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16 THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTHON VIOLENCE17don't know which way to turn when faced with the surprisingsurge ofNorth Mrican criminality. We shall see later what shouldbe made of this phenomenon. 2 Confronted with the colonialorder the colonized subject is in a permanent state of tension.The colonist's world is a hostile world, a world which excludesat the same time incites envy. We have seen how the colonizedalways dream of taking the colonist's place. Not ofbecominga colonist, but of replacing him. This hostile, oppressive andaggressive world, bulldozing the colonized masses, represents notonly the hell they would like to escape as quickly as possible buta paradise within arm's reach guarded by ferocious watchdogs.The colonized subject is constantly on his guard: Confusedby the myriad signs ofthe colonial world he never knows whetherhe is out of line. Confronted with a world configured by thecolonizer, the colonized subject is always presumed guilty. Thecolonized does not accept his guilt, but rather considers it a kindof curse, a sword of Damocles. But deep down the colonizedsubject acknowledges no authority. He is dominated but notdomesticated. He is made to feel inferior, but by no means convincedof his inferiority. He patiently waits for the colonist to lethis guard down and then jumps on him. The muscles of thecolonized are always tensed. It is not that he is anxious or terrorized,but he is always ready to change his role as game for that ofhunter. The colonized subject is a persecuted man who is foreverdreaming of becoming the persecutor. The symbols of societysuch as the police force, bugle calls in the barracks, militaryparades, and the flag flying aloft, serve not only as inhibitors butalso as stimulants. They do not signify: "Stay where you are." Butrather "Get ready to do the right thing." And in fact if evercolonized subject begins to doze off or forget, the colonist's arroganceand preoccupation with testing the solidity of the colo­2 Colonial Wars and Mental Disorders, chapter 5.nial system will remind him on so many occasions that the greatshowdown cannot be postponed indefinitely. This impulse totake the colonist's place maintains a constant muscular tonus. Itis a known fact that under certain emotional circumstances anobstacle actually escalates action.relationship between colonist and colonized is onephysical mass. Against the greater number the colonist pits hisforce. The colonist is an exhibitionist. His safety concerns leadhim to remind the colonized out loud: "Here I am the master."The colonist keeps the colonized in a state of rage, which heprevents from boiling over. The colonized are caught intightly knit web of colonialism. But we have seen how on the insidethe colonist achieves only a pseudo-petrification. The musculartension of the colonized periodically erupts into bloodyfighting between tribes, clans, and individuals.At the individual level we witness a genuine negation of commonsense. Whereas the colonist or police officer can beat thecolonized subject day in and day out, insult him and shoveto his knees, it is not uncommon to see the colonized subjectdraw his knife at the slightest hostile or aggressive look fromanother colonized subject. For the colonized subject's last resortis to defend his personality against his fellow countryman.Internecine feuds merely perpetuate age-old grudges entrenchedin memory. By throwing himself muscle and soul into his bloodfeuds, the colonized subject endeavors to convince himself thatcolonialism has never existed, that everything is as it used to beand history marches on. Here we grasp the full significancethe all too familiar "head-in-the-sand" behavior at a collectivelevel, as if this collective immersion in a fratricidal bloodbathsuffices to mask the obstacle and postpone the inevitable alternative,the inevitable emergence of the armed struggle against colonialism.So one of the ways the colonized subject releasesmuscular tension is through the very real collective self-destruction