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Berlin, Israel, Mexico: Walls Across the World
It's being called "the most ambitious commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany": "The Wall Project" in Los Angeles -- and its political message will surprise many. Artists commissioned by the organizers have promised works that draw analogies between the Berlin Wall and the wall the Israelis have erected along the border with the West Bank, and the wall the US has erected along the Mexican border.
Berlin-based French artist Thierry Noir, who was the first artist to paint murals on the Berlin Wall in 1984, puts the finishing touches on a section that was transported to Los Angeles to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall, on October 19. Twenty years after a seismic jolt of history sent it tumbling down, a section of the Berlin Wall has been rebuilt in Los Angeles.
(AFP/File/Mark Ralston) That's not exactly the sort of thing Ronald Reagan had in mind when he stood in Berlin in 1989 and said "Tear down this wall!"
LA's Berlin Wall anniversary commemoration has been organized by the Wende Museum, a private institution in Culver City, with the support of the City of L.A. It includes "The Wall Across Wilshire," a one-hour event on November 8 at which a replica of the Berlin Wall 60 feet long will be erected blocking Wilshire Blvd. in front of the County Museum of Art at midnight.
Artists have been commissioned to paint the wall with "their creative response to the walls in our lives": the top two are Shepard Fairey, who did the iconic Obama "Hope" poster, and Thierry Noir, a French-born, Berlin-based muralist famous for his paintings on the Berlin wall in 1989.
In an interview with the LA Times, Fairey said his painting on the wall in L.A. would be an "antiwar, anti-containment piece" that "makes a parallel to the Wall of Palestine." 
Thierry Noir told the Times that his painting would draw an analogy between the Berlin Wall and the border wall between the US and Mexico - the point being, he said, that "every wall is not built forever."
Maybe Fairey and Noir mean that the Israeli wall and the US border wall should come down, the way the Berlin Wall did, and allow free movement--of Palestinians into Israel, and of Mexicans into the US.
And maybe they mean more than that. The Berlin Wall prevented victims of Stalinism from reaching freedom in the West; Fairey's point seems to be that the Israeli wall prevents victims of Zionism from exercising their right of return to their historic homes in Palestine. 
Thierry Noir's point seems to be that the US border wall, like the Berlin Wall, divides one country into two: what was once all-Mexican territory in California and the Southwest. And, like divided Germany, the two sides of the Mexican border--"Aztlan"--should be, and perhaps will be, re-united some day.
An undivided Palestine; an undivided Aztlan: these meanings found in the Berlin Wall are likely to drive conservatives into a wild rage. First Amendment defenders of course will invoke the freedom of the artist. A fight over the meaning of freedom: what better way to celebrate the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall?
40 Comments so far
Show AllThe Wall the US built has killed far more people than the Berlin Wall ever did.
UUUmmmm, maybe not. But the point is well taken, anyway.
There's no doubt really about it, Michael. The US Border Wall really has killed thousands of people trying to cross into the US, whereas the Berlin Wall was never near as deadly. Plus, in a much broader sense, the walls that richer countries as a whole make to keep the poor out kill millions of people that the rich confine into world slums and cesspool maintained regions.
do they get the paint @ Wall-mart?
Weird
the walls are built around the wrong people. When the USA is really invaded which countries are they going to be asking to assist them. The peace keepers and the poorly paid Mexicans.
Weren't there walls around the Polish ghettos back when. I guess it was to "protect the jews" who are, above all, the chosen people.
Walls protect... give it a thought .... then ask from what? "Rocks and pieces of metal" falling ????
I propose a wall between Canada and the USA, to prevent Americans from sneaking into Canada for free health care.
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
While the trend to building walls around countries to keep undesirables out...
What of all the WALLED and gated Communities inside of a country?
These patrolled by security frims and dogs with people needing passes to access.
Even ones fellow citizens is an "undesirable".
I suppose a wall to keep people in is morally equivelant to a wall to keep people out?
Further, "Thierry Noir's point seems to be that the US border wall, like the Berlin Wall, divides one country into two: what was once all-Mexican territory in California and the Southwest. And, like divided Germany, the two sides of the Mexican border--"Aztlan"--should be, and perhaps will be, re-united some day."
His point SEEMS to be? Oh goodness. And progs wonder why they're on the political margins.
The wall we see are the outer manifestation of the wall around the heart that this country has shown to the world at large.We aided and abetted so many right wing take over governments from Mexico down into most of South America and if one were to check most of the people,I refuse to call them illeagal,that have come from south of the border are from these right wing countries.Looks more like payback to me.Tony
it's amazing how the USA builds a WALL to "close out" mexico -
even if the USA is the one that STOLE LAND from Mexico - including "new" mexico (where ELSE does that name come from if not from theft?) - California and even other neighboring states that WERE mexican territory.
amazing how the USA really makes "laws" based on a hypocritical claim and history and does it with a straight face.
if anything the USA should RETURN CALIFORNIA and other "near mexico" states TO mexicans.
and remove its own citizens FROM those states since - in effect - ALL american citizens are the ONES that are the SQUATTERS on MEXICAN LAND.
just like they are squatters on Native INdian land.
that wall is not only illegal - it is downright criminal .
Especially news to the folks living in Mexico who are Mayan or other indians
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
"Stolen land is all we"ve got
Stolen land and we'll never forget
Stolen land is all we've got
Stolen land and we're not through yet."
--Bruce Cockburn
Fairey, Noir and the rest of these posers are a bunch of SELF CONGRATULATING SELLOUTS...
The artists know that it was WISDOM that first painted murals on the wall in 84'
ON BOTH SIDES...
This is a phoney pr stunt, I'm hardly surprised that shepard is in on it.
Check your facts corporate/institutional stooges.
And don't forget the mother of all walls: The Great Wall of China.
And it was Robert Frost who said that 'good fences make good neighbors.'
We have indeed built a wall around our hearts, and will allow businesses to employ slaves at slave wages to assuage our guilt, or make us into slaves too?
Remember it is big business and the elites who would love nothing more than to open the flood gates. They get nannies, gardeners, house keepers, and cheap labor for their factories, restaurants, hotels, building contractors, and corporate farms, while the rest of us get to live in tent cities (if we are so lucky).
Often, though, exploitation is a two-way street. Few give something for nothing in this world. Often those who allow themselves to be oppressed will turn the tides and oppress their oppressors with a vengeance.
Genuine compassion is much more rare than one would think, and while it may involve sharing bread with your brethren, it does not mean giving away the farm.
First address inequity in unconscious comparison, and allow your heart to begin to thaw, then you will know what to give and what to withhold, when to cooperate and when not to. Remember too, that everything must be paid for. Somtimes payment can be delayed, but sooner or later the bill will come due. The dam of debt will not stand forever, whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual.
EVERYTHING seeks equilibrium, whether realized or not; imbalances must be rectified, now or later. If we build the dam too high it will sweep us away once it finally bursts. And burst it will.
But, alas, which is more of a prison, working for slave wages or within a fence? The quote from Frost's poem was not given as a justification, and the Great wall of China failed to serve the purpose it was intended for (if I remember correctly). On the other hand, allowing millions of people to flock into the country without restriction is not likely to be of benefit to anyone--except possibly for those who would exploit cheap labor. And lately, not so sure it's even as attractive as it once might have been, given that jobs here are quickly vanishing.
Sounds like you got your own xenophobic, racist thingy going on. Not all people of any race are evil, nor are all good. Native American nationalism is just as destructive as any other kind of nationalism or group-think. Each nation has its own brand of ignorance, no? Hate is hate, my friend, regardless of how cleverly packaged or vigorously justified.
I understand your evasion of the issues, given your clear prejudice. Moreover, there is nothing wrong with my usage, and I do not need your permission to use a particular word. Sorry, but your hostile attitude comes through as clear as a bell, and you do not seem do differentiate in your contempt for those you call 'gringos.' You are no different from others who exhibit group hate. You lay down a blanket of blame, devoid of nuance.
Let me make a few point regarding Native Americans:
1) Many of us 'gringos' greatly admire you for your respect of the land (myself included), and feel that you were unfairly treated by the early settlers. However, we are not responsible for their sins. Many emigrated here much later.
2) Like many others, though, you do not seem to want to integrate with the greater whole, but stick to your traditions, some of which may be doing you more harm than good. Hatred and resentment can only serve to hinder and spread more darkness in an already dark world.
3) Your culture has much to teach. Some will want to know more, some won't, but that has more to do with them than you.
Those flooding across the border are no better or worse than those already here. Didn't many countries in South America do worse to their native peoples (such as the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans) than the US has done?
Don't know what you think about Ralph Nader, but here's what he says about open borders:
"We cannot have open borders. That’s a totally absurd proposition. It would depress wages here enormously, and tens of millions of people from all levels, including scientists and workers, would be pouring into this country."
Also, not all Native Americans seem to be in favor of illegal immigration:
"Tribal members live in fear for the safety of their families and their properties. Homes are broken into by those desperate for food, water and shelter.
The 28,000–member Nation fights hoards of illegal immigrant [illegal alien] drug and human traffickers, robbers, and rapists."
See:
Illegal Immigrants Devastate the Tohono Indian Reservation
http://www.city-data.com/forum/illegal-immigration/483622-illegal-immigration-now-hitting-native-american.html
Finally, in reference to my being 'xenophobic.' I am married to an immigrant, and we have jumped through all the immigration hoops to get her 'naturalized.' Personally, I think the process sucks and is unnecessarily punitive, and should be reformed. However, I still do believe there needs to BE a process to ensure an orderly integration within our society.
Opening lines of Robert Frost's poem may be more relevant to this conversation than his closing quote of the man who insists on mending the wall....
"Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun..."
The Iranian architect Nader Khalili says that the word for "neighbors" in his language means something like "those who share a wall."
But that's a connection, not a separation.
Of course, the sucess of the wall depends on the Mexican's never discovering US Ladder Technology..or god forbid...tunnels
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
walls don't stop, they impede.
An old joke, but true: If the US builds a wall, whatever labor is not done by Mexicans will be done by Guatemaltecos and Salvadorenos.
May they take care to build in comfortable tunnels. By the time they're done, I may need them to escape, and I am getting pretty crotchety.
FALSE ANALOGY
Jon Wiener writes, "...the Berlin Wall and the wall the Israelis have erected along the border with the West Bank, and the wall the US has erected along the Mexican border".
That's a false analogy. The wall around the occupied territories of the West Bank was not built along any internationally recognized border, nor was it built along a border of any sort. The International Court of Justice has ruled that the apartheid wall is illegal and violates international law.
The wall around the occupied territories of the West Bank was illegally built on Palestinian land and in some cases prevents Palestinians from one side of town to visit Palestinians on the other side of town. It also prevents them from accessing their lands that have been illegally annexed by Israel.
The same applies in the case of the Berlin Wall.
By including the wall along the Mexican/US border in this exhibit, the artists are confusing the issue, however. When Jon Wiener states the “…wall the Israelis have erected along the border”, he too is confusing the issue.
The Mexican/US wall is the odd-man-out in this case and its inclusion serves to legitimize the Israeli wall of apartheid.
Please write Jon Wiener at jonwiener@earthlink.net about this issue.
excellent post!
Here's Ralph Nader's take on open borders and immigration:
Q. What is your stance on numeric caps for legal immigration and/or quotas for specific countries for immigration, and whether there should be amnesties for illegal immigrants?
A. The first stage for our immigration policy is stop supporting oligarchs, dictatorships, authoritarian regimes that drive people to leave their native lands out of economic desperation or political repression. Lots of people from Mexico and Central America would now be in those countries, not in this country, if they had a decent chance in a democratic society to have an adequate standard of living. We cannot have open borders. That’s a totally absurd proposition. It would depress wages here enormously, and tens of millions of people from all levels, including scientists and workers, would be pouring into this country. One way is to provide work permits for people who come in and do work for short periods of time that Americans don’t want to do instead of criminalizing the border.
Here is common sense statement that Nader makes over which some saying the same thing here have been called bigoted:
"We cannot have open borders. That’s a totally absurd proposition. It would depress wages here enormously, and tens of millions of people from all levels, including scientists and workers, would be pouring into this country."
Ralph Nader on open open borders:
"We cannot have open borders. That’s a totally absurd proposition. It would depress wages here enormously, and tens of millions of people from all levels, including scientists and workers, would be pouring into this country."
In view of many who post here, I suppose this makes Nader a bigot and a racist as well.