The tragedy of Catania: Medea, Cronus and the “degeneration”
Italics by Battista Falconi
In the inevitable and inconsolable torment that we feel for the death of little Elena in Catania, sobs of pity emerge towards the murderous mother. How dense must the darkness of his mind have been to have obscured reason and love so terribly? It is fair to ask ourselves when the black hole of madness manages to swallow what we think are the fundamental feelings of a human being, indeed, even more so, the basis of any evolutionary mechanism. In fact, even animal species, especially those most similar to us, when the offspring is in danger, activate defense mechanisms even more energetic than those aimed at their own survival.
Mercy and compassion are noble and important attitudes, whenever we try to understand our neighbor and really put ourselves in his shoes we can try to take a step forward towards building a better civilization. However, it should be noted that a similar sensitivity is never expressed when, in family tragedies, the murderer is a man. In these cases the sacrosanct condemnation is not only without appeal but also without any attempt to observe closely how the machine of tragedy worked.
The so-called femicides are the object of due media attention, the murderers of children are less so. Yet, according to some data released after the Catania tragedy, it seems that on average one occurs every 15 days. Medea and Crono, or Otello, get different treatments in the media and in public opinion and this could be due to the general attitude of condemnation that surrounds any sign of masculinity. Even the most bloodless expressions such as catcalling are surrounded by a very severe stigma, the ongoing war then confirms the idea that violence has an intrinsically masculine connotation and that, therefore, salvation lies in the progressive reduction of man's power to attributing equal opportunities and dignity to women (on this I believe very few still have different opinions) but also in a sort of "degeneration", in the sense of reducing the weight that belonging to a gender exercises in social roles and interpersonal relationships .
They are very complex phenomena, which are badly suited to analyzes in the wake of news and opinion. However, it may be useful to try to reflect on the crisis that the family structure has been experiencing for many decades now. Since, that is, it has lost its substantially imposing character, since the era (which we do not regret) of arranged and interesting marriages has passed, since the Dolcestilnovist and romantic myth of love has moved from simple literary imagery to social rules, in the illusion that the sincere sentiment of a moment, generally young, is enough to consolidate a structure that should last for decades and be transferred as a model to subsequent generations.
Particularly "iconic" of a recent massacre committed by a man, as they like to say today, the image of the murderer with one of his victims taken in a gondola in Venice. How can that couple who loved each other so serenely and carefree have ended their story in blood? The bewilderment, while understandable, makes us forget a banality that we should always keep in mind: the strength of love is the mirror image of that of hate, just as life and death are two inseparable sides of the same coin. For this reason the classics insisted so much on warning that only detachment from the passions can allow us to reach serenity. But then – we are brutalizing in an inadmissible way – Christianity has come to transform love into a commandment, indeed "into the" commandment, and the suggestion to dilute our aspirations into a lukewarm "not wanting" has taken root above all in philosophies and religions oriental.
The utopia of love-obligation – social, conjugal, generational, interpersonal – has faded relatively quickly, producing a sharp downsizing of religious conjugal unions, that is, those bound by a sacrament to presumed eternity, but also civil ones and, above all, of prolificacy. Having children remains an investment in the future, especially in less advanced areas of the world, but as one enriches oneself and progresses towards material well-being, this sacrifice becomes meaningless. Not that this means anything compared to the tragedy of Catania, of course, but certainly we tend to endure with less and less ease the enormous effort of taking care of the little ones, moreover for an ever longer period, and to remain faithful in all senses. to our life companions.
Moreover, the problem is not of an abstractly ethical nature but very concretely practical, since at least in Italy the cohesion of the family unit remains the main support in terms of assistance when individuals find themselves in conditions of material and moral difficulty. These are paradoxes in which a large part of the so-called advanced world is struggling, not just Italy. Think of Japan, which is experiencing its demographic frost for the fourteenth consecutive year, the suicide rates in apparently perfect Scandinavia, as well as the frequency of massacres committed in the United States or the interracial violence that still pervades the United States.
A couple of readings may be interesting in this regard: one is "Diverse" (Raffaello Cortina) by the famous primatologist Frans de Waal, in which gender issues are addressed through comparisons between men and anthropomorphic apes, to conclude that the male character, in nature, although it often expresses itself in aggression towards other males, does not at all tend to act violence towards women and children, since it is very clear how their protection is the best guarantee of the survival of species. While in the "Metamorphosis Notebook" (Editions Code), Marco Di Domenico recalls how man maintains his infantile burden throughout his life, with an exceptional permanence compared to the vast majority of animal species and even mammals. Pregnancy and childcare among humans are exceptionally long, now so is the care of adult children, and it would always be good to keep this aspect in mind.
It is also useful to reflect on many data that are readily available. According to Istat president Gian Carlo Blangiardo, Italy risks finding itself in 2050, therefore in not very many years, with 5 million fewer inhabitants. Other scholars and demographers recently met to invite people to get out of the "trap" of denatality and to reverse the course with ad hoc policies. Fewer inhabitants, therefore also fewer consumers: this trend contributes to the recessive one, evidently already underway and which has many other relevant reasons.
Themes on which reflection languishes, if not when the tragedy forces it on us. Exceptions are the so-called "warnings" that come from above, for example those of Pope Francis: he is listened to when he talks about some topics, much less when he deals with them.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/la-tragedia-di-catania-medea-crono-e-la-degenerazione/ on Wed, 15 Jun 2022 06:55:22 +0000.