Friday, September 2, 2005
Comments On "Your Neighbor"
The response to my last entry, "Your Neighbor - Fact or
Fiction?", has been interesting, to say the very least. I'm
grateful to each of you who took the time to express an opinion.
As I said on my "Share Your Opinion" page, I welcome your
viewpoints, even if they don't agree with mine.
The remarks have ranged from one word - "Wow" - to long, thoughtful and thought-provoking essays. Some writers have requested permission to copy and distribute it to friends. Others have just "forwarded" it on.
Some folks have chosen to not go "on the record" with their comments. Those have also covered the gamut, including such comments as, "I'm glad you finally said what had to be said." and, very succinctly, "At last!"
Another writer - who apparently has done some research on the subject - went to great lengths to explain to me why the German people followed Hitler, describing in detail the history of the German people and what made them so susceptible to his mantra. It had to do with early Germanic mythology, which apparently made them feel like "special" people. A cornerstone of this feeling of "specialness" was having someone else to blame for things that were going wrong. For that reason, they embraced Hitler's condemnation of the Jews. Regarding my last blog entry, this writer went on to say, "It's a hard road and one that you will not get a lot of 'Thank You's' for, but it is a heroic one. Yes, the word must get out. I hope they listen."
Another quite interesting response was a little piece of fiction composed by a local writer with a style is not unlike that of my character Your Neighbor. This person, an activist just like Your Neighbor, publishes what he calls a "newsletter", through which he attempts to provide enlightenment (propaganda) to his subscribers. I'm not a subscriber, but I was provided a copy by a friend. The writer, a very clever person just like Your Neighbor, composed what might be considered a rebuttal to my last entry in which his main character, Lonely Old Man, is described as a paranoid who envisions Hitler's brain in the basement of the Costa Mesa City Hall, "beaming evil thoughts up to the dais where some or all of the City Council members were receiving these thoughts." It's a real hoot and should be required reading for anyone interested in the thesis of my blog entry - because it proves the point.
Another writer, a long-time activist in this city, wrote describing personal experiences with a person also very closely resembling Your Neighbor, in which he instructed disciples to stay away from the writer simply because of the person's ethnicity.
One response described Your Neighbor's influence as a "cancer in this city", and indicated that it needed to be treated. Is there therapy available to treat fear, hatred and intolerance? If so, I suspect it might begin with megadoses of light...
The following are samples of some of the other responses I've received over the past couple days:
***
"That was a very powerful "blog" and - I would wager - true. More power to a good citizen like you to create a possible expose'... My husband is always quoting Abraham Lincoln (I think), "America can only be destroyed from within". Isn't that the truth and more and more we must be watchful citizens!"
***
"I wish that I could say that your "Neighbor" story is fictional; however, I believe we continue to have discrimination against those who are 'different' expressed every day. I think we need to engage in some much needed introspection/self-reflection and, then, use empathic
dialogue to overcome our prejudices and biases that get expressed in various forms of discriminatory behavior.
To refuse to 'deal' with our own prejudices and biases, we all have them, results in continuing denial. I am convinced that the above, resulting in a national dialogue, is the only way that we are going to make real progress, in our society, in lessening the discriminatory behaviors that continue to marginalize many persons because those in a position of power and privilege refuse to do the hard work and, thus, resist change. Hell, who wants to work that hard? Unfortunately, the list of those who are marginalized, on a daily basis, continues to grow (e.g., the widening gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots', in terms of income)."
***
Finally, I close this entry with a submission provided by a person offering another chapter to my theoretical scenario. The writer entitled it "Chapter 2".
"After a late night of beer and pool, the Westside out-of-town-industrialists squatting on the view bluffs have had all they can take of Gadfly and his pals. Suggestions range from the traditional tar and feathers to buying him a hacienda in Tijuana the with obscene profits from their buggy whip businesses on the Westside. The Boys load up their pick-ups and head across town to give our learned Gadfly the choice of tar and feathers or the Tijuana hacienda. The Gadfly is a tough haggler and settles for a European breeding station in Utah, with a herd of blond, blue-eyed desperate housewives intent on the Blonding of The Country. With the Gadfly at stud in Utah, Costa Mesa soon realized the value of the squatters and thanked them for peacefully removing the stain that had shamed the City."
2:15 pm pdt
The remarks have ranged from one word - "Wow" - to long, thoughtful and thought-provoking essays. Some writers have requested permission to copy and distribute it to friends. Others have just "forwarded" it on.
Some folks have chosen to not go "on the record" with their comments. Those have also covered the gamut, including such comments as, "I'm glad you finally said what had to be said." and, very succinctly, "At last!"
Another writer - who apparently has done some research on the subject - went to great lengths to explain to me why the German people followed Hitler, describing in detail the history of the German people and what made them so susceptible to his mantra. It had to do with early Germanic mythology, which apparently made them feel like "special" people. A cornerstone of this feeling of "specialness" was having someone else to blame for things that were going wrong. For that reason, they embraced Hitler's condemnation of the Jews. Regarding my last blog entry, this writer went on to say, "It's a hard road and one that you will not get a lot of 'Thank You's' for, but it is a heroic one. Yes, the word must get out. I hope they listen."
Another quite interesting response was a little piece of fiction composed by a local writer with a style is not unlike that of my character Your Neighbor. This person, an activist just like Your Neighbor, publishes what he calls a "newsletter", through which he attempts to provide enlightenment (propaganda) to his subscribers. I'm not a subscriber, but I was provided a copy by a friend. The writer, a very clever person just like Your Neighbor, composed what might be considered a rebuttal to my last entry in which his main character, Lonely Old Man, is described as a paranoid who envisions Hitler's brain in the basement of the Costa Mesa City Hall, "beaming evil thoughts up to the dais where some or all of the City Council members were receiving these thoughts." It's a real hoot and should be required reading for anyone interested in the thesis of my blog entry - because it proves the point.
Another writer, a long-time activist in this city, wrote describing personal experiences with a person also very closely resembling Your Neighbor, in which he instructed disciples to stay away from the writer simply because of the person's ethnicity.
One response described Your Neighbor's influence as a "cancer in this city", and indicated that it needed to be treated. Is there therapy available to treat fear, hatred and intolerance? If so, I suspect it might begin with megadoses of light...
The following are samples of some of the other responses I've received over the past couple days:
***
"That was a very powerful "blog" and - I would wager - true. More power to a good citizen like you to create a possible expose'... My husband is always quoting Abraham Lincoln (I think), "America can only be destroyed from within". Isn't that the truth and more and more we must be watchful citizens!"
***
"I wish that I could say that your "Neighbor" story is fictional; however, I believe we continue to have discrimination against those who are 'different' expressed every day. I think we need to engage in some much needed introspection/self-reflection and, then, use empathic
dialogue to overcome our prejudices and biases that get expressed in various forms of discriminatory behavior.
To refuse to 'deal' with our own prejudices and biases, we all have them, results in continuing denial. I am convinced that the above, resulting in a national dialogue, is the only way that we are going to make real progress, in our society, in lessening the discriminatory behaviors that continue to marginalize many persons because those in a position of power and privilege refuse to do the hard work and, thus, resist change. Hell, who wants to work that hard? Unfortunately, the list of those who are marginalized, on a daily basis, continues to grow (e.g., the widening gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots', in terms of income)."
***
Finally, I close this entry with a submission provided by a person offering another chapter to my theoretical scenario. The writer entitled it "Chapter 2".
"After a late night of beer and pool, the Westside out-of-town-industrialists squatting on the view bluffs have had all they can take of Gadfly and his pals. Suggestions range from the traditional tar and feathers to buying him a hacienda in Tijuana the with obscene profits from their buggy whip businesses on the Westside. The Boys load up their pick-ups and head across town to give our learned Gadfly the choice of tar and feathers or the Tijuana hacienda. The Gadfly is a tough haggler and settles for a European breeding station in Utah, with a herd of blond, blue-eyed desperate housewives intent on the Blonding of The Country. With the Gadfly at stud in Utah, Costa Mesa soon realized the value of the squatters and thanked them for peacefully removing the stain that had shamed the City."
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