Kurt Tucholsky: Zur soziologischen Psychologie der Löcher - English Translation
On the Sociological Psychology of Holes (Kurt Tucholsky 1931) (translated into English) A hole is where something is not. A hole is the eternal companion of the non-hole: a hole by itself does not occur, much as I regret it. If there were something everywhere, there would be no hole — but also no philosophy, and certainly no religion, both of which arise from the hole. A mouse could not live without it, nor could man: it is the last refuge of both when matter presses in on them. A hole is always good. When people hear the word “hole,” they form associations: some think of a fuse hole, some of a buttonhole, and some of Goebbels. The hole is the cornerstone of this social order — and so it is as well. Workers live in a dark one, are always forced to give way, and when they protest, they are shown where the carpenter left it. They are thrown into holes, and in the end they survey the whole row of them and whistle on the last one. The strangest thing about a hole is its edge. It sti...