superior historic suffering

[Can't Wait]

Mr. Marusic, quoting somebody talking about Novick:

'"Novick...wants to ask whether the "centering" of the Holocaust in
American consciousness is good for anyone...He is openly dismayed by
the current forms and applications of Holocaust memory. He...is
offended by the frequent insistence on that event's uniqueness—a
claim he finds both vacuous and tacitly condescending in its
suggestion of superior historic suffering. He thinks the
often-invoked "lessons of the Holocaust" are either spurious, banal,
or ineffectual."'


My point all along.  This is why I felt it necessary that I tell the
world about Jake, my hamster.  As Jake once said to me, and then
would frequently repeat over stogies and vodka:

'Memory does nobody no good, baby.  Memory breeds nothin but guilt
and resentment.  People use history, use memory to create guilt and
resentment.  An ignoble excersize, indeed.  Ironically those of us
least prone to guilt and resentment--yes poor me another, babe--are
often the ones made the focus of historical blame, pronounced the
"children of evil", as it were....'


cw



--- Damir Marusic <damir1512 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> all this fiery talk about the holocaust reminded me about a review
> i read a 
> few months back, a review of a book i never ended up buying. the
> book: THE 
> HOLOCAUST IN AMERICAN LIFE, by Peter Novick (not to be confused
> with 
> Nozick). i tracked down the review:
> 
> http://www.nybooks.com/nyrev/WWWarchdisplay.cgi?20000309019R
> 
> i was wondering if anyone here has read the book. a quick quotation
> from the 
> review should suffice to arouse your interest:
> 
> "Novick, professor emeritus of history at the University of
> Chicago, and 
> formerly a member of its Committee on Jewish Studies, wants to ask
> whether 
> the "centering" of the Holocaust in American consciousness is good
> for 
> anyone, including, and especially, American Jews. He believes it is
> not. He 
> is openly dismayed by the current forms and applications of
> Holocaust 
> memory. He deplores the use of transcendent rhetoric about the
> Shoah, with 
> its implicit sacralization of horror, and is offended by the
> frequent 
> insistence on that event's uniqueness—a claim he finds both vacuous
> and 
> tacitly condescending in its suggestion of superior historic
> suffering. He 
> thinks the often-invoked "lessons of the Holocaust" are either
> spurious, 
> banal, or ineffectual."
> 
> it's an interesting premise, perhaps explaining the shrill and
> strident tone 
> that discussion has taken in recent weeks. it also seems to be a
> dangerous 
> one, as it seems to be easy fodder for anti-Semites and
> holocaust-deniers to 
> pervert and latch on to.
> 
> i'm a newbie and i really don't want to rekindle the debate, as i'm
> very 
> eager to continue with VV. just my two cents on a hopefully-dead
> thread.
>
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