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| Polish Rider by Rembrandt source: Wikipedia |
A blog
reader, who chooses to remain anonymous, has begun a facebook group. He extends
the following invitation:
To all who are interested in discussing the Bieganski stereotype and ways to defeat it:
On Danusha Goska's blog I have read many incredible stories by many authors. Danusha's articulation of the concept of Bieganski brings clarity to many questions that most of us have had for our entire lives. The authors who contribute to her blog, the guest writers and members, can share their stories with a wider audience. Facebook is possibly the widest audience on the internet. I will do my part to spread awareness of this group to spark discussion on the internet.
Perhaps some of our other readers and contributors on this blog may be interested.
If Bieganski rears his brutish head, we can archive and save the posts for posterity. We can have a 'Hall of Shame', a compendium of trolls and their pathologies. We can show audiences across the internet how sad they are, what sadness drives them to hate.
It will affect people as it has affected me; remember, I was not so aware of Bieganski for most of my life, it seemed so uncanny, that it couldn't be real, it couldn't be true that so many people could hate, fear or disparage a person for being a Bohunk. But it is true.
Anyway, we can also archive positive discussions too. We can archive hopefulness and optimism and education and awareness and dignity.
If anybody here is interested, please comment and discuss with us on Facebook here.
To all who are interested in discussing the Bieganski stereotype and ways to defeat it:
On Danusha Goska's blog I have read many incredible stories by many authors. Danusha's articulation of the concept of Bieganski brings clarity to many questions that most of us have had for our entire lives. The authors who contribute to her blog, the guest writers and members, can share their stories with a wider audience. Facebook is possibly the widest audience on the internet. I will do my part to spread awareness of this group to spark discussion on the internet.
Perhaps some of our other readers and contributors on this blog may be interested.
If Bieganski rears his brutish head, we can archive and save the posts for posterity. We can have a 'Hall of Shame', a compendium of trolls and their pathologies. We can show audiences across the internet how sad they are, what sadness drives them to hate.
It will affect people as it has affected me; remember, I was not so aware of Bieganski for most of my life, it seemed so uncanny, that it couldn't be real, it couldn't be true that so many people could hate, fear or disparage a person for being a Bohunk. But it is true.
Anyway, we can also archive positive discussions too. We can archive hopefulness and optimism and education and awareness and dignity.
If anybody here is interested, please comment and discuss with us on Facebook here.
I would like to propose the following project: That this blog publish the reasons why various public libraries refuse to buy Dr. Goska's "Bieganski", or Nadja Tesich's "Native Land", "To Die in Chicago", and "Shadow Partisan".
ReplyDeleteThis as a way to get a handle on the redlining of books treating the Slavic experience as seen by Slavs themselves, rather than as seen just by various Slavophobes.
Note the following response given for not buying Bieganski, by some of our multicultural progressive library friends.
====
Thank you for your recent recommendation to add the following to
our collection:
Bieganski by Danusha Goska
We value your recommendations and evaluate each one carefully.
However, we have decided not to purchase and add this item to our
collection due to one of the following reasons:
Item does not fit within the Library's Collection Development Policy,
====
Nemo
And another library refusal to buy Nadja Tesich's -- (like Dr. Goska, another person with such bad taste to have not just one, but two Slavic sounding names) -- books "To Die in Chicago" and "Shadow Partisan"
ReplyDelete====
I am sorry to disappoint you but there does not appear to be sufficient justification either by the author’s reputation or the subject of her work to justify we purchase the works you have asked that we consider.
====
Now if one were to go thru the holdings of these libraries, I think it would be easy to find many, many books whose content (for other ethnic groups) is actually indistinguishable in terms of style and method, and whose authors are of no greater reputation.
Such a collection policy, if pursued for other authors would probably exclude all first time authors who usually have no reputation, except for that created by their marketing machines.
Just another example of the redlining of Slavic authors and books from our multicultural, committed to diversity, against censorship friends of the public library.
Nemo
In my case, having read and reviewed BIEGANSKI, I donated my copy to a local state university library. They accepted it, even though they commonly reject many donated books to the library, and sell them instead. Perhaps the fact that the university has many Polish students influenced their decision.
ReplyDeletePolish Americans and other Polonians committed to the fight against stereotyping should buy and read Bieganski, review it on Amazon, and invite me to speak.
ReplyDeleteBieganski is certainly found in libraries. My local library -- not in a Polish community -- bought a copy and invited me to speak. No problem.
Please no more library conspiracy theory posts. Bieganski rises or falls on Polish Americans' support. There is zero need to scapegoat any other group for Polish Americans' actions.
Not theory Dr. Goska. This is called data. I am sharing it here. I have seen this before.
DeleteNote how lame their justifications are. Probably 80% of books could be excluded from library collections on these grounds.
I actually DID take action, and asked libraries to buy books by Polam authors. (They do this for other groups you know.)
What I DIDN'T do is fall for the double standard of Poles have to buy their own books, AND everyone else's.
Local libraries are a special case, and ought not to be confused with general trends.
I am talking about accountability to the public, of which Slavs are part of. Not scapegoating, just responsibility to part of the public, as they observe for others.
The use of the term scapegoating, when all we are asking for is what others get, subverts the notion that libraries should be accountable to us too. As if we were doing something wrong to request that they stock books on our history and experience too.
Nemo
As an example of how some people must not be allowed to succeed, and how some others must be facilitated in doing so, you might find the DVD titled "Burzynski" of particular interest. Note the credentials of the guy.
DeleteA familiar script?
Nemo
And if you watch the DVD "Burzynski", it has a haunting similarity to the exceptional prosecution of Eddie Slovik. Some people must be made examples of. Sort of like Steinbeck's "The Moon is Down"
ReplyDelete(re: Eddie Slovik: remember that American bomber crews in WW2 would on occasion take asylum in Sweden or Switzerland it is said -- they did not paddle like the guy in Catch 22 (?Rossarian?) -- but flew in) I have not heard of any of them being shot. Might be an interesting history project. Whatever happened to the American flyers who escaped the war (and desperate carnage in the air) into Sweden or Switzerland? Prosecuted? Repatriated? other?
Nemo
ah, and the response of the American Establishment groups to Burzynski seems hauntingly similar to the same Establishment response to Nicola Tesla 100 years before (same Slavophobia I suspect - this stuff does NOT change, at least for us), as well described in the DVD "Tesla, Master of Lightning." check 'em out, back to back.
ReplyDeleteNemo