Dear Mack,
Thank you for your very honest post which I feel came from your heart.
First, I speak for myself only, not for all Jews.
I'll tell you a little story which happened to me 20 years ago: when I
arrived in the U.S. to study, I found out upon checking in at the campus
dorm that my roommate was a Saudi. Without even meeting the guy, I asked to
be reassigned with someone else. Turns out the new American roommate was an
asshole. Turns out the Saudi guy was one of the greatest guys in the dorm,
we became friends and he did things to help me out that nobody else would
do.
So I learned the lesson well about prejudice and to this day I've told this
story many times to prove this point.
By the same token, I've been screwed later on by several Jews, even
religious ones.
I know very few people in business who are fundamentally honest and could
be trusted with a suitcase containing $1 million. One of these honest men
with whom I worked for years is a Muslim Iranian, the other one is a Muslim
Algerian Kabyle.
Let me assure you, when I visited Israel, Jordan and Egypt, in my heart I
felt NO
HATE whatsoever against Arabs.
My father was a survivor from Hitler's summer camps (that's his own
expression, just to show you he never lost his sense of humor). For years
he fought with the German embassy to track down a German wehrmacht soldier
(a musician too!) who risked his life to save Jews. The Germans authorities
thought he was out for revenge, when it was in fact to thank him publicly.
After 30 years he managed to find his widow and children and he made
headlines in the local German newspaper when he visited the soldier's grave.
For 20 years there's been a framed photograph of this German soldier in
uniform in the bedroom.
Today I work with some Germans whom I respect. The list could go on and on.
I JUDGE PEOPLE FOR WHAT THEY ARE AND DO, NOT BECAUSE OF PREJUDICE.
There are good and bad people everywhere.
In fact I think I'm one of the least prejudiced person there is. (don't
laugh, I mean it)
True, sometimes my words are misunderstood because I call a spade a spade,
or
perhaps because of some generalizations.
On an individual level I trust everyone until proven otherwise.
For these reasons, it saddens me to be called a blind fundamentalist.
My posts don't make me less sensitive to the universal pain and suffering,
whether it's a New Yorker today or a Palestinian mother tomorrow.
I just remember history. I remember how the Western world and the U.S.
wouldn't let German Jews come in 60 years ago.
I don't want the Pope nor the Poles nor the French Church nor anybody to ask
for forgiveness 50 years after we're all dead.
For once the media spotlight is on one side so I can make a cheap shot.
Was I offending or insensitive to the victims?
The rest of the year the media focuses on the bad Israelis ("neo Nazis")
murdering innocent Palestinian children.
I guess that's asking too much and I'm "cruel and disgusting and shameless".
Some people got their priorities wrong. But at least I'm open to
discussion....
Laurent
