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| I found this photo by doing a Google image search of the word "Skinhead." I'm afraid that for many people, this is the kind of image that enters their head when they hear the words "Pole" or "Polak" or "Poland." Source |
Recently I "met" a very nice man online. We met
in an internet environment that has nothing to do with Polish-Jewish anything.
In fact, it was devoted to appreciation of the natural world.
This man was very helpful to me, and a nice person, as
well. He has a photo online and he looks like a lovely human being.
I noticed that he had what looked to me like a surname
from the part of the world that my parents came from.
I sent him a post asking about this. I mentioned that my
last name (formerly gąska)
is Polish for "little goose." I mention that I write about
Polish-Jewish relations.
He wrote back, "Well, we should talk offline
sometime. It’s an interesting topic: My wife still has strongly-held beliefs,
based on the history of Poles during WWII, that the majority of Polish citizens
remain anti-Semites to this day. I have no evidence one way or the other and
remain neutral on the matter. It would be interesting to find data or research
you’ve uncovered."
I mention this very brief anecdote because this has
happened to me dozens, or maybe even hundreds, of times. I meet a new person in
an environment that has nothing to do with Eastern Europe, I mention my own
ethnicity or my research, and without any pause at all, I am immediately told
some variation of "Poles are all anti-Semites."
My point is that the Bieganski
stereotype is very much alive, and it behooves Polonia to take action to change
that.
Two things Danusha. What does he mean "the majority"?! Surely - in the Official Version - every single one of us is a raving anti-semite - don't I remember something about "mother's milk"? Clearly, as there is nothing to be done about it, it hardly seems worth mentioning.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, am I right in thinking that nearly every time it is mentioned, somebody alleged to be Polish is called in for the Prosecution?
It reminds me of the time some decades ago when porn was being brought into the mainstream in the UK - soft porn to start with. And producers of would be respectable girlie calendars would nearly always say something like: "My wife really likes the calendars, and so do all my elderly aunts."
And have you noticed the weasel world "adult"? This telly programme has "adult" themes. Or it contains much that is obscene, as we would have put it in the olden days.
Things are not getting better - and hatreds are on the rise. As for the lies... Everybody in the post-war UK knew that Poland fought on the Allied side. And many knew of, and felt very bad about, the betrayals that went on post-war. Nowadays... it often seems that Axis Powers were Poland, Poland and Poland.
I have to keep reminding myself that it is so important not to get swept away by all the hatefulness - not to be swept off the narrow road that leads to life - because "the world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever."
I want to remain forever. I hope we all will. All this will be gone like a bad dream - better than that actually, as bad dreams can return. But we have assurance from God, who cannot lie, that "distress will not rise up a second time".
And I have a feeling that one purpose behind this could be to goad us into behaving badly.
The accusations of Poles being anti-Semitic are so incessant that one almost can suspect some kind of organized propaganda campaign directed against Poland. If there is no such campaign, then it is not for lack of trying.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the "Poles are anti-Semites" theme is not limited to everyday discussions. There is an endless stream of books, with more or less the same theme, coming out all the time. I have recently reviewed one such "new" book. (To see my review, please click on my name in this specific post.)