Abraham Miller has captured the essence of the double standards when it comes to expressions of hate on university campuses. Certain protected groups are, indeed, protected, while other groups are ignored when hate is directed their way. It is not limited to universities, as the Trayvon Martin case has amply demonstrated, but hypocrisy reigns supreme in academia. I will add to this posting later in the day.
http://pjmedia.com/blog/jew-bashing-at-universities-the-new-normal/
Yesterday, while walking on the UC Irvine campus at noon, I passed by a silent demonstration of young folks standing in a circle with signs and tape covering their mouths. They were marking the killings of Armenians by Turks in 1915, which is called the first genocide of the 20th century. I also observed 4 middle-aged men standing around and making comments to each other. One was making cell phone calls. They were speaking a language I couldn't understand. One of them engaged one of the protesters a moment. I could not hear what was said, but from the facial expresion of the protester, it appeared he was being challenged. The young man shrugged his shoulders. The 4 men then walked over the bridge on away from campus. My impression was they were not affiliated with the university. Meanwhile, a group of 4 adults passed by, probably teachers. One gentleman, who appeared to be Middle Eastern and spoke with an accent., engaged another protester in a brief conversation then walked off with his companions. As they passed by me, I heard him tell the others that the Turkish government "rejects" the idea of a genocide. I did not hear any response fom the others.
So I wonder; is the topic of the Armenian genocide another issue which touches sensitivities on campus? There did not seem to be any surrounding support for the protesters, and if anything, a degree of opposition. Perhaps, this merits further looking into.
6 comments:
One thing that you have to hand to the Germans is that, by and large, they acknowledge the ugly parts of their history. From what I understand, this is not the case when it comes to Turks and the Armenian genocide. You also have the same situation with the Japanese and Nanking.
That is true. America and Germany have acknowledged its past. Japn has not. Many Lithuanians and Ukrainians have not acknowledged their role in the holocaust.
On one hand, I can sympathize. As Americans, we hold much of our history in high regard and consider it a point of pride. People want to be proud of their culture, and acknowledging those things takes away from that.
But the bottom line is that if we want to avoid those sorts of mistakes in the future, then the first step is acknowledging what happened.
The day the Turks acknowledge their genocide against the Armenians is the day the Cubs will win the World Series.
I don't hold my breath on either happening soon.
An orthodox rabbi I rely on for the real meaning of passages from the Tanach that have been misconstrued by Christian translations of the "Old Testament" told me that there was no "Armenian genocide." The Ottomans, he related, had referred to Armenians as "the friendly people," but Czarist Russian agents had stirred up action during WW I, and the Turks had tried to remove a large part of the civilian population. It was poorly conceived, poorly executed, badly supplied, often brutally carried out by the soldiers assigned, but it was not intended or calculated to obliterate the Armenian people from the face of the earth.
I have found him credible in many respects, although I don't agree with every point he makes. This makes some sense to me. Incidentally, before Gary asks if he's an adherent of Iran's favorite rabbi, the new Cartists or whatever that was, no, he's a veteran of the 1967 war, who believes Israel should have simply annexed the entirety of the former British Mandate at that time. He now lives in the U.S., and finds it a good place for Jews to live, but, as a Jew, he could equally well have lived in the Ottoman Empire. Christian Europe, until very recent times, not so much.
Incidentally Findalis, you should go to see the movie "Act like a lady, think like a man." You would enjoy the line "Black people have fought, suffered and died for the right to treat each other like s***."
@ Siarlys
Ask an Armenian and they will tell you that it was the Turks and not the Russians who decimated their families. So your Rabbi is wrong (they can be you know).
I don't go to movies and watch very few. I don't approve of the "lifestyle" and views of the Hollywood so-called stars. And won't fund that lifestyle.
That goes double for Mel Gibson.
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