> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of Erik Reuter
... > Well, I'd hope in my country, if the police started rounding up an > ethnic group and shipping them out, that the majority of people would > march in the streets and force the police to stop. Were the French too > afraid of the German armies to do something like this? (That isn't a > rhetorical question, I'm trying to understand ) I'm not even sure where to look for an answer. I've been reading up on the whole subject the last couple of days, but that question doesn't get addressed much. I think that's partly because only in the last few years have the French even been willing to acknowledge that it happened. But I'll offer a couple of personal thoughts. About 20 years ago, I was fairly gung-ho to be a journalist in Central America, after spending some time there and realizing what terrible things were happening in Guatemala, El Salvador, etc. I had met a number of expatriates from those countries in Mexico, people who were quite assured that they would be tortured if they returned. Thinking about torture in theory is one thing; putting yourself in a situation where it is really possible is quite another, I discovered. I'm not particularly afraid of death, but I think I learned too much about torture to be able to carry on with the journalistic ideas I had back then. I eventually had to admit to myself that I just couldn't do that, working independently. It would be another story, I think, if I were assigned there with backing of a large organization. These days, my decisions about putting myself in danger are greatly influenced by my family, which was largely irrelevant 20 years ago. For example, it was a difficult day when I disassembled my climbing gear, acknowledging what I'd known was true since I got married -- that I wouldn't be doing any more serious rock or mountain climbing. When I felt like I was only risking my own neck, I was willing to take a lot more chances. Risking one's own family, even a bit, to save strangers, even neighbors, is a tougher decision than I imagined it to be when I was younger. I don't mean to excuse French collaboration. But I think we can imagine many reasons to have compassion for those who did not actively resist. And there certainly are plenty of anecdotes of passive resistance, such as the people of Le Chambon who just couldn't seem to remember the names of the Jews living there. Nick _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
