A continuing series on Darfur, by James North:
Here's a fascinating look at some courageous American athletes who boycotted Hitler's Olympics in 1936; I knew none of this. But the implication is that Beijing should be boycotted now, over Darfur.
My closer look at Darfur suggests that the parallels with the Nazis are overdrawn. And the China connection is problematic; the Olympics, after all, are not being held in Khartoum. China is clearly guilty of supporting the Sudan regime, mostly due to oil. Although, as we will see, the first oil companies to invest there were Western.
I also find it a little troubling that China's own human rights violations at home are usually not mentioned by the boycotters. Dissidents are still arrested; the internet is censored, and an astonishing 5000 to 10,000 Chinese miners die every year in accidents on the job.
Of course, any pressure on the Chinese government is not a bad thing. But it is no easy or quick solution to the conflict in Darfur.
yes yes still no internet yet
and working for a living with deadlines sucks…
anyway, finally got a chance to read up on mr. weiss and silverstein's blogs…
good stuff!
Phillip: In your discussion on the "Holocaust Template" as it relates to Darfur, you neglected to mention the most significant difference: The suffering of the Sudanese does not approach the suffering of the victims of the Holocaust.
Aside from the numbers (the U.N. estimates 400,000 dead, hardly comparable) there is every reason to believe the tragedies of war are not felt as acutely among the Sudanese as they were among us.
It's like comparing the suffering of dogs to the suffering of people. As pleased as I am that you ultimately conclude Darfur and the Holocaust do not have parallels beyond the superficial, I fear you've made an awfully big omission.
David Trautman:
"It's like comparing the suffering of dogs to the suffering of people."
Are you for f-ing real, man? Are you just an anti-semite trying to make Jews look bad?
Revolting, appalling, disgusting!!!
Those who believe that their own suffering is somehow more intense than the suffering of others are truly sick.
The only thing you say that I can agree with is that the numbers aren't comparable.
PM
Agreed: Paul.
But also interesting to watch:
"David Trautman": "Phillip: In your discussion on the "Holocaust Template" as it relates to Darfur,…"
Phil Weiss: "A continuing series on Darfur, by James North:"
"Those who believe that their own suffering is somehow more intense than the suffering of others are truly sick."
From a BBC report about a Palestinian violinist forced to play for the amusement of Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in 2004:
"The critics were not drawing a parallel between an Israeli roadblock and a Nazi camp. Their concern was that Jewish suffering had been diminished by the humiliation of Mr Tayem.
Yoram Kaniuk, author of a book about a Jewish violinist forced to play for a concentration camp commander, wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that the soldiers responsible should be put on trial 'not for abusing Arabs but for disgracing the Holocaust.' "
Is that "sick" too, Paul, or are you the anti-Semite?
David,
I am a critic of the actions of the Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint that your BBC report describes, but I am not among the critics that the report mentions. I agree that Jewish suffering was diminished by the actions of the soldiers; Jewish suffering during the Holocaust is routinely diminished by the actions of Israel and the subsequent citing of the Holocaust as some kind or rationale for these appalling actions. I am also not drawing a parallel between the Israeli checkpoint and a Nazi camp, although I certainly can see how many critics do so. I am among the critics who believe that the soldiers should be held accountable simply for abusing Arabs, for the constant abuse and ongoing ethnic cleansing has caused them massive suffering. I don't want to play semantic games comparing who wins the blue ribbon for suffering.
Therefore, the words of Yoram Kaniuk, if understood to mean that abusing Arabs is okay, as long as it doesn't disgrace the Holocaust, are sick. That said, I must emphasize the words, "if understood to mean", for I don't know from such a short quote if that was his intended meaning.
PM
Yoram Kaniuk
Sounds just like Britney Spears, no?
Where is Ike when we need him?