As we re-open PoemTrain in these very troubled times, I recalled this poem by duetsdove because it still resonates and touches on all the often twisted dynamics of hate----of any kind!

It's all so ugly, isn't it?

I got to miss out on that particular form of abuse; so far as anyone knows, I don't have any German ancestry.  Yet, how sad that one or two idiots (e.g. Chancellor Hitler and Kaiser Welhelm) should overshadow the music of Beethoven and Wagner, or make the world forget the architecture of  Liechtenstein, or the philosophical contributions of Kant, Hegel, Heidegger, or Nietzsche.

So much to be proud of that the world wants you to forget in shame.

Don't feel lonely, though...the world, for most of my youth, wanted to make me ashamed of being part Cherokee...continually reminded me that "Irish" is a synonym for "drunk"...still tries to tell me that "cowboy" means "illiterate hick" where it doesn't mean "delusional poser".

Remind your kids that such bullying is really only proof of ignorance...just as no Southerners today are slave-owners, no Germans today were actually in the SS.  Remind them that the desire to hurt others is really an expression of deep insecurity in the bullies.

Remind them that no amount of volume added to a lie can ever make it the truth, and that only THEY really get to say whether they're the kind of person they're being cast as.

(...and remind them how good a hug can feel...like the one I'm sending you.)

Chaim ~

Thank you for your return, your honesty, your integrity. . .and for your kind words. . .all are sincerely appreciated. . .

Namaste!

~Ren~

Chaim wrote on Jan 1^st, 1970 at 12:00am:

Hi Rene,

It was inappropriate of me to use this thread to express my struggle with prejudice.

It seems that with all of the attrocities past and present, the world is more full of hate than ever.

I just like it to stop, not in forgetfulness, but in remembering the cost.

I'll try to remember that a person should be judged only on her actions.

I hope that it's worked out for your son and that he can be proud of being German without fear of reprisal.

Regards,
Chaim

Hi Rene, this poem drew me in from the first 2 lines to feel the emotions expressed here.  You delivered it straight from the shoulder and then the reprecussions of it on on you , the child.  It was easy for me to get a picture of the 9 year old with all the emotional baggage that went with it.  Then the heartbreak of it affecting your  children -- how cruel this world can be ! How ignorant and thoughtless some of the behavior and words that  sadly children learn and then repeat the cycle.
Looking at your final words- I say - with God's help maybe some day- some day, we will learn.   
Well written- i have delighted in reading your work again. 
I'm going to post a fun one about my return home here.
hugs and blessings
Bren

I hope you all realize these are sarcastic remarks about foolishness I've heard over and over in search to cover up truths and spreading more hatred - pardon my sarcasm...I am trying to be respectful and I'm not directing this post to anyone in particular.

I was wondering as a catholic - should I tell my children to hate jewish children because non of the disciples spoke up in defense of Jesus, who was also jewish and they left him to die on cross?

...should I also tell my children to hate the spaniards (people from spain) that killed abused the woman and made slaves of our native indians?

...maybe I should also start looking in a nasty way at black people for not speaking out and letting the atrocities that happen in Africa continue - maybe they should all go back to Africa, and those that live in Africa be punished? By the way the people who were murdered in Ruwanda - that's not called a holocaust because...?

- or wait the point is to not forget right? - well ok next time I see a Lebanese - I'll just say " I know you didn't do anything - but I just can't forget 9/11 and you look so much like those Irakis...

... or I know, I'll write my stepmother who is phillipine and tell her to stop talking to her neighbor who happens to be japanese yeah the same japanese that put all the young men in a row and shooted them
(her 15 year old cousin included btw) when she was also just a young girl - because we must not forget...

Wait a minute maybe I should call my father and ask him why didn't great grandpa help stop the ku klux clan before they got away with all the things they did -

But...

I believe the point is - we must learn to teach our children to love and respect eachother for we are one as an individual as a human being and out of religious beliefs or race or nationality - we must learn to forgive - we must learn to love - because our children learn from example - and  one day we to will be judged for our actions.

an atrocity is that -  AN ATROCITY - just because it happened to MY PEOPLE or MY RACE it doesn't make it greater or lesser to any other atrocity happened in this ONE TINY planet we the people have divided so well, if this "not forgetting" in a non - productive way continues - not even a huge impact by a meteor could divide us more than we already are... 

Stop the marking, labeling, name calling, bullying - let's stop the hate - period and yes let's start forgetting so that our children have a better future based on the positive events of our history so they can imagine a brighter future for themselves - AND STOP THE HATE!

BTW - this has gone so far that in america there are non german people who call themselves nazis - so I wouldn't be too sure if nazi is still equal to german - and who knows what these white race american born nazis are up to! (see what I mean?)


Lisa~

*I will not be offended in any way if any of the moderators wishes to remove this post - honestly my intention is solely to open eyes not create any discompfort but if you believe pertinent to remove, well, by all means*

It’s frightening isn’t it…that children can somehow be held accountable for actions that were not only out of their control, but out of their time!  What happens when those children who are trapped in a corner by taunts and unjust accusation don’t have a guiding figure to tell them ‘hey, this isn’t you…don’t be afraid by your heritage, learn to accept, overcome and learn about the negative and positive’ what happens then? More hate is born and the very accusation starts to become a reality, they tire of apologising for something they cannot change, they tire of being ashamed of where they come from, they tire of being victimised and then new hate is born. 

In England, anti-German remarks are almost commonplace, I have heard them my whole life (though…not meaning to make this thread  light hearted, sometimes I wonder if its to do with the war or football!!) - but recently I have noticed a change in the tide, maybe because when you visit Germany you are met by some of the most hospitable, friendly and open minded people you will ever likely meet. Maybe because Germany is starting to be a ‘power’ state and is bringing us things that we really want.  Maybe its because they produce the best beer in the world * smile * 

Jimmy, an ex-partner of mine, who some of you may ‘remember’ was a soldier, who like thousands of British troops was stationed in Germany, so I spent time there and one thing that I noticed was that generations of German people were almost ashamed to be proud to be German, they have spent their lives apologising from something that happened before they were born.   

I am not denying or playing down the atrocities of the Holocaust - that’s not the point of my post, and those that know me will know that and know that why I am not Jewish, I come from a heritage that was probably the second biggest victims of the Holocaust. 

What I am saying is, that for everyone of us, no matter what heritage we come from, we have great shame in out roots, we ’in the past’ have committed great crimes against humanity - if you don’t believe me, google your heritage and tell me if anyone comes up as being worthy of living in that glass house.   

Being German, does not make you a Nazi…as on a lesser scale being a Gypsy doesn’t make me a uneducated dirty thief or being Jewish doesn’t  mean you supported the slave trade.  What makes me angry, is that in a world where information is so readily available, people still pass down to their children ignorance.

Your son is being bullied, and just as I would not tolerate any child/charge of mine being called names for the colour of their skin or heritage, I think that this attitude should not be accepted…I hope that his teacher has done something about this.

Nowhere on this thread does it ask for anyone to "bury the Holocaust". . .or "forget", which is a word that should never be ascribed to the Holocaust.

I am aware of the brief amount of time that has passed.  My mother suffered first-hand some of the atrocities of that war. . .being 9. . .and in Berlin at the time.  She watched as Russian soldiers raped the older women of her household. . .she ran from the dropping of bombs. . .she watched her father narrowly escape with his life during a bomb dropping. . .she hid with those her family  hid. . .

None of this work is about forgetting or "condoning" it is about understanding. . .

Never again is a phrase that must be applied across the board. . .never again should someone be able to rise to power in any country, drive fear into the hearts of the world, assassinate millions of people whatever their race, creed, belief or religion  may be. . .

Never again can only happen with remembering. . .and never again can only happen by teaching our children that insults and feelings of being superior to another because of race, creed, culture, etc. . .will only bing another such villanous, ruthless individual to a place of power.

Never again can begin right here, right now, even on this thread. . .

As Nas said. . .what our children hear, what our children see, what our children are told. . .will set forth. . .what they become, what they say, what they do. . .as adults.

The next Mein Kampf. . .could be written. . .in any language. . .if we do not find a way toward working to stop. . .hate and prejudice. . .and fear of what we do not completely uderstand.


~Ren~