From: rivk@quads.uchicago.edu (nora gayle rivkis)
Subject: Re: Mr. Solinsky insults Jews along with the Chinese
Reply-To: rivk@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 19:14:17 GMT

In article <m14430.712606487@mwunix> m14430@mwunix.mitre.org (Lawrence Larson) writes:
>rivk@quads.uchicago.edu (nora gayle rivkis) writes:
>
>>>As far as why the US has more criminals than China, I think that the answer is
>>>obvious. In China,you just kill them all.(This time I'm using real facts since
>>>I was addressed in a descent manner.) The biggest Holocaust of all time was
>>>the Chineese masacre of "enemies of the state". figures ranger from 45-100
>>>million killed with the median at around 80M. Compared to this Stalin was a
>>>petty thief and Hittler was the sort of fellow you'd like to have babysit for
>>>your kids. Naturally, there are very few in prison. Everybody else is dead.
>>>(Note that these figures only include people directly killed by the state and
>>>to not include the cultural revolution or what ever you call that). In any
>>>study of Holocausts, Communist China is always number one.
>
>>Mr. Solinsky, even assuming you're correct about China, does it ever occur
>>to you that there is more that makes a Holocaust than the body count alone?
>>Please explain to my family members who survived Dachau that Hitler is the
>>sort of fellow you'd like to have babysit for your kids (though actually,
>>after watching you on the net for the last few days, he's the sort of fellow
>>that I'd like to have babysit for *your* kids, too). Your article was, no
>>doubt, intended to insult the Chinese as all your articles these days seem
>>to be; however not to recognize the difference between scattered killings,
>>no matter how many, and mechanized genocide is more than an insult to the
>>Jews, Roma, and others who had their lives shattered by the Holocaust (and
>>by the way, when the word is capitalized it has but one referent in standard
>>English usage); it begins to look like a deliberate effort to downplay it.
>>Your motives for making another Holocaust easier for your much-heralded
>>Americans to stomach and hence considerably more likely to happen here, I
>>will not discuss; however, Shemira and the JDL will be glad to have this
>>attempt, like the rest they keep track of, on record.
>
>It's called hyperbole - put your own hypersensitivities aside (or go rent a
>brain) and you might understand. 

Oh, I understand; I just don't think it's okay to throw around hyper-
bole regarding the lives of people who weren't even part of the dis-
cussion.

>I'm not defending anything this person has
>posted, but the passages you quote don't warrant your response. Your thinly-
>veiled threats concerning Shemira and the JDL are despicable! Sounds as though
>you're one of those "the end justifies the means" defendants of illegal acts,
>including murder, in the pursuit of your side's goals.

I do think that survival justifies any means that are actually necessary
to it; being very careful about what is really necessary is where the
judgement call comes in. But you're way off base about the groups in
question; Shemira is a radio-based Guardian Angels-type street patrol
group who do carry weapons sometimes but who don't even show up unless
they get a call that someone is committing direct violence and then only
try to break up the trouble; the JDL's records are used for purposes of
testimony regarding past actions if someone breaks a law and gets hauled
into court for it. That's all. Where does the murder come in, there? If
Solinsky, or anyone else, refrains from committing illegal acts of vio-
lence neither group I mentioned will enter into the situation.

>-- larry

	-Nora