Comments on: I’m tired of talking about this. It is just too painful to contemplate any more.

By: podrock

podrock — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 02:44:55 +0000

Got suspended for a week in the spring of my senior year of High School. Actually, it was a nice vacation. Good weather, no worries about graduating, spent the time in a lawn chair with headphones and Pink Floyd.

There was also a blizzard. Did I mention the hours long drive through a blizzard?

By: RL

RL — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 02:17:55 +0000

But hey, at that age I am sure it seemed worth the risk…

By: podrock

podrock — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 02:08:37 +0000

There was some other weird stuff as well.

And repercussions.

By: RL

RL — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 01:55:49 +0000

…In that order?

By: podrock

podrock — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 01:22:26 +0000

I spent a day in Los Alamos, in 1980.

Looked into a nuclear reactor, lost my virginity, and saved a guy’s life.

It’s a long story.

By: podrock

podrock — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 19:19:35 +0000

describes the citizens being lead to the camp without any idea of what they would be shown. The crowd is laughing and cheerful until they get there.

The TV series Band of Brothers is excellent, and is based on the non-fiction book, written by a historian. It depicts the soldiers of Easy Company forcing the locals to bury bodies. It is a gripping scene and not easy to watch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_of_Brothers_(book)

By: Vitruvius

Vitruvius — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 05:43:17 +0000

To my knowledge, civilians were forced to see the camps, plain and simple - no trickery about it. Also to my knowledge, most accepted it, while a few stubbornly resisted. While people largely worked to distance themselves from the events of the war afterwards, the connection's still ingrained enough that as a whole, Germany is NOT repeating, or planning to repeat, what led up to it anytime soon. Again, if you have further sources, they'd be useful. I know one thing that vastly helped was bringing in press from everywhere to document the camps. Not only were UN war reporters brought in, but local German ones as well. If the FCC Fairness Doctrine, or something similar, was reinstituted, that could force right-wing media into covering more of the pandemic's effects on America. Barring that, an executive order from the Biden Administration, or an Anonymous operation would work. In the end though, people will never be able to fully convert any group - all we can do is convince as many as we can, and inoculate thoughts against future hatred. Moving the comment makes sense, BTW - I've given it it's own thread now.

By: podrock

podrock — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 03:38:42 +0000

They were tricked into visiting the camps.

The Good Germans didn’t willingly admit their complicity.

If we played this out like what happened post WWII, MAGA’s would be forced to work in a COVID ward hauling bodies to a refrigerated semi-truck. To change the diapers of an infant separated from her parents who she will never see again.

But that will not happen. And they will continue the Cult of Trump for years to come. They are not repentant, and that is the point.

By my childhood catechism, I’m supposed to forgive even if my trespasser doesn’t apologize. Wish I was that good. Working on it.

They are not contrite. They are not going away. Nor is their anger or their hatred. Maybe the next time their charismatic leader doesn’t have early stage dementia and actually knows how to operate a government.

By the way, I’d appreciate it if you took your rebukes of RL in response to a Post/comment of RL’s.

By: Vitruvius

Vitruvius — Sun, 15 Nov 2020 09:03:05 +0000

First step is admitting you have a problem (something RL seems incapable of doing, right now), and the second is doing something about it. Showing those citizens the camps, and having them help dig the graves is one reason why modern Western Germany’s been so hellbent on avoiding repeating that shit. It’s also why we should be including the same in the modern curriculum – emphasize the negative aspects of our history, and those of others, and take them to sites related to it. We have several Holocaust museums in the US, and it’s important for people to know where paths of hatred lead to.

By: podrock

podrock — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 00:53:23 +0000

Open Secrets

Father-in-Law told of a brother of a mate that passed through the base on the way to Los Alamos. They’d just been given orders for the Pacific Theater. The brother told them not to worry, they would not be bombing Saipan. A week later he saw the glow in the west. Two months later he is back in school.