At 04:03 PM 3/30/02 -0500 Erik Reuter wrote:
>> You are far younger than I and probably don't remember the folks who
>> said "segragation now, segragation tomorrow, segragation forever, and
>> then "smiled and said "heck, there isn't a racist bone in my body,
>> heck some of my best friends are colored." back in the '60s. Is is
>> wrong to call those folks racist?
>
>Do you really believe Jeroen is equivalent to these people?
Yes.
There were (are) a lot of very ordinary Americans who were (are) racist.
And the characterization of "segregation forever.... but hey, some of my
best friends are colored" is very apt for this particular situation.
>First of all, as I pointed out and you seem to have missed, hatred is
>the wrong word. So is anti-Semite. Just because some makes arguments
>that are misguided or ignorant does not prove that they harbor malice
>toward Israelis or Jews.
No, I did not miss it at all. Indeed, I wrote:
Sorry, Erik, but even excepting all of Jeroen's past statements on this
issue, there is only one
possible explanation that I can fathom to explain comparing a people with
the organization that
tried to exterminate them, that systemitically organized a genocide
against them. That word, Erik,
is hatred.
>Second, given that Jeroen has denied that he is anti-Semitic and also
>denies hating Israelis or Jews, what do you hope to accomplish by
>callling him by that name and attributing those views to him?
I hope to wake him up to the Truth about his person as a valued member of
this Community. Given that he reads David Brin, and apparently puts a
lot of stock in "IAAMOAC" confronting his own racism is almost certainly
very difficult for him. But I *hope* that he will eventual recognize
that the only way he could make a comparison between the very existence of
the State of Israel and the very people who carried out systematic
genocidal extermination can only arrise out of hatred.
And while writing this, I amaware that Jeroen is also reading this, so this
whole thing has a "talking about him like he's not even here" feel to it.
I do believe, however, that the only thing worse than saying this publicly
(unfortunately, I am in his killfile off-list) is to say nothing at all.
>On to the next level, if the matter is as important to you as it sounds
>like to me, then you might consider continuing a calm and reasoned
>discussion on the topic, providing evidence when possible and explaining
>your viewpoints clearly.
I have already presented that. Two posts ago, I presented my opinion of
what European apologies for the Palestinians, and failure to condemn their
terrorism as evil, have wrought in the Middle East. Additionally, I have
stated on several occasions,
> That seems like a
>worthy goal for a good Catholic, don't you think?
Actually, I have already presented the Catholic perspective on this
situation. Conversation with Jeroen has been attempted for many months
now. Unfortunately, he merely continues to find even more hateful things
to say on this List. Thus, the time for dialogue is over, as dialogue
only serves to legitimize his bigotry. Time for a stronger step.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"We fight against poverty because faith requires it and
conscience demands it." - George W. Bush 3/22/02
