The Big-Endians versus the Small-Endians
The Logo was reminded of its days reading Gulliver's Travels in grade school when it stumbled upon Christopher Hitchens' analysis of the current crisis in Kyrgyzstan between the Kyrgyz majority and the Uzbek minority. According to Hitchens, most ethno-national conflicts are a result of a Lilliputian dispute. Hitchens:
In numerous cases of apparently ethno-nationalist conflict, the deepest hatreds are manifested between people who—to most outward appearances—exhibit very few significant distinctions. It is one of the great contradictions of civilization and one of the great sources of its discontents, and Sigmund Freud even found a term for it: "the narcissism of the small difference." As he wrote, "It is precisely the minor differences in people who are otherwise alike that form the basis of feelings of hostility between them."
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May '10
Re: The Big-Endians versus the Small-Endians
Minor differences form the basis of hostilities, yes, but what REALLY cause resentment and hostility are minor inequalities. As Tocqueville predicted, in America as citizens have become more equal in wealth and status, focus on those areas where inequalities still remain has only increased, making the state's promises of more equality even more appealing. Not quite the same as ethno-nationalist conflict, but something similar is at work.
Re: The Big-Endians versus the Small-Endians
Great point, Scott. But still: even close-up, it's hard to appreciate the difference between an Irish Protestant resident of Belfast and an Irish Catholic resident of Kilkenny.
In Central Asia, though, what's going on is the bubbling up of ethnic sentiments that have been suppressed since the 30's, when Stalin tried to subdue the troublesome Central Asian regions with forced migration, industrial planning (he scattered manufacturing plants across the region, so that no one ethnic group could shut down production of cars or tractors or things like that) and banning religion, ethnic languages, and even local dress.
When I was hoofing my way across the region not too long ago, people still bristled when they heard my speaking my limited Russian. It was considered rude, the language of the oppressor.
My pessimistic guess is, we're in for even more bloodshed in the region, as national identity, religion, Islamic fundamentalism, and foreign interests (oil, natural gas, air bases to keep the Iranians in line) collide.
Re: The Big-Endians versus the Small-Endians
I didn't know you speak "limited Russian," Rob! I had the same experience during my travels in Hungary. I figured that since The People's Republic of Hungary was a former Soviet satellite state, they were bound to know some Russian. And they did know some, but the older folks flat out refused to speak it.
Re: The Big-Endians versus the Small-Endians
Same in Central Asia -- blank stares and outright hostility, until they learned I was American. In Uzbekistan, an old guy started to talk to me at the local teahouse, then dashed off when he found out I was an American, and returned a few moments later with a $100 bill. From 1971. He'd kept it all those years. And what do you think he wanted? He wanted change! So I gave him a couple twenties, some tens, some fives, ones...For over 30 years he'd held onto that bill -- which was so large it was useless to him. No one around Bukhara could ever make satisfactory change. Now, suddenly, he felt rich.
Re: The Big-Endians versus the Small-Endians
That's a neat story, Rob. It also reminds me of the trouble I always had in St. Petersburg (Russia, not Florida) getting change for "big" bills. When I was in Russia, the exchange rate was about 13 rubles to the dollar, and things like phonecards, vodka, and foreign magazines cost around 50 rubles. When I whipped out my 100 ruble note, nobody (and I mean nobody) would make change for it -- and not because they couldn't, but because they didn't want to. Bizarre.