317 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
317 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
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From: Diane Vera Msg Num: 86 of 91
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To: All Date: 02 Mar 92 19:56:00
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Subj: Trapezoi.TXT (1 of 6)
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Attr: Read: N
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Conf: Magickal Chat Echo (93Net)
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*******************************************************************************
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To give other readers some background on the discussion amongst Tim
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Maroney, Balanone, and myself, which I am now trying to move from
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the BASE OF SET echo to OASIS, here is a revised version of my 5-
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part message "Trapezoi.TXT" which I posted to All in BASE OF SET on
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February 23.
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.
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Following is my critique of Tim Maroney's November 1990 article "The
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Nazi Trapezoid" (Trapezoi.TXT), which presents Tim's opinion that
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Michael Aquino and the Temple of Set's Order of the Trapezoid are
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covertly "sympathetic" to Nazism.
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.
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Near the beginning of Tim's article, before discussing why he thinks
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Aquino is a "Nazi sympathizer", Tim makes the following observation:
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.
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TM > Aquino himself has been the target of some of the
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worst modern witch hunting, being falsely accused of child
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molestation based on a statement by a Christian minister.
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Despite having much of his personal property seized by the
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police, his name and face splashed all over papers and
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television as a child molester, and his career interfered
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with, he was never formally charged with any crime. It is
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not only clear that he did not do it; it is clear that he
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couldn't have done it, since he was not even in the
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vicinity when the alleged abuse occurred.
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.
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Given Aquino's direct personal experience as a persecuted member of
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a minority religion, he really would have to be out of his mind to
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support either (1) Nazism as it existed in Germany or (2) modern
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American neo-Nazism and neo-fascism, intertwined as the latter are
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with "theo-fascist" Christianity. Anton LaVey, on the other hand,
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has never experienced this kind of harassment (not as far as I know,
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anyway) and is thus able to fantasize that there is such a thing as
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a "benign police state".
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.
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It is true that the oppressed, when liberated, can become the
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oppressors. However, it's unlikely that in Aquino's lifetime, the
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Temple of Set will ever be politically "liberated" enough to become
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an oppressor (at least not in any more-than-petty sense). Thus it
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will always be in Aquino's interests to fight *for* freedom, not
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against it. (At least within THIS country. We don't know what he
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may be doing, in his capacity as a military intelligence officer, by
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way of supporting fascist dictatorships in other countries.) As
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far as I know, the only political activism he's involved in is the
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Alliance of Magical and Earth Religions, a group which fights for
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religious freedom, and whose enemy is America's number-one brand of
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neo-fascism, i.e. theo-fascism.
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.
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The bulk of Tim's article is based on two ToS documents which can be
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found as files on various bulletin boards: the "Order of the
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Trapezoid - Statement" and the ToS reading list, Category 14,
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"Fascism, Totalitarianism, and Magic". Both of these documents do
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contain statements which could be interpreted as covert "sympathy"
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for Nazism; but this does not seem to me to be the correct
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interpretation.
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.
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TM > Consider this passage from "Order of the Trapezoid -
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Statement":
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"Crucial also to German Romanticism were the
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concepts of _dynamism_ and _life-worship_. The former term
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represents an urge towards constant movement and evolution,
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whether intellectual, artistic, or social. [...] The
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uncanny attraction of the Third Reich - Nazi Germany - lies
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in the fact that it endorsed and practiced both dynamism
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and life-worship without restraint and to a world-shaking
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degree of success."
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As he will not in public debate, Aquino also
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discusses here his trifling criticisms of Nazism:
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"Just as the Third Reich's dynamism got out of hand,
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leading it to embark on irrational and destructive foreign
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invasions, so its life-worship - which could have been a
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truly evolutionary synthesis of the most sublime concepts
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of Hegel and Nietzsche - became perverted into crude
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xenophobia, hatreds built upon superficial notions of
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'race', and ultimately a maddened stampede towards a
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Wagnerian _Goetterdaemmerung_ in defiance of a return to
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rationalism."
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.
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This is hardly a "trifling criticism", despite its apologetic tone.
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Nazism without "crude Xenophobia" would be a little like
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fundamentalism without Biblical inerrancy. Aquino is endorsing the
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German Romantic philosophical *background* of Nazism, but *not*
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Nazism's own central idea, which is none other than "crude
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xenophobia" and "hatreds built upon superficial notions of 'race'".
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(And, as a Hispanic person living in a largely "Nordic" white-
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dominated country, Aquino would have to be really insane to
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sympathize with "Nordic" xenophobia, "crude" or otherwise.)
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.
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Aquino's statement *is* worded a bit strangely, though, as if he
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sees the philosophical background of "dynamism and life worship" as
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being more central to Nazism than its defining themes of extreme
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xenophobia and totalitarianism. In BASE OF SET on February 23, I
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asked if anyone could provide some quotes from ToS literature
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clarifying this. On February 25, Balanone (who is a high-ranking
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ToS member: at least a priest, if not higher, though he is not a
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member of the Order of the Trapezoid) wrote to me "Re: Trapezoi.TXT
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(2 of 5)":
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.
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B > I can't provide any quotes, but perhaps a possible
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explanation.
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Recognizing that neither xenophobia nor
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totalitarianism supplies any reason to explore the history,
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works, or any other aspect of Naziism, perhaps it's that
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background of "dynamism and life worship" that makes
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Naziism worth looking at.
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More, while "dynamism and life worship" sounds grand
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and glorious, and none of us would turn our backs on
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dynamism and life worship, the Nazis demonstrated that this
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core concept can be twisted into horrendous and horrific
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activity. Perhaps we should study and learn from that
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lesson, hopefully to avoid repeating that specific lesson
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of history again...
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.
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Back to Tim's article:
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.
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TM > This "discretion" in discussing the elements of the
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Temple of Set which are sympathetic to Nazism is also
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evident in the Temple of Set reading list on the subject of
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"Fascism, Totalitarianism, and Magic". Aquino repeatedly
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implies in this list that he would like to endorse Nazi
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"philosophy", but he wouldn't want to be accused of
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"crimethink", so read it and decide for yourself.
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The reading list makes it clear that Aquino is not
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only a Nazi sympathizer but an advocate of Nazi racial
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policy -- albeit of an enlightened interpretation based on
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the prime movers of the party rather than the "hatreds
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built upon superficial notions of 'race'" practiced by the
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rank and file. Yet it was the philosophers and the movers
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and shakers, not the rank and file, who created the policy
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of vernichtung, the "final solution", annihilation of the
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Jews -- a subject on which Aquino maintains silence. In
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one review, he even admits that the only reason he holds
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back from outright endorsement of "a European race history
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that would have done credit to Hitler" is that he "wouldn't
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want to get in trouble for even appearing to endorse it".
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.
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Tim is referring here to 14N, THE PASSING OF THE GREAT RACE by
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Madison Grant. Aquino's review says:
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.
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MA > You can still find #14F in print, because it's a good
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whipping-boy for sanctimonous finger-waggling. It is less
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easy to find the books from 'our side' that argued along
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similar lines. This is [was!] one of the more famous, and
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you may still uncover an occasional copy in the back room
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of a used-book store or in the darkest corners of obscure
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libraries. Grant was not exactly a nonentity or
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lunatic-fringe fanatic. He was Chairman of the New York
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Zoological Society, Trustee of the American Museum of
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Natural History, and a Councilor of the American
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Geographical Society. In this book [by a prominent
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publisher] he argues a forceful case for a European race
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history that would have done credit to Hitler and
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Rosenberg. The most interesting aspect of this book is that
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only a very few years ago it was accepted as a respectable
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contender in the academic/scientific community. After World
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War II it was, in Orwell's terms, guilty of Crimethink and
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thus condemned to be an Unperson. There is a lesson to be
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learned here concerning the durability and invulnerability
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of 'established scientific fact' when it becomes
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politically or socially inconvenient. I hereby suggest that
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you make up your own mind as to whether the book is
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convincing. After all, I wouldn't want to get in trouble
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for even appearing to endorse it.
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.
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In December 1991 in BASE OF SET, I asked Oz Tech about this. (Oz
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Tech is a black woman and a Setian priestess.) On December 22, Oz
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Tech wrote to me "Re: Politics and Satanism":
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.
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OT > Again, irony comes through poorly in print. Yes,
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Aquino writes of whether it is convincing -- but does he
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write of whether it is true?
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And if you think I'm side-stepping the question,
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look at the LBM section of the reading list: an entire
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section devoted to stage magic, propaganda, and other
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techniques that rely on the difference between
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"convincingness" and truth! Is the mention of this book
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truly out of place? If Aquino's trying to make a point
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about the susceptibility of intelligent people to insanity
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I can't think of a better way to go than to cite a
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respected American scientist who spins pseudoscience
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*exactly* like a German National Socialist.
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.
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In the context of the reading list, it is not at all clear that "the
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susceptibility of intelligent people to insanity" is, in fact, the
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point Aquino was trying to make in his review of 14N. However, Tim
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and I don't have the full context. The reading list is an excerpt
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from THE CRYSTAL TABLET. In BASE OF SET on February 23, I asked if
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anyone could provide any concise quotes, from THE CRYSTAL TABLET or
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other official ToS literature, which clarify Aquino's point, i.e.
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which clearly indicate that concern about "the susceptibility of
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intelligent people to insanity" is one of the Order of the
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Trapezoid's reasons for studying Nazism. No one provided any such
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quotes at that time. However, judging by what Balanone and Frc have
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told me so far about the Wewelsburg Working (including a lengthy
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excerpt from the paper "the Wewelsburg Working", which Balanone
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posted in a message to me on February 21), it does indeed seem
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likely that Aquino and the Order of the Trapezoid are concerned
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about such matters, though from a mostly nonpolitical perspective.
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.
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Tim also quotes Aquino's review of MEIN KAMPF (14F):
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.
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MA > Everyone knows that this is 'the most evil book ever
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written', but few have taken the time to actually read it,
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hence cannot really explain why. Further complicating the
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situation is Hitler's interspersion of political philosophy
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(interesting) with emotional tirades (not so interesting).
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Look for the discussions concerning the selection of
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leaders, control of the masses, and the justification for
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human social organization. You may be surprised at what you
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discover.
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.
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Tim, have you ever read MEIN KAMPF? I never did read the whole
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thing, but I read about half of it back when I was in college and,
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while I can't remember very many specifics, I do remember having a
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reaction quite similar to Aquino's review; and I'm certainly not a
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Nazi sympathizer.
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.
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The "emotional tirades (not so interesting)" are the rants against
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Jews, against Communists, and against democracy -- in short,
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everything we ordinarily think of as Nazism. These "tirades" are,
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however, interspersed with some very clear-headed insights into the
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workings of politics in general. And indeed, Hitler *had to* have
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had some profound insights into the workings of politics, or he
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couldn't have been as successful as he was. Those insights may well
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be worth learning from. I should probably read them again someday.
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.
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TM > Apparently, the only flaw of Nazism was that it took
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its great ideas too far. Aquino thinks of Nazism as a
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wonderful movement that went wrong. Therefore, it seems
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fair to refer to him as a Nazi sympathizer, though perhaps
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not as a Neo-Nazi.
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.
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One problem here is the vagueness of the term "Nazi sympathizer", as
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distinguished from "Neo-Nazi". My idea of a "Nazi sympathizer" who
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is not a "Neo-Nazi" would be a person who doesn't just admire some
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aspects of Nazi philosophy (however central he perceives those
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aspects to be) but is also a self-identified racist (at least when
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talking to other racists) and thinks Bush is too liberal, yet who
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has assorted minor disagreements with today's neo-Nazi organizations
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(or perhaps just thinks neo-Nazism is a lost cause). Can a person
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who does not endorse "Nordic" xenophobia be meaningfully called a
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"Nazi sympathizer", even if that person thinks Nazism had some
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admirable qualities (and even if that person is counterproductively
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defensive about his admiration for those qualities)?
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.
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TM > It could of course be objected that these selections
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are out of context. Both length and copyright
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considerations prevent quoting the entire file here,
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[...]
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However, a book-by-book breakdown by category is
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appropriate. Here is a summary of the classifications,
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followed by an in-depth explanation and listing of each
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category. I believe the numbers speak for themselves.
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PRO-NAZI (7)
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BOTH ANTI-NAZI AND ANTI-COMMUNIST (2)
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ANTI-NAZI (1)
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NAZI OCCULTISM (7)
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NON-NAZI OCCULTISM (2)
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NEUTRAL HISTORY (5)
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PRO-NAZI (7)
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Obviously, any investigation of Nazism must include a study
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of source materials from within the movement. Therefore,
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presentation of the opinions of Hitler, Rosenberg,
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Haushofer, etc., was not considered a criterion for
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classifying a source as pro-Nazi. These citations are
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considered pro-Nazi because Aquino's review praises their
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opinions, and those opinions are clearly pro-Nazi.
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.
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But *which* opinions does Aquino praise? Not all the opinions of
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a Nazi are specifically pro-Nazi; most Nazis, for example, were
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probably of the opinion that the sky is blue. Aquino never praises
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any specifically pro-Nazi opinions (except possibly in his review of
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14N, for which Oz Tech has provided an alternative explanation).
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Aquino merely asserts that the Nazi leaders had a lot of valuable
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political, philosophical, and magic(k)al insights, which
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magic(k)ians can learn from.
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.
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TM > NON-NAZI OCCULTISM (2)
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A surprisingly slim selection, considering how often Aquino
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and his associate in the Order of the Trapezoid, Stephen
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Flowers ("Edred Thorsson"), use the phrase "Germanic
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occultism" rather than "Nazi occultism". Obviously the
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preferred phrase is a euphemism.
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.
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No, a more likely reason for the "slim selection" of books on non-
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Nazi occultism is that there's no reason to include them in a
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section of the reading list on "Totalitarianism, Fascism, and
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Magic". A more logical place to list books on non-Nazi "Germanic
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occultism" would be in section 24 of the reading list, "Runic Arts
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and Sciences".
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.
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I would appreciate any comments anyone may have. Sometime in the
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next month or so, I will upload a revised version of this string of
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messages (revised in light of any worthwhile feedback I get,
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especially from ToS members and/or Tim) as a file on several
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bulletin boards.
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.
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I would especially appreciate it if anyone can provide clear,
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concise quotes from THE CRYSTAL TABLET or other official ToS
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literature which support or clarify any of the points I've made in
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these messages. Such quotes may also come in handy if I ever again
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have occasion to rebut an anti-Satanist article like Bonewits's "The
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Enemies of Our Enemies", one of whose key arguments was a claim that
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Satanic organizations, including ToS, are "extremely fascistic".
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(My response to that article can be downloaded from BaphoNet or
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HaditNet as the file DVeraBon.TXT, if anyone is interested.)
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-!- Maximus 2.00
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! Origin: BaphoNet-by-the-Sea -=- 718/499-9277 (1:278/666)
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