Bieganski Lives; A Facebook Encounter

I recently had a "Bieganski Lives" experience.

"Rob," a man, wrote to me to compliment my writing. I responded with a brief thank you. He read more of my writing and discovered that I am a Christian and Polish American. He wrote again, and his subsequent emails were insulting rather than complimentary.

He sent me lengthy emails attempting to "educate" me about how bad Christianity is, and what bad things Poles did to Jews.

Here's a cut and paste example:

"My grand parents, aunts, uncles and father told me from first hand experience that there was a lot [of antisemitism in Poland].

Chmielnicki was Ukrainian and a Cossack but didnt he get a lot of help from Polish Cossacks in the Polish army?

Wasnt he himself in the Polish army and speaking Polish?

Didnt he get a lot of help from local Poles?"

My point is not about historical facts, though Rob's "facts" are sketchy. Chmielnicki can hardly be depicted with any accuracy, as Rob so wanted to depict him, as a Polish Catholic carrying out Polish Catholic ends in murdering Jews. 

Chmielnicki lead an uprising against Poles that is widely credited with ending the golden age of Polish history. Thousands of Poles were murdered in gruesome ways. Rob, in short, doesn't know what he's talking about. But that is not my point. 

My point is that it's more than a little odd for a complete stranger to begin sending lengthy emails to a woman he doesn't know berating her faith, Christianity, and her ethnicity, Polish-American, especially since his initial emails were complimentary.

This is yet further proof that Bieganski lives. If you announce in a public setting in the West that you are Polish, chances are you will confront a similar experience. You will be asked to prove that you aren't an antisemite like all the rest.

You can read a more detailed experience of Rob's emails at the blog post linked here.