We have corrupt DNA

BELGİN AKALTAN - belgin.akaltan@hdn.com.tr

Photo taken on May 14, 2014 shows Yusuf Yerkel, advisor to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, kicking a protester already held by special forces police members during Erdoğan's visit to Soma. AFP PHoto

Our genes must have gone through mutations while we were traveling on horseback from Central Asia to Anatolia. It’s a long ride. Something must have gone wrong along the way. I think we are mutant Turks. Like Ninja turtles. We are like a lab accident.

First of all - sorry for the repetition – we carry the “killer DNA” in our souls. It may have been a remarkable, wonderful and praiseworthy feature to be able to kill, to kill as many people as possible in the battlefield once upon a time when everything depended on winning wars and conquering. When the whole system was based on occupation, physical power, a strong army; of course, killing meant winning.

But not now, dear brothers and sisters; not now…

We are now living at modern and peaceful times. Mankind has evolved. Isn’t it time we also evolve?
Being in this country in this era is like a science fiction book or movie. The whole of human kind has progressed, transformed into better, more qualified creatures, living loftier lives, with nice lifestyles – and there is only one way to achieve this upper level – while all this is going on around us, on one side of the world we live in, there are other things going on at the other. Turkey is the border. On one side, there is the developed world, on the other side, well, let me not offend anybody. All that time, our society kept and developed the killer gene. Because we could not compete with the developed world with that killer gene we cherish so much in our souls, we started killing or almost killing each other.

We have persistently reserved that killer gene for centuries. Even though we do not conquer and fight in the battlefield anymore, we have the mutant killer gene and its sub-gene that protects the murderer. We have special respect and a secret love for the murderer.    

We protect the murderers at Sivas, Kahramanmaraş, the police who shot Berkin Elvan in the head with a gas canister, the other policemen who shot Ethem Sarısülük in Ankara, and the other policemen, the civilian baker and the city bus driver who all beat Ali İsmail Korkmaz to death in Eskişehir.

Our country is being led as if we were a street gang at Kasımpaşa. For those who do not know, Kasımpaşa is an elite district of Istanbul where the prime minister grew up. Same basic principles apply. There are the people and things we claim as “ours” and those as “not-ours.” There is show of power, force. There is violence. It is completely macho - no place for women. There is ignorance, hubris, superficial approaches, one-sided justice, hatred and more violence. The killer gene is so strong these days that it is hard to keep it inside. It comes out as a kick on a person who is already on the ground; it comes as a slap in the face of a citizen in front of the ice cream stand in a supermarket.

This killer gene and its side product – protecting the killer gene – contribute to the miserable human factor in Turkey. Everything, every profession, every person is affected by it. We are third-class in everything.  

Our milk is bad; our oil is bad. Our teachers are bad; our education system is bad. Our newspapers are bad, so our televisions. Our police are not top quality, so neither are our politicians. Of course, neither our voters. Our intelligence service is of the same quality as the mentality that manages the Soma mine.

Our diplomats are not first-class, our music is not either. Maybe we are good in advertising. Our journalism is bad; our urban planning is bad. We may be good at construction abroad, but not here.

Our local administrations, our national administration, private sector, NGOs, our justice are all as good as our street’s grocery boy. Even our criminals and crimes are simple and straightforward – never on a deeper level.   

Of course, our imams are also of low caliber. All of the imams I have met up until today have hated women, looked down on women, some have avoided shaking my hand and treated me like I was the devil. (With the exception of a few) At my mother’s funeral more than one year ago, you may remember, my brother and I had loving moments with the imam. Just like Ali Şen yelling at the imam during his grandson’s funeral.

Now, imams are ruling my poor, beloved and lonely country, Turkey.

I blame the Americans. I also blame, well, maybe ourselves, but not much. It is the Americans to blame and the EU. If they hadn’t interfered, Tayyip would still be selling bus tickets at the İETT now.


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