If we define the petit
bourgeoisie in two words it would be selfishness and fear, in that order. From
selfishness comes out fear.
The petit bourgeoisie excessively
summarizes the values of the dominant class, fueled by desperation to rise towards
the status that is denied to it: become bourgeois. They are condemned to be a
caricature of the dominant class to copy –exaggerated- the brushstrokes that
define the bourgeois picture. This is how the symbols of power show off, imitating
the originals, and that makes them feel more frustration than pleasure. Their
bourgeois disguise is never enough.
Being so, it is a very fearful class;
its main fear is the inability to imitate the bourgeoisie, the failure to flaunt
its costumes, buying the symbols that imitate power; the symbols dictated by
the propaganda that manipulates them. They are frightened to live very close to
“barrios”, and not being able to
maintain its distance from the "rabble." So they try to isolate
themselves with check points, smoked crystals, electric fences, satellite
surveillance systems, life insurances, car insurances, but not the insurances
that guarantee they will not fall into the social scale, those does not exist.
They think they make their living
on their own, without relationship with anyone, they face life alone. Hence, a
profound selfishness and its immense fear emerge. We could paraphrase Marti’s
words by saying, "The petty vain
bourgeois believes that his neighborhood, his condo is the world, and as long
as he enters it, passing the fragile check point that covers its entrance he
feels satisfied, he ignores stars and comets”.
The fear that dwells them makes
them vulnerable. Above them floats the economic meltdown, dismissal, the
closure of their income source, they do not require more services; the fast technological
obsolescence ruins little companies. However, all this anxiety coming from the
economic weakness which submitted by the bourgeois, all that fear is redirected
to the humble and who tries to redeem it. The petit bourgeois, paradoxically, does
not hate the bourgeois who depletes it; but the humble, who is as victim as him,
does not aim his hatred at the candidates of capitalism but against candidates
who try to redeem humanity, including them.
Thus, the hate of the petit
bourgeois is irrational, insane, so it is cruel, very dangerous. It is able of
anything carried by his existential anguish, capable of accepting any cruelty, of
killing to which he considers, mistakenly, the source of his uneasiness.
When madness comes out, it
explodes, there is no reasoning or thinking that is worth it, they act
commanding us through fear, and terror dilutes their ethical ties. This explains
fascism.
We are not talking about Europe; we saw madness near here, who murdered García
Lorca, Victor Jara, who disappeared thousands in the Southern Cone. In Chuao,
in the siege of the glorious Embassy of Cuba we saw acting the crazy mob and its
leaders.
With Chavez forever!
