"Nothing that erodes the rule of law can be moral, no matter what name we give it."
Contested Pasts: The Politics of Memory (2003)
Edited by Katharine Hodgkin and Susannah Radstone
Katharine Hodgkin and Susannah Radstone
Introduction: Contested Pasts
Physical and ritual memorials are in a sense another means of trying to ensure the preservation of meaning in memory, to prolong an existence in the present, where history is seen to allow it to escape—letting the past bury its dead.
One way of seeing this desire that memory should continue beyond the lifespan of the rememberer would be as a decentring of the subject, perhaps, and a reminder that memory is also social. Detached from the self who remembers, memory can become a property to be inherited and passed on, continuing to function in the minds of others after the ‘original’ rememberer has gone.
The establishment of memorial sites, places where the past is not only preserved as fetish but also transmitted as signification, is inevitably a focus for struggle over meaning: whose monument is permitted, and what meanings may it convey? And since these sites are also often publicly established, or at least sanctioned, they are inescapably implicated in the construction of narratives—or perhaps maps—of national identity.
So for a new regime, the act of renaming attempts to rewrite the past by changing the place that is the present: St Petersburg and its avatars; Cambodia/Kampuchea; or Palestine again. For nationalism, naming and renaming—the continuing transformation of the supposedly eternal physical environment—is one of its most powerful and contentious tools, as well as one of power’s most explicit attempts to rewrite the past, literally reinscribing the surface of the world, and changing the name on the map—often while laying claim to something more ancient and authentic than the ‘old’ one.
Memory here may act subversively in refusing to ‘remember’ the new name, as one may refuse to ‘remember’ new coinage, or new vocabulary, in a gesture of resistance against unwanted change.
Memorials and museums represent public statements about what the past has been, and how the present should acknowledge it; who should be remembered, who should be forgotten; which acts or events are foundational, which marginal; what gets respected, what neglected.
The single consciousness that can narrate itself as a continuity over time is replicated and reinvented in diaries, novels, witness statements, confessions—a flood of self-narrative now perhaps at its height.
In particular, the question of the relation between memory’s narrative and metaphorical aspects—what we might think of, again, as its vertical and horizontal lines—is one which may perhaps be most successfully explored or engaged with in non-traditional narrative forms.
untitled (the ways to say 'i love you' pt. ii)
Of more text messages and spoken words
(on expressing my fears of going abroad to study alone) we should apply together ya
you are relevant to those around you
between yours and mine
Call me on your way home we can talk about silly stuff ok
Nvm call me anytime
Babe. Tmr we talk irl
Yes I'm really happy we went through all these today. I miss my best friend. Hahahaha we should definitely talk again soon not sure if I have much more to say but these past few months have been bad I'm sorry I wasn't there for you but know that I am always here whenever you need me
call anytime if you need nells. i’ll send cupcakes over if you up for it
you are no trouble
i need a momentary distraction
you want tea?
thank you
you care for others nerissa. let others care for you too
love u too babe. u know we are here for you too
Hey @nelly whatsapp call me
come up to KL
We come pick you
hey, you need to be kinder to yourself
you mean a lot to me too nerissa, do know that. you are important to people too, people do care for you
Love you too burrito
(on a public instastory post) extra high bun today for @nelly please respond
Nelly, none of us can do the things you do. We are all together because you keep pulling us together. If you leave, we all will fall apart.
definitely would be more fun if y’all around
It is strange we are all going through our circumstances and that is the fab part about all 3 of us - we are still standing tall no matter if we are lamed and burdened.
How are u doing ❤
Hey good morning sunshine!
I wish I could come to sg to be with u but my passport has to go for renewal and knowing this place it will come after a month🙄 so why don’t u drop by please
Thank u nelly.
Talking to u makes me feel better..
You take care yeah? I’m here if you need to talk
Will miss you annoying me but also your openness and warmth
Nelly, I am sorry for contacting you at this hour. Just want to check up on you. Are you feeling any better since we last met? Take care and stay strong, Nel. Hugs
thanks for loving me. love you too
no worries, just be safe
Yes please just come over u know i’d drop everything and run for u all
U doing k?
Hi how u doing?? Call me when free
Hang in there. And remember to set yourself in a good place. You deserve it.
You can go ahead and be a complete and selfish bitch, but that’s the only selfish thing I will refuse to allow you.
How’re you?
er Nerissa. I dk what happened. but we friend so so long alr. if you have anything you can just let me know. I dk if there's anything I can help. but I just want to let you know that, you have always a bro from another mom to lend his ear ya. rest early ya.
(whispered in your ear as i hold you as closely and as tightly as i can) thank you, (insert name here)