...DEUTSCHLAND' because they are playing against Spain.
sic transit gloria mundi for the Catalanist flock nowadays...
Oh, that adeuespanya thing must be one of the best visual jokes I've seen in years: brazen catalanista Schadenfreude (I don't know how this translates into English) growing increasingly frustrated as Spain wriggles into the next round, increasingly anxious support for all of Spain’s contenders, a last overblown log in capitals "AVUI TOTS I TOTES AMB... DEUTSCHLAND!" sounding like “quieres que te la chupe?” right before German Untergang as Spain clinches the championship.
Then, the same ashamed guy rushing to his room with burro català and the mandatory Països Catalans poster to erase his blog like an Eastern German rat rushing to shred files on the eve of reunification under the scrutiny of a Marx-Engels portrait, while happy crowds take the streets of his Osona or Garrotxa town shouting the merry kalinka tune “soy, soy, español, español, español”.
Again, a fine example of the humour of absurd by courtesy of die-hard catalanisme and the least likely scenario.
Which is when, in the light of what ensued, your last words become prophetic:
“...what if Spain won the Eurocup? would that unleash an unstoppable celebration in the streets sporting flags of Spain? (oh my!). If they did that, a 25 years old taboo would have been broken just for a fucking football game, which is by all means unacceptable. Could then a Tibetan-like uprising of otherwise silent white trash Spanish scum with little profficiency in Catalan ensue?
Obviously, before this scenario, the ruling heads would order the mossos d'esquadra to charge against that unacceptable display of otherwise despised symbols. Entire medium sized cities in suburban Barcelona could be temporarily out of nationalist control for a few hours.”
Even in the more discrete Basque country, the situation must have been dispairing: in the spooky atmosphere of San Sebastian’s posh neighbourhoods, many an old time catholic transvested in paleolitic Dr Caligari must have chocked on the stockfish omelette as the Spanish squad clutched the cup.
PNV's president Iñigo Urkullu, asked the day before of the final about who he wanted as champion, unlike eternal wannabe minister Duran i Lleida, answered “the best team”.
He certainly got his wish.
Publicar un comentario en la entrada