Why do you think it still shocks outside observers that people can (and need to) laugh in the face of death?Slavoj Zizek: I’m suspicious of those who respond to the suffering of others with tears and dramatic public displays of sympathy. In my experience, the people who behave this way are usually not the ones who have truly suffered. It’s an emotional performance, detached from the reality of what it means to endure pain.I often refer to a story about an Australian aborigine visited by Western observers with benevolent intentions. The aborigine says to them: “If you’ve come here to sympathize with our suffering and express compassion, go home. But if you’ve come here to fight alongside us, then stay.” I think this captures that total hypocrisy perfectly, the same kind we see on a larger scale toward the people of Ukraine, Gaza, and elsewhere today.When suffering is unbearable, you can’t indulge too deeply in mourning because you’re still in the midst of it.
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