Anthony Bourdain: June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018

Sean O’Torain

“For some, unfortunately, depicting Palestinians as anything other than terrorists is proof positive that you have an agenda, that you have bought in to some sinister propaganda guidelines issuing from some evil central command in charge of interfacing with Western com/symp dupes. A photo of a Palestinian washing their car or playing with their child is, therefore automatically “propaganda.” Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain has been found dead, apparently by suicide. I have watched some of his shows. I found his willingness to meet and showcase and eat with ordinary people, in the countries he visited, rather than the bourgeois types very positive.  What stands out is his obvious respect and admiration for the different cultures of the world

However, you would have a time seeing this in the articles that are now everywhere in the major capitalist media outlets. One quotes the Dalai Lama! This shows their desperation to avoid quoting Bourdain himself. Here are a few more comments from Anthony Bourdain. 

On Kissinger the mass murderer, war criminal and friend of Trump and Clinton, Bourdain wrote in his 2001, book, A Cook's Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal of his visit to Cambodia: 

"Once you've been to Cambodia, you'll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands. You will never again be able to open a newspaper and read about that treacherous, prevaricating, murderous scumbag sitting down for a nice chat with Charlie Rose or attending some black-tie affair for a new glossy magazine without choking.” 

Bourdain was able to say this in his book. But the mass capitalist media would not let him say it on his show. The censorship in the US is horrific. 

As an article in Buzzfeed pointed out:  "Bourdain was also a vigorous supporter of immigrant rights. In 2015, Bourdain attacked then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's comments on illegal immigration, saying "every restaurant in America would shut down" if Trump's immigration plan was successful.

"I walked into restaurants and always, the person who had been there the longest, who took the time to show me how it was done, was always Mexican or Central American. The backbone of the industry — meaning most of the people in my experience cooking, preparing your food," he said.

This Blog has always explained that the struggle against capitalism is the struggle for the consciousness of the working class. The capitalist class knows this. And acting with this foremost in their mind and dealing with the death of Anthony Bourdain they make sure to leave out his criticisms of degenerates like the major capitalist war criminal Kissinger, his criticisms of the Republicans, his support for immigrant rights. 

It is only possible to speculate on the background to Anthony Bourdain’s death. But it has taken place against the background of the devastating catastrophe of capitalism: climate change, pollution, the threat of nuclear war, mass poverty, the destruction of indigenous culture. Along with this the lack of a mass revolutionary alternative from the working class. Everywhere Anthony Bourdain would have gone he would have seen the catastrophic effects of capitalism and especially imperialism. He would also have been very aware of the monster in the White House and how he and US capitalism/imperialism are the main force of destruction in the world today. 

He would have been very aware of the environment destroying method of food production and agriculture and the McDonald's hamburger, fast food giants that export their methods to the rest of the world, and of Trump and the US meat industry and how all of this was savaging the  great variety of cultures, including the great variety of foods and cooking skills in the world. One of the things being talked about in relation to North Korea is that they will offer to allow a US hamburger chain to open there.

As my mother would have said and as I even as an atheist find myself repeating. "In Under God". That is, to any sane thinking person this is unbelievable. But it is real.  It is capitalism destroying the world as it threshes around in its death throes. Maybe Anthony Bourdain just could not take it anymore. He will be missed. let his death not be in vain. Take up his causes. Support the call for Kissinger to be tried as a war criminal. Support immigrant rights. Support the movement against sexual oppression.