for the List [was neo-Nazis on the Net]

[calbert at pop.tiac.net]

Vaska,
Once again my heart is with you on this topic, but my mind refuses to 
go along. I think that the concerted effort to instill sensitivity 
vis a vis the holocaust has failed miserably, and I offer the 
following statement as evidence:


"I disagree. I have a serious problem with the canonization of the 
Holocaust in the Great Tragedy Rollcall, rendering it off-limits to 
any comparison to anything like the current War on Drugs (which still 
continues), just because it holds very serious emotional connotations 
for a certain segment of the populace. It was an event like anything 
else and is not untouchable. 

P.S. I second Jules' assertion of Hitler's artistry: he was a
master-fictioner. Who else but an artist could delude an entire world in
backing his pathetic attempts at genocide?"

These are the words of the obviously intelligent and informed 
MantaRay, who has identified himself as a member of the 20 something 
generation.(Manta, I intend to take this up with you off list, and 
apologize for what I consider to be a breach of etiquette). Not for 
one minute do I believe that Manta lacks sensitivity, in spite of his 
"hyper-rational" approach. I believe that his is an understandable 
response to the institution of Holocaust education. People have tried 
to formalize a process which by its nature is not amenable to such 
efforts. The recognition of what the Holocaust represents is 
something that MUST evolve organically in the heart and mind.

If we insist on "managing" neo nazi's and holocaust revisionists by 
driving them underground and depriving them of regular channels of 
communication, we lose the ability to confront and contradict them. 
About 10 years ago, a Malden, Mass. "engineer" by the name of 
Leuchner(sp?) made headlines with is arguments that the Holocaust 
could not have happened because it was impossible to kill so many 
people with the tools available to the Nazis. He couched his 
presentation in what nominally appeared to be acceptable engineering 
parameters, and made a sufficient impression that the noted dimwit 
Pat Buchanan picked up his standard and carried it in national 
newspapers, to little outrage. Leuchner, it was eventually 
discovered, had NO credentials, and by Mass. law could not call 
himself an engineer. A case was brought against him by local jewish 
groups, and by means of this process, his arguments were effectively 
defused. There were undeniably a few people, who as a result of being 
exposed to these arguments, became more convinced of their anti 
semitism, but I believe that the public flogging and undressing made 
an even more profound impact on many, many more. I believe that this 
was also the net effect of the debates over the neo nazi marches in 
Skokie, Ill.

When I was 13, I learned for the first time that I was half jewish 
(on my father's side). No-one ever felt the need to impress upon me 
at that time, the horrors of this history. The only time it ever came 
up was on the first occasion that I met Mrs. Klein, a friend of my 
grand-parents. I was told that the relationship was a close one 
because Mrs. Klein had lost her entire family in concentration camps, 
and that my grand parents had functioned as such for her for years. 
Mrs. Klein was a tall, aristocratic looking lady who bore no visible 
evidence of any suffering; though I was curious to learn more, no 
such information was forthcoming in the course of a few meetings. It 
was never a topic of discussion. Only some years later, when I 
started reading the books of Leon Uris, did I learn anything 
substantive about this history. My texts were works like "QBVII", 
and "MILA 18", and these books made an impression that I will NEVER 
shake. The fact is, these are works of fiction, but it was clear that 
fiction, as powerful as it was, was inadequate to the task of 
describing the true horror, it was something that came across between 
the lines.

Later, while in college, I took 1 course which dealt with less 
fictional sources. A book called "The Survivors" by T. De Pres(sp?) 
put into context why this event was unique in the annals of human 
cruelty, and why it is entirely inappropriate to toss the term 
"Holocaust" about to describe other oppressive episodes. However, if 
I was told to make the argument for the elucidation of a generation 
of schoolchildren, I would'nt even try. I truly believe that the most 
effective way to instill the appropriate respect for this event is to 
unmask the revisionists for the peabrained scumbags that they are, 
and to use their own words against them. This is the reason why I, a 
relatively liberal guy, read The American Spectator, The Wall Street 
Journal, The Boston Herald, and The New York Post. You cannot combat 
the nefarious words of your ideological enemy, if you do not take the 
time to familiarize yourself with his/her arguments.

I apologize for wasting much time and bandwidth with this off topic 
discourse, and thank those who showed the courtesy and industry to 
slog through my rambling,
love,
cfa