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