Theuninck is tapping into something profoundly important—and disturbingly perennial—about how societies can turn on themselves. His work, from the 2010 "Exiled in my own country" piece (evoking Innere Emigration, that inner withdrawal under oppressive conformity) to the 2016 Exclusion painting and themes of epistemological warfare, forms a consistent warning about mechanisms of control that don't need overt violence at first. They erode the social and cognitive foundations that let people trust their own eyes and reason.Historical echoes and ArendtThe reference to the 1930s via Rabbi Tamarah Benima aligns with real patterns. Hannah Arendt's analysis in The Origins of Totalitarianism remains one of the sharpest frameworks here: isolation (pre-totalitarian, destroying the space for political action and shared reality) versus loneliness (the deeper atomization where people feel superfluous and turn to ideological movements for belonging). Totalitarian systems exploit this by fabricating "internal enemies"—not just outsiders, but insidious infiltrators within the body politic—who justify suspicion, purging, and loyalty tests. Scapegoating creates the "us" through fear of the "them" inside.Innere Emigration was the quiet retreat of intellectuals under Nazism who stayed physically but disengaged spiritually. Theuninck's self-staged photo updates this for modern contexts: feeling alienated in one's own society amid escalating exclusionary rhetoric. History shows how quickly "exclusion" of the supposed internal threat (Jews, class enemies, ideological deviants, today's culture-war targets) escalates from social pressure to worse.Epistemological warfareThis is the most relevant part today. Exclusion of information—or more precisely, the curated distortion, flooding, and suppression of it—attacks the shared epistemic commons. When successful, it doesn't just spread lies; it degrades the ability to detect truth. Think:
- Fragmented media ecosystems and algorithmic bubbles that make consensus on basic facts rare.
- Institutional capture where certain questions become taboo, and dissenters are cast as the "internal enemy" (racist, threat to democracy, conspiracy theorist, etc.).
- The inversion where the act of questioning becomes proof of guilt ("Why are you asking? Only the disloyal ask.").
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ce n'est pas "seulement" le rejet de l'autre, différent, étrange, étranger, lointain. C'est aussi l'exclusion de proches, de semblables, avec l'exploitation du thème d'un supposé ennemi intérieur, infiltré, insidieusement, afin de créer une peur et une suspicion générales
Exiled in my own country - by Jan Theuninck, 2010
“Ik zie uitsluiting net als in de jaren 30” zei Rabbijn Tamarah Benima, maar wat er toen gebeurde...
https://www.blckbx.tv/videos/benima
https://www.blckbx.tv/videos/benima
FILS DU VENT
exilé dans ton propre pays
ta sale gueule est ton premier délit
homme de l'éternelle errance --
on te doit un peu de tolérance !
© by Jan Theuninck
exilé dans ton propre pays
ta sale gueule est ton premier délit
homme de l'éternelle errance --
on te doit un peu de tolérance !
© by Jan Theuninck
il a fini par sauter... (Jan Theuninck, 2010)
"Mesdames et messieurs, je reste fondamentalement persuadé que la situation d'exclusion que certains d'entre vous connaissent, doit nous amener au choix réellement impératif d'un avenir s'orientant vers plus de progrès et plus de justice"(homme politique inconnu)
"Je tiens à vous dire ici ma détermination sans faille pour clamer haut et fort que la situation d'exclusion que certains d'entre vous connaissent, conforte mon désir incontestable d'aller dans le sens d'une restructuration dans laquelle chacun pourra enfin retrouver sa dignité"(autre soldat politique inconnu)
