[lit-ideas] Re: Hitler Meets A Christmas Story
- From: "Stan Spiegel" <writeforu2@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2005 13:42:15 -0500
Thank you Memphis for being there! You addressed all the issues Irene brought
up -- Zionism, German superiority, social Darwinism, empathy -- and did it
without being disagreeable. Since I'm Jewish, I tend to snarl and get nasty
whenever I sense anti-semitism. Can I put you on retainer?
Stan
Portland, ME
----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Geary
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2005 12:30 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Hitler Meets A Christmas Story
AA:
>> It's strange how the sense of German superiority survived even after the
Russians beat the Germans, singlehandedly without help from the Allies. <<
The sense of "German superiority" as sensed by whom? I've not seen any
evidence that Germans believe themselves superior to others in my lifetime. I
have no idea how wide-spread the acceptance of Nazi racial superiority was
among the German people during the 20's, 30's and 40's. Certainly a purulent
anti-Semitism was widespread throughout all of Europe and, to a lesser degree,
North America. But racism against blacks in America more than compensated for
our lack-luster anti-Semitism. There were, still are, many ethnic divides in
Europe that surprise most Americans: Croats and Serbs, Slavs and Germans,
Turks and Armenians, Kurds and everybody, etc., etc., etc. "Italians hate
Yugoslavs, South Africans hate the Dutch and I don't like anybody very much" as
the Kingston Trio used to sing.
>> Social Darwinism [what drove Hitler] <<
I thought Emil Maurice was Hitler's chauffeur.
>> Social Darwinism [what drove Hitler] essentially underlies the creation of
Israel, the same sense that all countries (or peoples) had when they colonized
and/or usurped or usurp territory. <<
Do you really think so? I'd say the need to have a place where you could be
a Jew and not be hated for that was at the heart of the Zionism. The creation
of Israel was an international decision, btw, an act of the United Nations and
it was probably driven more out of enormous guilt than a feeling of
superiority. That we, the international community, took the land from
Palestinians for the state of Israel is an issure, I agree, but where would
America be if we started taking ethics seriously? In other words, it seems a
hell of a lot more complicated and sticky than you let on. Nevertheless,
justice should be striven for, Palestinians should be compensated for their
losses.
>> The British did it with colonies, as did the French and the Spanish and
Portuguese before them. <<
Was this Social Darwinism or just garden variety greed, avarice, escape from
boredom, institutional power seeking? "Social Darwinism" is a construct of
schoolmen and mams, it's not real. Greed is real. Nor would I classify as
Social Darwinism the incident from the movie A Christmas Story. I'd call it
rage. Pure, unbridled rage. And it's a scary thing.
Despite the fact that humankind is subject to greed and avarice and power
seeking and is often quite willing to use horrendous violence to effect those
ends, I have to disagree with you that empathy is rare. If it were so, life
would be impossible given all our negative proclivities. We have come a long
way, baby. The achievements of mankind are astounding -- and the fact that we
sometimes feel despair at our evils only shows how much further we can go and
are going to go. Empathy is not rare. It's the bread and butter of
civilization.
Thus sayeth Memphis.
Mike Geary
----- Original Message -----
From: Andy Amago
To: lit-ideas
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2005 9:43 AM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Hitler Meets A Christmas Story
I wrote this for another purpose. I thought I'd post it here too. Some is
repeat, some isn't.
It's strange how the sense of German superiority survived even after the
Russians beat the Germans, singlehandedly without help from the Allies. It
always strikes me that people who don't like themselves are the most bigoted.
It's called the hot potato syndrome, throwing one's negative feelings onto
others because they're too uncomfortable to hold on to. Social Darwinism [what
drove Hitler] essentially underlies the creation of Israel, the same sense that
all countries (or peoples) had when they colonized and/or usurped or usurp
territory. The British did it with colonies, as did the French and the Spanish
and Portuguese before them. In fact, I saw a smidgen of that on an individual
level even in the movie A Christmas Story (the one with the father who wins a
lamp in the shape of a leg; Jean Shepherd's book). In it Ralphie becomes so
frustrated at a series of losses that he starts beating up a bully. To be
sure, a bu lly can only be stopped with force (that's all they understand), but
he keeps pummeling and pummeling. The kids standing around, instead of seeing
the pain of the boy being beaten, are awed and urge Ralphie to beat harder.
Interestingly, it's the girls who urge the hardest. Empathy is a rare
commodity among humans, virtually nonexistent.
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