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Nina Power
Part 1: [circle the right punctuation ?/!]
“[T]he entire thrust of the LTI The Langue of the Third Reich was towards visualisation[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and if this process of visualizing could be achieved with recourse to Germanic traditions[circle the right punctuation ,/.]by means of a runic sign[circle the right punctuation ,/.]then so much the better[circle the right punctuation ,/.]And as a jagged character the rune of life was related to the SS symbol[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and as an ideological symbol also related to the spokes of the wheel of the sun[circle the right punctuation ,/.]the swastika [circle the right punctuation ;/…]Renan’s position: the question mark – the most important of all punctuation marks[circle the right punctuation ,/.]A position in direct opposition to National Socialist intransigence and self-confidence [circle the right punctuation ;/…]From time to time it is possible to detect[circle the right punctuation ,/.]both amongst individuals and groups[circle the right punctuation ,/.]a characteristic preference for one particular punctuation mark[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Academics love the semicolon; their hankering after logic demands a division which is more emphatic than a comma[circle the right punctuation ,/.]but not quite as absolute a demarcation as a full stop[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Renan the sceptic declares that it is impossible to overuse the question mark[circle the right punctuation ,/.] – Victor Klemperer[circle the right punctuation ,/.]‘Punctuation’ from The Language of the Third Reich[1]
In the era of emojis[circle the right punctuation ,/.]we have forgotten about the politics of punctuation[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Which mark or sign holds sway over us in the age of Twitter[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Facebook[circle the right punctuation ,/.]YouTube comments[circle the right punctuation ,/.]emails[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and text messages[circle the right punctuation ?/!]If we take the tweets of Donald Trump as some kind of symptomatic indicator[circle the right punctuation ,/.]we can see quite well that it is the exclamation mark – [circle the right punctuation ?/!]– that dominates[circle the right punctuation ,/.]A quick look at his tweets from the last 48 hour period shows that almost all of them end with a single declarative sentence or word followed by a ‘[circle the right punctuation ?/!]: ‘Big trade imbalance[circle the right punctuation ?/!][circle the right punctuation ,/.]‘No more[circle the right punctuation ?/!][circle the right punctuation ,/.]‘They’ve gone CRAZY[circle the right punctuation ?/!][circle the right punctuation ,/.]‘Happy National Anthem Day[circle the right punctuation ?/!][circle the right punctuation ,/.]‘REST IN PEACE BILLY GRAHAM[circle the right punctuation ?/!][circle the right punctuation ,/.]‘IF YOU DON’T HAVE STEEL[circle the right punctuation ,/.]YOU DON’T HAVE A COUNTRY[circle the right punctuation ?/!][circle the right punctuation ,/.](we shall leave the matter of all caps for another time)[circle the right punctuation ,/.]‘$800 Billion Trade Deficit-have no choice![circle the right punctuation ,/.]‘Jobless claims at a 49 year low[circle the right punctuation ?/!] and so on [circle the right punctuation ;/…]you get the picture[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Trump’s exclamation mark is the equivalent of a boss slamming his fist down on the table[circle the right punctuation ,/.]an abusive partner shouting at a tentative query[circle the right punctuation ,/.]an exasperated shock jock arguing with an imaginary opponent[circle the right punctuation ,/.]It is the exclamation mark as the final word[circle the right punctuation ,/.]which would not be so frightening if Trump’s final word was not also backed up by nuclear annihilation[circle the right punctuation ,/.]the US army[circle the right punctuation ,/.]the police[circle the right punctuation ,/.]court and prison system[circle the right punctuation ,/.]vast swathes of the US media and electorate[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and multiple people around him too afraid to say ‘no[circle the right punctuation ,/.] This is the exclamation mark as apocalypse[circle the right punctuation ,/.]not the ‘[circle the right punctuation ?/!] of surprise[circle the right punctuation ,/.]amusement[circle the right punctuation ,/.]girlish shyness[circle the right punctuation ,/.]humour[circle the right punctuation ,/.]or ironic puncture[circle the right punctuation ,/.]This is the exclamation of doom[circle the right punctuation ,/.]
The Sturm and Drang needed an unusually large number of exclamation marks[circle the right punctuation ,/.]suggests Klemperer[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and[circle the right punctuation ,/.]though you might suspect the LTI (Lingua Tertii Imperii – the language of the Third Reich as Klemperer calls it) would adore the exclamation mark[circle the right punctuation ,/.]“given its fundamentally rhetorical nature and constant appeal to the emotions,” in actual fact “they are not at all conspicuous” in Nazi writings.[2] Why did the Nazis not need the exclamation mark[circle the right punctuation ?/!]Klemperer states[circle the right punctuation ,/.]“t is as if [the LTI] turns everything into a command or proclamation as a matter of course and therefore has no need of a special punctuation mark to highlight the fact – where after all are the sober utterances against which the proclamation would need to stand out[circle the right punctuation ?/!][3]
This point alone should herald a terrible warning[circle the right punctuation ,/.]“Sober utterances” – from rational debate[circle the right punctuation ,/.]to well-researched news[circle the right punctuation ,/.]to public and open discussion – when these go[circle the right punctuation ,/.]the exclamation marks will go too[circle the right punctuation ,/.]because there will be no opposition left to be falsely outraged against[circle the right punctuation ,/.]There will be no critical press[circle the right punctuation ,/.]no free thought[circle the right punctuation ,/.]no social antagonism[circle the right punctuation ,/.]because anyone who stands against the dominant discourse will disappear[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and perhaps social death will suffice[circle the right punctuation ,/.]rather than murder[circle the right punctuation ,/.]if only because it is easier to do[circle the right punctuation ,/.]When Trump and others attack the media[circle the right punctuation ,/.]it is so that one day their tweets will no longer need the exclamation of opposition[circle the right punctuation ,/.]It is so that all statements from above will be a command or proclamation in a frictionless[circle the right punctuation ,/.]opposition-less universe[circle the right punctuation ,/.]
But we are also tempted by the exclamation mark because it is also a sign[circle the right punctuation ,/.]in some contexts[circle the right punctuation ,/.]of another kind of disbelief[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Not the Trump kind in which he cannot reconcile the fact that others disagree with him (or even that they exist)[circle the right punctuation ,/.]but the kind which simply says ‘oh my goodness[circle the right punctuation ?/!] or ‘that’s great[circle the right punctuation ?/!] or ‘I’m shocked/surprised/happy stunned[circle the right punctuation ?/!] But then we use them all the time and they grow tired and weak…and we use them defensively[circle the right punctuation ,/.]when we say: ‘I’m sorry this email is so late[circle the right punctuation ?/!][circle the right punctuation ,/.]‘I have been so useless lately[circle the right punctuation ?/!][circle the right punctuation ,/.]‘I’m so tired I can hardly see[circle the right punctuation ?/!] and so on[circle the right punctuation ,/.]ad infinitum [circle the right punctuation ;/…](and what of the ellipses[circle the right punctuation ?/!][circle the right punctuation ;/…]another time[circle the right punctuation ,/.]another time).
If you look at the comments to YouTube videos (a sentence to which nothing good is ever likely to be added)[circle the right punctuation ,/.]you will find a particular use of the exclamation mark[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Take[circle the right punctuation ,/.]for example[circle the right punctuation ,/.]the currently number one trending video: ‘Jennifer Lawrence Explains Her Drunk Alter Ego “Gail”’[circle the right punctuation ,/.]where the actress talks to Ellen DeGeneres on the latter’s popular programme ‘The Ellen Show’ about how when she’s on holiday and drinks rum she becomes a masculine[circle the right punctuation ,/.]adrenalin-junkie[circle the right punctuation ,/.]alter-ego ‘Gail’ who jumps into shark-infested waters to amuse her friends[circle the right punctuation ,/.]eats live sea creatures[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and challenges people to arm-wrestling competitions[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Apart from the slight melancholy induced by wondering why Jennifer Lawrence has to split herself into different beings in order to have a break from work[circle the right punctuation ,/.]how does the ‘public’ response to the video tell us anything about the various uses of the exclamation mark[circle the right punctuation ?/!]While many of the comments suggest that Lawrence is the victim of MKUltra mind control[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and a victim of child abuse[circle the right punctuation ,/.]or that she is fake[circle the right punctuation ,/.]some of the comments shed a small[circle the right punctuation ,/.]pitiful[circle the right punctuation ,/.]grey kind of light on the exclamation mark as a kind of pleading into the void – the mark that will never be registered[circle the right punctuation ,/.]because the speaker is speaking primarily to reassure him or herself[circle the right punctuation ,/.]
There is the pleading[circle the right punctuation ,/.]compassionate use: “love how she is so open[circle the right punctuation ?/!] says Kailey Bashaw[circle the right punctuation ,/.]to which Oliver 2000 responds[circle the right punctuation ,/.]“Yeah I love her porn pictures” with no punctuation at all[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Lauren Robelto writes: “Everybody commenting about alcoholism makes me so sad[circle the right punctuation ,/.]She’s worked very hard and just wants to take a break and have fun and everyone’s criticizes her[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Honestly if I were her I wouldn't be able to stop drinking because of all the hate[circle the right punctuation ?/!]Lighten up people[circle the right punctuation ?/!]JLaw is gonna keep thriving with or without your support![circle the right punctuation ?/!] A similar kind of plea[circle the right punctuation ,/.]the plea of the fan[circle the right punctuation ,/.]a plea for understanding combined with a passive-aggressive double use of the exclamation mark to signify a kind of double-triumph: the commentator has both convinced themselves and history that leaving negative (or indeed positive) comments on YouTube will in no way affect the reception of whoever they are passionate about.
There is a footnote in Marx’s Capital[circle the right punctuation ,/.]vol[circle the right punctuation ,/.]1 which does something interesting with the relation between the exclamation mark and the question mark[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and I want to insert it here as the perfect dialectical extract for moving from the exclamation mark to the question mark[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Here Marx is quoting Wilhelm Roscher writing about J[circle the right punctuation ,/.]B[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Say[circle the right punctuation ,/.]the liberal economist famous for arguing that production creates its own demand[circle the right punctuation ,/.]All the comments in parentheses are Marx’s own: “‘Ricardo’s school is in the habit of including capital as accumulated labour under the heading of labour[circle the right punctuation ,/.]This is unskillful ([circle the right punctuation ?/!][circle the right punctuation ,/.]because ([circle the right punctuation ?/!] indeed the owner of capital ([circle the right punctuation ?/!] has after all ([circle the right punctuation ?/!] done more than merely (![circle the right punctuation ?/!] create ([circle the right punctuation ?/!] and preserve (?[circle the right punctuation ?/!] the same (what same[circle the right punctuation ?/!]: namely (?![circle the right punctuation ?/!] the abstention from the enjoyment of it[circle the right punctuation ,/.]in return for which he demands[circle the right punctuation ,/.]for instance (!![circle the right punctuation ?/!] interest[circle the right punctuation ,/.] How very ‘skilful’ is this ‘anatomico-physiological method’ of political economy[circle the right punctuation ,/.]which converts a mere ‘demand’ into a source of value[circle the right punctuation ?/!] [4]
Marx was famously brutal and scabrous in his take-downs[circle the right punctuation ,/.]devoting hundreds of pages to figures that are now barely remembered[circle the right punctuation ,/.]or remembered largely because Marx took them down[circle the right punctuation ,/.]But here our interest lies in the use of ‘[circle the right punctuation ?/!] and ‘[circle the right punctuation ?/!] and ‘![circle the right punctuation ?/!] and ‘?[circle the right punctuation ?/!] and ‘?![circle the right punctuation ?/!] and ‘!![circle the right punctuation ?/!][circle the right punctuation ,/.]What is Marx signalling here[circle the right punctuation ?/!]Disbelief in idiocy[circle the right punctuation ,/.]incomprehension[circle the right punctuation ,/.]mockery[circle the right punctuation ,/.]but also perhaps a curious hope[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Hope[circle the right punctuation ?/!]Hope in a better analysis[circle the right punctuation ,/.]one worthier of the world[circle the right punctuation ,/.]one that will explain rather than mystify…
Part 2: [circle the right punctuation ?/!]
Are we today in need of more question marks[circle the right punctuation ?/!]Klemperer describes[circle the right punctuation ,/.]as above[circle the right punctuation ,/.]the question mark as being “in direct opposition to National Socialist intransigence and self-confidence[circle the right punctuation ,/.][5] The question mark is itself a question[circle the right punctuation ,/.]a kind of collapsed exclamation mark[circle the right punctuation ,/.]A question mark can be an act of aggression or interruption: ‘oh really[circle the right punctuation ?/!] But it can also function as a kind of pause[circle the right punctuation ,/.]a break in the horrible flow[circle the right punctuation ,/.]the babble[circle the right punctuation ,/.]the endless lies[circle the right punctuation ,/.]The question mark is the person who says ‘hang on[circle the right punctuation ,/.]what is being said here[circle the right punctuation ?/!][circle the right punctuation ,/.]‘what is happening[circle the right punctuation ?/!][circle the right punctuation ,/.]‘is this okay[circle the right punctuation ?/!] It is the question of the body that stands against the crowd[circle the right punctuation ,/.]head bowed[circle the right punctuation ,/.]frightened[circle the right punctuation ,/.]but compelled by an inner question of their own – ‘is this the right thing[circle the right punctuation ,/.]what they are saying[circle the right punctuation ?/!] It is the feeling and the admission that one doesn’t know[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and the intuition that there might not be a simple answer to the situation[circle the right punctuation ,/.]We are surrounded by people who want to give us their solutions[circle the right punctuation ,/.]who tell us how things work[circle the right punctuation ,/.]what we should think[circle the right punctuation ,/.]how we should be[circle the right punctuation ,/.]how we should behave[circle the right punctuation ,/.]There are too few Socratic beings[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and far too many self-promoters[circle the right punctuation ,/.]charlatans[circle the right punctuation ,/.]snake-oil salesmen[circle the right punctuation ,/.]liars[circle the right punctuation ,/.]confidence tricksters[circle the right punctuation ,/.]We want to be nice[circle the right punctuation ,/.]but we end up getting played[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Anyone who claims to have ‘the full picture’ is someone who wants an image of the world to dominate you so you shut up or give them something they want[circle the right punctuation ,/.]They are not your friends.
How to understand the question mark as a symbol[circle the right punctuation ,/.]then[circle the right punctuation ,/.]of trust[circle the right punctuation ?/!]There must be room for exploration[circle the right punctuation ,/.]of a mutual[circle the right punctuation ,/.]tentative openness[circle the right punctuation ,/.]A place where it is possible to say ‘I don’t know’ and not feel ashamed or ignorant[circle the right punctuation ,/.]or foolish[circle the right punctuation ,/.]or unkind[circle the right punctuation ,/.]The internet is so often a place where people are shunned and shamed for asking questions[circle the right punctuation ,/.]as if ignorance wasn’t a condition for knowledge[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and as if we never wanted anyone to go beyond the things everybody already understands[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Sometimes ‘ignorance’ is in fact the greatest kind of intelligence[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and sometimes it is the most noble political strategy[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Philosophy and psychoanalysis tells us that[circle the right punctuation ,/.]in any case[circle the right punctuation ,/.]we in fact know less than we think we do know[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Knowledge and understanding are not transparent processes: we bury and forget[circle the right punctuation ,/.]we lose the ability to ask questions of ourselves[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and we when we think we understand ourselves this is when we dismiss others[circle the right punctuation ,/.]We want to think that we are solely good[circle the right punctuation ,/.]that we have the ‘right position,’ and that the others are wrong[circle the right punctuation ,/.]But if we give up on our inner question mark[circle the right punctuation ,/.]we become rigid[circle the right punctuation ,/.]like the exclamation mark of condemnation[circle the right punctuation ,/.]We forget that other people think differently and that not everyone must think the same thing[circle the right punctuation ,/.]We forget about friendship[circle the right punctuation ,/.]flexibility[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and forgiveness[circle the right punctuation ,/.]
If we do not give ourselves enough time to think about the politics of punctuation[circle the right punctuation ,/.]we run the risk of being swept away on a wave of someone else’s desire[circle the right punctuation ,/.]We become passive pawns and stooges[circle the right punctuation ,/.]We become victims of the malign desires of others to silence us[circle the right punctuation ,/.]to put us down[circle the right punctuation ,/.]to make us terrified and confused[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Punctuation is not merely linguistic[circle the right punctuation ,/.]but imagistic and political through and through[circle the right punctuation ,/.]The [circle the right punctuation ?/!]and the [circle the right punctuation ?/!]are signs among other signs[circle the right punctuation ,/.]but their relation and their power course through us when we are least aware of it[circle the right punctuation ,/.]When we are face to face[circle the right punctuation ,/.]we can use our expressions[circle the right punctuation ,/.]our body as a whole[circle the right punctuation ,/.]to dramatize these marks[circle the right punctuation ,/.]with a raised eyebrow[circle the right punctuation ,/.]a gesture[circle the right punctuation ,/.]a shrug – a complex combination of the two marks can appear in and about us[circle the right punctuation ,/.]But we are apart much of the time[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and we must rely on markers that do not capture our collective understanding[circle the right punctuation ,/.]We must be in a mode of play with the words and the punctuation we use[circle the right punctuation ,/.]to keep a certain openness[circle the right punctuation ,/.]a certain humour: not the cruelty of online life or the declarations of the powerful[circle the right punctuation ,/.]but the delicate humour that includes the recognition that jokes are always aggressive[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and that we live permanently on the edge of violence[circle the right punctuation ,/.]but that we must be able to play if we are able to understand our drives[circle the right punctuation ,/.]and[circle the right punctuation ,/.]at the same time[circle the right punctuation ,/.]the possibility of living together differently[circle the right punctuation ,/.]
Footnotes 1[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Klemperer[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Victor[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Language of the Third Reich: LTI: Lingua Tertii Imperii[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Translated by Martin Brady[circle the right punctuation ,/.]New York: Bloomsbury Academic[circle the right punctuation ,/.]2013. 2[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Ibid[circle the right punctuation ,/.]67. 3[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Ibid[circle the right punctuation ,/.]67. 4[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Marx[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Karl[circle the right punctuation ,/.][i]Capital[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Volume 1: A Critique of Political Economy.[i] New York: International Publishers[circle the right punctuation ,/.]1977[circle the right punctuation ,/.]82. 5[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Klemperer[circle the right punctuation ,/.]Victor[circle the right punctuation ,/.][i]Language of the Third Reich: LTI: Lingua Tertii Imperii[i][circle the right punctuation ,/.]74.