But Then It Was Too Late

Guest Author Uncategorized

This is from the always worth reading Kaye Lee at The Australian Independent Media – I hope she will forgive me for reblogging without her express permission (and I note that several Pubkateers have commented already).

(Image Credit: Daily Fumes)

An excerpt from They Thought They Were Free – The Germans, 1933-45 by Milton Mayer:

What no one seemed to notice was the ever widening gap, after 1933, between the government and the people. Just think how very wide this gap was to begin with, here in Germany. And it became always wider. You know, it doesn’t make people close to their government to be told that this is a people’s government, a true democracy, or to be enrolled in civilian defense, or even to vote. All this has little, really nothing, to do with knowing one is governing.

What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if the people could understand it, it could not be released because of national security. And their sense of identification with Hitler, their trust in him, made it easier to widen this gap and reassured those who would otherwise have worried about it.

This separation of government from people, this widening of the gap, took place so gradually and so insensibly, each step disguised (perhaps not even intentionally) as a temporary emergency measure or associated with true patriotic allegiance or with real social purposes. And all the crises and reforms (real reforms, too) so occupied the people that they did not see the slow motion underneath, of the whole process of government growing remoter and remoter.

The dictatorship, and the whole process of its coming into being, was above all diverting. It provided an excuse not to think for people who did not want to think anyway. I do not speak of your ‘little men,’ your baker and so on; I speak of my colleagues and myself, learned men, mind you. Most of us did not want to think about fundamental things and never had. There was no need to. Nazism gave us some dreadful, fundamental things to think about—we were decent people—and kept us so busy with continuous changes and ‘crises’ and so fascinated, yes, fascinated, by the machinations of the ‘national enemies,’ without and within, that we had no time to think about these dreadful things that were growing, little by little, all around us. Unconsciously, I suppose, we were grateful. Who wants to think?

To live in this process is absolutely not to be able to notice it—please try to believe me—unless one has a much greater degree of political awareness, acuity, than most of us had ever had occasion to develop. Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained or, on occasion, ‘regretted,’ that, unless one were detached from the whole process from the beginning, unless one understood what the whole thing was in principle, what all these ‘little measures’ that no ‘patriotic German’ could resent must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day than a farmer in his field sees the corn growing. One day it is over his head.

How is this to be avoided, among ordinary men, even highly educated ordinary men? Frankly, I do not know. I do not see, even now. Many, many times since it all happened I have pondered that pair of great maxims, Principiis obsta and Finem respice—‘Resist the beginnings’ and ‘Consider the end.’ But one must foresee the end in order to resist, or even see, the beginnings. One must foresee the end clearly and certainly and how is this to be done, by ordinary men or even by extraordinary men? Things might have. And everyone counts on that might.

Your ‘little men,’ your Nazi friends, were not against National Socialism in principle. Men like me, who were, are the greater offenders, not because we knew better (that would be too much to say) but because we sensed better. Pastor Niemöller spoke for the thousands and thousands of men like me when he spoke (too modestly of himself) and said that, when the Nazis attacked the Communists, he was a little uneasy, but, after all, he was not a Communist, and so he did nothing; and then they attacked the Socialists, and he was a little uneasier, but, still, he was not a Socialist, and he did nothing; and then the schools, the press, the Jews, and so on, and he was always uneasier, but still he did nothing. And then they attacked the Church, and he was a Churchman, and he did something—but then it was too late.

You see, one doesn’t see exactly where or how to move. Believe me, this is true. Each act, each occasion, is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join with you in resisting somehow. You don’t want to act, or even talk, alone; you don’t want to ‘go out of your way to make trouble.’ Why not?—Well, you are not in the habit of doing it. And it is not just fear, fear of standing alone, that restrains you; it is also genuine uncertainty.

Uncertainty is a very important factor, and, instead of decreasing as time goes on, it grows. Outside, in the streets, in the general community, ‘everyone’ is happy. One hears no protest, and certainly sees none. You know, in France or Italy there would be slogans against the government painted on walls and fences; in Germany, outside the great cities, perhaps, there is not even this. In the university community, in your own community, you speak privately to your colleagues, some of whom certainly feel as you do; but what do they say? They say, ‘It’s not so bad’ or ‘You’re seeing things’ or ‘You’re an alarmist.’

And you are an alarmist. You are saying that this must lead to this, and you can’t prove it. These are the beginnings, yes; but how do you know for sure when you don’t know the end, and how do you know, or even surmise, the end? On the one hand, your enemies, the law, the regime, the Party, intimidate you. On the other, your colleagues pooh-pooh you as pessimistic or even neurotic. You are left with your close friends, who are, naturally, people who have always thought as you have.

Now, in small gatherings of your oldest friends, you feel that you are talking to yourselves, that you are isolated from the reality of things. This weakens your confidence still further and serves as a further deterrent to—to what? It is clearer all the time that, if you are going to do anything, you must make an occasion to do it, and then you are obviously a troublemaker. So you wait, and you wait.

But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. If the last and worst act of the whole regime had come immediately after the first and smallest, thousands, yes, millions would have been sufficiently shocked—if, let us say, the gassing of the Jews in ’43 had come immediately after the ‘German Firm’ stickers on the windows of non-Jewish shops in ’33. But of course this isn’t the way it happens. In between come all the hundreds of little steps, some of them imperceptible, each of them preparing you not to be shocked by the next. Step C is not so much worse than Step B, and, if you did not make a stand at Step B, why should you at Step C? And so on to Step D.

And one day, too late, your principles, if you were ever sensible of them, all rush in upon you. The burden of self-deception has grown too heavy, and some minor incident, in my case my little boy, hardly more than a baby, saying ‘Jewish swine,’ collapses it all at once, and you see that everything, everything, has changed and changed completely under your nose. The world you live in—your nation, your people—is not the world you were born in at all. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves; when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. Now you live in a system which rules without responsibility even to God. The system itself could not have intended this in the beginning, but in order to sustain itself it was compelled to go all the way.

You have gone almost all the way yourself. Life is a continuing process, a flow, not a succession of acts and events at all. It has flowed to a new level, carrying you with it, without any effort on your part. On this new level you live, you have been living more comfortably every day, with new morals, new principles. You have accepted things you would not have accepted five years ago, a year ago, things that your father, even in Germany, could not have imagined.

Suddenly it all comes down, all at once. You see what you are, what you have done, or, more accurately, what you haven’t done (for that was all that was required of most of us: that we do nothing). You remember those early meetings of your department in the university when, if one had stood, others would have stood, perhaps, but no one stood. A small matter, a matter of hiring this man or that, and you hired this one rather than that. You remember everything now, and your heart breaks. Too late. You are compromised beyond repair.

Note: Thanks to mars08 for this chilling reminder

958 thoughts on “But Then It Was Too Late”

  2. G4S is trying to cover up. Last week there was a statement dated 18 March on their website claiming the violence on Manus Island took place outside the centre. Today that statement has been taken down.

    However –

    G4S do not understand how the internet works, there are still cached versions of the original out there and they are being circulated on Twitter.

    Today’s version of the G4S page, without the link to the 18 February statement –
    http://www.au.g4s.com/media-centre/news.aspx

    The missing statement –
    http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:e2eG8WuK7Q4J:www.g4s.com/en/Media%2520Centre/News/2014/02/18/Manus%2520Island%2520statement/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au

  5. Abbott needs one company to use to attack the unions & Qantas, especially if cut loose from government funding backup, may be it. Possibly not the ideal one given the unfortunate respectability & social standing of much of its unionised workforce but it may have to do.

  6. Bill was not needed today. Bill is not the Opposition. He only leads it. Burke and Albanese very up front.

    Bill very active outside the chamber.

    The one missing is Abbott, and to a lesser extent, Hockey.

  13. “Qantas have delivered profit year-on-year from 1992 until Alan Joyce took over. The previous CEOs never blamed the Qantas Sale Act for the healthy profits they were delivering then. It is the board’s strategy causing all the problems not the workers,” Mr Purvinas said.

    Must be the carbon tax, then.

  14. Does anyone have the figure of what the wage component is about Qantas costs.

    Has there been any breakdown, of where the so called carbon tax is paid. Does Qantas only have such costs in this country.

    What percentage is such cost of Qantas outgoings.

  15. This argument about the Carbon Tax contributing to Qantas’s problems has me confused. I presume it is the aviation fuel that is subject to the tax. If this is the case then Virgin would also be paying it so there is no disadvantage to Qantas in the local market..Please correct me if I’m wrong.
    I recall reading that any Airline that flies into the EU, not subject to a carbon tax in their home country, has to pay the EU tax calculated from their last port of call to their destination in the EU. Where is the disadvantage?

  16. Andrew Leigh on Their ABC. Not sure I agree with everything he says. I like the last para:

    Prime Minister, don’t put the Bananas in the blender. Don’t stifle our frank and fearless public broadcasters, and don’t put narrow partisan agendas ahead of the national interest.

    http://www.andrewleigh.com/blog/?p=5806

  18. Where is the disadvantage?

    There isn’t any. The Idiot is fear-mongering as usual.

  20. Barry J

    New Zealand has a “carbon tax” yet Air New Zealand just posted a record profit. The whining leprechaun moaned today about fuel costs. Yet in a statement Air NZ specifically mentioned “stable fuel prices” as a factor that had assisted the result. Bugger didn’t mention the bunch of useless bastards running the company as a problem though .

  25. This little black duck

    Just bloody remembered. Meant to post this morning. Paco de Lucia died. In honour of BK and the Pub’s Crow Eaters here he is doing “la Barrosa ”

  26. Qantas is stuffed. I wouldn’t be booking any flights on them.
    Joyce and Clifford are doing the libs bidding trashing the unions and workforce for their ow n game.

    Qantas was profitable and good under the QSA before Joyce took over.
    John Borghetti, Virgins ceo (ex qantas CFO and overlooked for the top job in favour of Joyce) must be sitting back pissing himself laughing at these incompetent idiots.
    It’s sad but under the idiot and his mob we are losing everything.

  27. The disadvantage Qantas has is Alan Joyce. First he helped destroyed Ansett, now he is destroying Qantas. He should have been sacked years ago.
    There was a joke doing the rounds today –
    How do you get Alan Joyce to run a small airline? Put him in charge of a big airline and watch what happens.

  28. My understanding was that Campbell Newman held up Royal Succession but I expect our Minister for Women will follow suit

  29. Qantas is stuffed. I wouldn’t be booking any flights on them.

    Definitely not for international; I’m hoping that domestic will be okay. (Fortunately, my most critical flight is on Virgin – though Rex are also making disturbing noises.) I’ve already cashed in my FF points – I was burnt by the Ansett collapse.

  30. The disadvantage Qantas has is Alan Joyce.

    They should rename Jetstar to Joyceair and be done with it. I refuse to fly with them.

  31. I have no doubt that there have been talks between the leprechaun and Coalition promising support if they trash the workers and unions – just like they apparently tried with SPC. Where are the investigative journalists? Dumb question, I know. Hopefully, the Pilots will bring out the red ties again.

  32. de Lucia was a great guitarist. I love his early work but he went a little off later, in my opinion.

  33. Jaeger When are you flying?
    The will keep going for a while but confidence in them is now zero.
    Why would you book a flight with Q when the Chief dickhead may have another brainfart and decide to ground them again.
    Much better service and aircraft on other airlines.

  35. I don’t seem to be able to get this post up…try again!

    What has it come to that a nation, a land so fair and plentiful has to witness it’s harvest bounty wasted by such intemperate leadership?
    How can the wringing of hands and the shedding of tears subdue the lascivious hunger for plunder and revenge from such a band of robbers?…..It would appear we are to stand unarmed and unprotected from the authority of these pusillanimous poltroons as they banquet on the “food of the people”…their front-bench line-up a “Last Supper” mockery… the difference being the citizen body going to crucifixion…and they. with their drooling gluttony, unfettered and unsatiated, unleash a saturnalia of anarchy on the population.
    Where are the higher authorities that ought, should, must stand watch over the civilised security of our society?..Are they asleep at their watch?…They were “wide-eyed” when they attacked Whitlam, “…where art thou now, fair Prince?”..where the GG. and the High-Court advisers…are your stocks and shares too demanding of your attention?….or are you, too, indulged in the feeding frenzy, gourging drunkenly with money-mesmerised eyes and lolling tounges too drugged by promised riches to worry on the miserly fortunes of the peons?
    ” Will not someone rid us all of this meddlesome priest” ?

  36. Anyone watch The Drum this afternoon?
    First of all we had News Ltds economics reporter Jess Irvine casually dismissing 5000 job losses at Qantas saying it will help the airline become profitable therefore a good thing, clearly not seeing the hypocrisy of working for the loss making, propped up for political purposes only newspaper The Australian.
    She then became the first and only supposed credible economics writer i have heard to laud Abbotts PPL scheme.
    Clearly Jess believes she is a woman of calibre who deserves 75k for her baby but fuck the cleaners, process workers or even stay at home mums who have a baby.
    Jess must believe its fair that she gets to push her little brat around in gold plated prams and diamond studded dummy’s at the expense of the rest of us.
    Talk about a sense of entitlement FFS!!!
    Memo to young Jess: if you can’t afford to have a baby without being subsidised by those earning a lot less than you then keep your fucking legs shut or wear a diaphragm!!!
    Silly bitch!

  37. Dear [seat warmer],
    Today Qantas announced a range of measures to take $2 billion in costs out of the business over three years, including through deferring and selling aircraft, and significant job reductions.

    I have received many questions both directly and through social media and wanted to reach out to you personally as a valued member.

    These are tough but necessary measures to ensure a strong future for Qantas and our nearly 10 million Qantas Frequent Flyer members.

    Let me assure you, however, that these measures will not impact your Qantas Points balance or cause your Qantas Points to expire.

    This year, Qantas has many plans to keep on rewarding Qantas Frequent Flyer members. Here are just a few I wanted to share with you:
    • We will continue to introduce more everyday ways to earn and redeem Qantas Points.
    • On 31 March 2014, we will launch our new business loyalty program, Aquire. Australian-based small and medium businesses could earn Aquire Points through their everyday transactions, including travel, and convert them into Qantas Points in the name of an individual Qantas Frequent Flyer member.
    • We will continue to introduce new features and benefits to Qantas Cash, with more than 200,000 members using the prepaid facility already.
    • We are opening new stylish Lounges. The Qantas Hong Kong Lounge will open in March 2014. The new Los Angeles Business Lounge will open in April 2014, with a new world class Qantas First Lounge to open in Los Angeles in the second half of 2014.
    • The upgrade of our Airbus A330 fleet is progressing well, with the aircraft featuring new Business fully flat beds and the latest Panasonic entertainment system to feature on our domestic and international network from late 2014.
    • We will be introducing new member communities, in addition to our food and wine community Qantas epiQure, which will provide opportunities for members to be engaged with the things we know you are passionate about.

    Qantas is changing, but what will never change is our commitment to rewarding you for your loyalty, whether on the ground, or in the air.

    Yours sincerely,
    Lesley Grant
    CEO Qantas Loyalty

  39. Up here we only have a choice of QantasLink or Virgin Blue to fly to Sydney. I’ve always preferred QantasLink, but not any more. I’m not getting on one of their poorly maintained, half-clean aircraft, not even for a 45 minute flight.

    We have had a lot of delays in the last few months due to Qantas maintenance problems. It’s not good when your lunchtime flight doesn’t leave until four o’c;lock because an engineer and sometimes another plane had to fly up from Sydney, or when when the early morning business flight can’t take off, leaving a plane full of people with morning apoointments in Sydney that have to be cancelled. It is happening far too often to be just coincidence. You don’t have to have a stack of degrees to work out that if you cut maintenance to save money you will end up with disgruntled customers who will go elsewhere next time they fly.

  40. jaycee

    I am afraid wordpress has taken a dislike to you. IT happens.
    Unfortunately to fix the problem I have to ban you for about 5 mins.
    I will get back to you soon and hopefully things will be working fine then.
    Your ban will start in about 10 mins

  41. Jaeger When are you flying?

    Between now and June.

    The will keep going for a while but confidence in them is now zero.
    Why would you book a flight with Q when the Chief dickhead may have another brainfart and decide to ground them again.

    Surprisingly, Qantas have been beating Virgin on price and convenience most of the time – clearly burning the candle at both ends. I’ll adjust my selection criteria accordingly.

    Much better service and aircraft on other airlines.

    Ironically, most on my “Qantas” flights aren’t actually Qantas… That’s probably a good thing.

  44. Surprisingly, Qantas have been beating Virgin on price and convenience most of the time – clearly burning the candle at both ends. I’ll adjust my selection criteria accordingly.

    This is part of Joyces strategy. No matter the cost retain %65 of domestic.

    Wanker

  50. http://thehoopla.com.au/qantas-fasten-seatbelts/

    http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/abbotts-climate-policy-so-unintellectual-to-as-to-be-unacceptable-21542

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