Thanks for the information Sharon. This Friday I will set a side time to reflect on man 's inhumanity to man. More than that how folks somehow found the strength and endurance to live through those horrific events.
There is genocide going on right now, by warfare, pestilence, and starvation.
There are groups (religious and political), and nations, planning now to commit genocide, and many others would begin immediately, or resume immediately, if they were not prevented by force or the threat of force.
I wonder if some Jews, given the means and opportunity, and emboldened by God's own commandments (it's not the "old" testament to them), wouldn't be among those groups. Especially among those ultra-orthodox crazies living in some of the Israeli communes, called kibbutz's.
The truth is, every faith, creed, or political persuasion which objectifies individuals as the rightful property of their God or their movement is capable of genocide. The lowlier the individual appears in their cosmology, the more expendable he or she is.
Once the Jews were out of the way, Hitler was coming for the communists, then probably the Christians & Muslims, and on down the line until nobody was left but Adolf and Eva, and maybe a few German Shepherds
--
First They Came for the Jews
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
Pastor Martin Niem?r
--
The Nazi "animus" (or animating force) was not inherently Nazi. Mein Kampf, and the rest of their nonsense, were just window dressing.
The communists have killed hundreds of millions. And Stalin, who murdered millions by forced starvation (talk about evil) was our ally against Hitler. Ironic, huh?
The Catholic Church wants to see how many it can kill with primitive and backward doctrines on health, in particular, AIDS prevention.
Genocide is alive and well. We would be misguided to call it a "Nazi" phenomenon.
It's a cult phenomenon, or that of a certain kind of cult. One that has all the answers and believes that only other people stand between them and their "magnificent obsession." One that believes that human life has no inherent value, other than that reclaimed by a redemptive power, which is released solely by obedience to their perfect and exclusive ideology.
The holocaust was a terrible thing, to be sure, but reading Satori's post reminded me of an old Russian thing called "pogroms against the Jews" which was practiced by Czars for centuries and ol' Joe Stalin continued the practice.
I wonder why there's no memorials or museums for that as Hitlers body count would pale in comparison...particularly to Stalin's murderous rampages.
Tho it's never been made known, I'll betcha Kruzchev, Brezhnev and Gorbachev did a few to...for the sake of tradition.
Ron, leftist genocide is "progressive," part of the noble experiment. Mass murder of an ethnic group is only objectionable when committed by Fascist types.
This is why so many American and European leftists who visited Stalin's Russia returned saying nothing of the unspeakable horrors there, even though they were often well aware. It was just a necessary evil, in his case.
We would have to ask the Jews who support the various Nazi Holocaust remembrances why Czarist & Soviet Russia both are given a virtual pass. People might dismiss 19th century barbarism as irrelevant today, but who's afraid of Joseph Stalin's ghost do you suppose?
Maybe it's pragmatic. Hitler makes a better poster boy because it's hard to find anyone but a social misfit who believes in his ideology, whereas there are communist sympathizers everywhere, from campuses to newsrooms to the Democratic party and of course Hollywood. (Now is that red-baiting, or just the truth?)
Pretty frightening, when you think about it. Apparently normal people can be so selectively blind.
We get a lot more upset about some serial killer like BTK, it seems, than the many contemporary genocides. Weird. When it happens in Africa, I think a lot of people see it as breaking even - less mouths to feed in a poor part of the world. Their lives count for nothing. I believe this is the Vatican view.
Ron, leftist genocide is "progressive," part of the noble experiment. Mass murder of an ethnic group is only objectionable when committed by Fascist types.
The left does not weigh in against communist slaughters. Under Mao Tse-Tung's Great Leap Forward 20 million died. He is held in high esteem for his 'famous' quotes. The Dems can not get enough of Fidel Castro even though he continues to kill his countrymen. Jane Fonda loved the communists in Viet Nam and still can not figure out why she is so hated for it.
maybe ole "Papa Joe" is so fondly remembered cuz FDR could hardly keep himself from fawnin' all over the guy, thus establishing him to America at the time as a ?harmless old "teddy bear"?? uh-huh, and if you believe that, well, you can just give half of Europe to the guy for 50 years...oopss, guess FDR did.... -->
As a person of a left leaning political persuasion, I condemn equally the holocaust perpetrated by the Nazis and the Stalins reign of terror. Actually Stalin and Hitler were closer on the political spectrum than say Jesse Jackson and Jerry Falwell. You see the continuum bends and the extremes are almost touching. The only difference is the rhetoric which is just a facade to legitimize their hold on power, usually by focusing blame on any convenient group as a threat to the security of the society at large.
The real agenda for totalitarian regimes of any label can be seen in what they share in common rather than what is cited as their philosophical differences. Their real agenda is to seize and to hold on to absolute power over a society, to control it's means of production, to make sure the masses only get to hear one message and to repress or eliminate any perceived opposition to this agenda.
While we are condemning the despotic regimes of the world for their atrocities, let's not forget that the U.S. government (by using your tax dollars)has been guilty of practicing a vicarious depotism by propping up dictators who essentially do it's dirty work. The examples of this abound in Central America and the Middle East. Let's not forget that Saddam could not have come to power without American support and sanction.
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Stayed Too Long
Thanks for the information Sharon. This Friday I will set a side time to reflect on man 's inhumanity to man. More than that how folks somehow found the strength and endurance to live through those horrific events.
I can not imagine what it must have been like.
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excathedra
thank you dear sharon, love you
unbelievable heartache dear lives thrown away tortured - don't know what to say - i will remember
and i'm impressed with how you did that beautiful lettering
(feel my words are inadequate, forgive me)
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krys
Thanks Sharon.
As disgusting and reprehensible as that was, it's good to remember it...as in never forget.
I will set some time aside that day to acknowledge those who died and those who lived; and I will pray that such a thing never happens again.
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ChasUFarley
Thank you for sharing about this - I was not aware there was a day of observance about this - and rightly so!
I believe that the History Channel has some special programming running in honor of this...
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satori001
There is genocide going on right now, by warfare, pestilence, and starvation.
There are groups (religious and political), and nations, planning now to commit genocide, and many others would begin immediately, or resume immediately, if they were not prevented by force or the threat of force.
I wonder if some Jews, given the means and opportunity, and emboldened by God's own commandments (it's not the "old" testament to them), wouldn't be among those groups. Especially among those ultra-orthodox crazies living in some of the Israeli communes, called kibbutz's.
The truth is, every faith, creed, or political persuasion which objectifies individuals as the rightful property of their God or their movement is capable of genocide. The lowlier the individual appears in their cosmology, the more expendable he or she is.
Once the Jews were out of the way, Hitler was coming for the communists, then probably the Christians & Muslims, and on down the line until nobody was left but Adolf and Eva, and maybe a few German Shepherds
--
First They Came for the Jews
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
Pastor Martin Niem?r
--
The Nazi "animus" (or animating force) was not inherently Nazi. Mein Kampf, and the rest of their nonsense, were just window dressing.
The communists have killed hundreds of millions. And Stalin, who murdered millions by forced starvation (talk about evil) was our ally against Hitler. Ironic, huh?
The Catholic Church wants to see how many it can kill with primitive and backward doctrines on health, in particular, AIDS prevention.
Genocide is alive and well. We would be misguided to call it a "Nazi" phenomenon.
It's a cult phenomenon, or that of a certain kind of cult. One that has all the answers and believes that only other people stand between them and their "magnificent obsession." One that believes that human life has no inherent value, other than that reclaimed by a redemptive power, which is released solely by obedience to their perfect and exclusive ideology.
Say amen.
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Ron G.
The holocaust was a terrible thing, to be sure, but reading Satori's post reminded me of an old Russian thing called "pogroms against the Jews" which was practiced by Czars for centuries and ol' Joe Stalin continued the practice.
I wonder why there's no memorials or museums for that as Hitlers body count would pale in comparison...particularly to Stalin's murderous rampages.
Tho it's never been made known, I'll betcha Kruzchev, Brezhnev and Gorbachev did a few to...for the sake of tradition.
Just curious.
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satori001
Ron, leftist genocide is "progressive," part of the noble experiment. Mass murder of an ethnic group is only objectionable when committed by Fascist types.
This is why so many American and European leftists who visited Stalin's Russia returned saying nothing of the unspeakable horrors there, even though they were often well aware. It was just a necessary evil, in his case.
We would have to ask the Jews who support the various Nazi Holocaust remembrances why Czarist & Soviet Russia both are given a virtual pass. People might dismiss 19th century barbarism as irrelevant today, but who's afraid of Joseph Stalin's ghost do you suppose?
Maybe it's pragmatic. Hitler makes a better poster boy because it's hard to find anyone but a social misfit who believes in his ideology, whereas there are communist sympathizers everywhere, from campuses to newsrooms to the Democratic party and of course Hollywood. (Now is that red-baiting, or just the truth?)
Pretty frightening, when you think about it. Apparently normal people can be so selectively blind.
We get a lot more upset about some serial killer like BTK, it seems, than the many contemporary genocides. Weird. When it happens in Africa, I think a lot of people see it as breaking even - less mouths to feed in a poor part of the world. Their lives count for nothing. I believe this is the Vatican view.
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satori001
sharon, I will remember. Your point is well taken.
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Stayed Too Long
The left does not weigh in against communist slaughters. Under Mao Tse-Tung's Great Leap Forward 20 million died. He is held in high esteem for his 'famous' quotes. The Dems can not get enough of Fidel Castro even though he continues to kill his countrymen. Jane Fonda loved the communists in Viet Nam and still can not figure out why she is so hated for it.
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alfakat
maybe ole "Papa Joe" is so fondly remembered cuz FDR could hardly keep himself from fawnin' all over the guy, thus establishing him to America at the time as a ?harmless old "teddy bear"?? uh-huh, and if you believe that, well, you can just give half of Europe to the guy for 50 years...oopss, guess FDR did....
-->
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oenophile
As a person of a left leaning political persuasion, I condemn equally the holocaust perpetrated by the Nazis and the Stalins reign of terror. Actually Stalin and Hitler were closer on the political spectrum than say Jesse Jackson and Jerry Falwell. You see the continuum bends and the extremes are almost touching. The only difference is the rhetoric which is just a facade to legitimize their hold on power, usually by focusing blame on any convenient group as a threat to the security of the society at large.
The real agenda for totalitarian regimes of any label can be seen in what they share in common rather than what is cited as their philosophical differences. Their real agenda is to seize and to hold on to absolute power over a society, to control it's means of production, to make sure the masses only get to hear one message and to repress or eliminate any perceived opposition to this agenda.
While we are condemning the despotic regimes of the world for their atrocities, let's not forget that the U.S. government (by using your tax dollars)has been guilty of practicing a vicarious depotism by propping up dictators who essentially do it's dirty work. The examples of this abound in Central America and the Middle East. Let's not forget that Saddam could not have come to power without American support and sanction.
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