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| Holocaust Remembrance Day on May 2, 2019. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90) |
But, it's also Holocaust Remembrance Day on the Jewish calendar. in Israel, if this was a normal Yom Ha'Shoa, when the sirens sound at 10:00 a.m., traffic stops. People pull over and get out of their cars. Why is this day different from all other Days of Holocaust Remembrance?
With mass gatherings still strictly forbidden by measures to slow the pandemic, Israelis are marking Holocaust Remembrance Day differently this time around. Tomorrow, April 21, at 10:00 in the morning, the sirens will sound as they do every year for a minute of silence. Normally, everything in Israel comes to a halt on that moment, with cars stopping on the shoulders of roads and drivers getting out of their vehicles to stand while the sirens sound. This year, people are called to come out to their balconies and stand there for the minute of silence, sharing the significant moment with whoever is around.
I was reminded today that someone I knew here in Minnesota had been a sonderkommando. I also explained to someone else today that by the time I was 6, I knew what a number on an arm meant, and I knew who Adolph Eichman was and what he did. I also remembered that a fellow who worked with my dad, someone I knew very well growing up, has a twin sister and they were Mengele twins. I also knew the reason our neighbor never wore her blouses with the top button open was because she was used for experiments in the Auschwitz and she had terrible scars on her chest. I also know lots more stuff like that.
These things were not abstract to me, they were not stories I read in a book, or saw on 60 Minutes. These were real people living in my world, raising kids, going to the supermarket, sitting in PTA meetings, going to shul, and defying Hitler with every breath they took.
There aren't too many of them left. Soon, there will be no eyewitnesses at all. There will be no one left to say, "I was there. I saw that. I am still here."
Anne Frank and her family and family friends hid in the attic, the secret annex, for 761 days. That's more than 2 years. Then they were arrested. Then they were sent to the camps. The only one who survived was her father.
I made an emergency Target run on Sunday morning. Some emergency. I needed a CO2 canister for the SodaStream. My isolation is nothing compared to hers.
Come to think of it, nothing in this time of Corona virus compares to the Holocaust. Nazis didn't close golf courses; they sent people to be gassed. People telling you to stay home, self- isolate, and maintain social distance are not Nazis; they are trying to save lives (yours) so people (like you) don't die. That's the opposite of a Nazi. Not the same thing.
But that doesn't stop some people from being assholes. Look, if you want to go hang out in crowds, or whatever, go for it. There's a real good possibility you'll pick up Corona Virus. There's an equally good chance you're gonna be really, really sick. You might survive, but then again, you might not. And when you are gasping for air because you can't breathe, don't blame Feckless Leader or even the Chinese. You were warned, you were provided reliable, scientifically investigated information, and you chose to ignore it.
Not. My. Problem.
If you're not watching LAST WEEK TONIGHT, you should be. John Oliver is terrific. But it's also kinda sad and scary that it take a comedian to get people to listen to reality. Seriously, if you're not gonna listen to anyone else, listen to John Oliver. He does his homework.
BREAKING NEWS: Feckless Leader has suspended immigration to fight The Invisible Enemy. The only invisible enemy the U.S. is facing is his brain. Gone, certainly not forgotten.
The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week
Wanna go out and party with your buds?
Think of it as evolution in action.
Just like the fool in Shakespeare’s plays, the best comedians tell us the truth about ourselves and the world. (Some are a**holes, but most see the world quite clearly.
ReplyDeleteI wish the news networks could post your Breaking News comment verbatim.
ReplyDeleteI've been following you for years, and love your writing and insights...but I gotta say: it's Last Week Tonight.
ReplyDeleteOoops. Thank you!
DeleteI am a huge John Oliver fan…always have been. Did I say HUGE? Yes, HUGE.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that the 40%-ers (the ones you call assholes), likely do not watch John Oliver and, likely, never will. The ones that read your blog are also, likely, not the 40%-ers. Therefore, both you and John Oliver are already preaching to the choir. Don’t have a clue how to change this, i.e., cast your proverbial pearls before swine. I realize that this is a rude, cruel, intolerant thing to say on my part but, nonetheless, there it is. How to bridge this enormous divide, for me, is unanswerable.