Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Trump Skipped Poland's WW II Commemoration to Play Golf
US President Donald Trump skipped Poland's WW II 80th anniversary commemoration, as he said, to address Hurricane Dorian. Trump spent the time at a golf course. See story here.
23 comments:
Bieganski the Blog exists to further explore the themes of the book Bieganski the Brute Polak Stereotype, Its Role in Polish-Jewish Relations and American Popular Culture.
These themes include the false and damaging stereotype of Poles as brutes who are uniquely hateful and responsible for atrocity, and this stereotype's use in distorting WW II history and all accounts of atrocity.
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Makes you wonder who the real rulers of the USA are.
ReplyDeleteClarify please
DeleteJan please clarify. Tell us exactly who you think is ruling over Donald Trump. Otherwise I will delete this post. I don't want innuendo. Thank you.
DeleteOK. Who has an interest in diminishing Poland's geopolitical stature, and isolating her geopolitically? Think of the European Union elite.
DeleteLast time Trump visited Poland, the leftists were hopping mad that he praised Polish patriotism.
Is Mr Peczkis suggesting that President Trump is caving in to the leftists? Is he saying that leftists from the European Union, no less, are ruling the USA? This will surprise the POTUS, no doubt.
Delete"Is Mr Peczkis suggesting that President Trump is caving in to the leftists?"
DeleteYes. Definitely.
"Is he saying that leftists from the European Union, no less, are ruling the USA?"
To a relevant extent, yes. And domestic leftists even more so. They are all the same.
"This will surprise the POTUS, no doubt."
Surely he is the first to know. Polish heroism and Polish suffering must not become elevated by a U. S. Presidential visit again. It does not fit the standard narrative. Besides, Germany does not want the world to be so visibly reminded of the fact that the Poles were also victims of the "Nazis".
I wouldn't dream of interfering in domestic US politics, but if Polish-Americans such as yourself feel that President Trump has caved in to so-called "leftists", then perhaps you should consider that your cause might be better represented by someone more sympathetic to your views and vote accordingly in the upcoming elections.
DeleteMy own view is that Donald Trump cares for Poland only when it suits him. And Poland's love affair with him - and more specifically, the love extended to him by Mr Kaczynski et al, is rather one-sided.
Hey, MK, give credit where credit is due. Trump has done a bangup job of helping the blighted citizens of Alabama recover from Hurricane Dorian's devastating impact on the state.
DeleteWill this be ‘Sharpiegate’?
DeleteI think it already is. It boggles my mind that people still support him.
DeleteAnd they have no excuse. "I had to vote for Trump!"
Like hell. You could have voted for Cruz or Bush or Walker or any of the other respectable Republican candidates.
And in 2020 they could back Joe Walsh or William Weld.
No, they have this bucket of slop because they want a bucket of slop.
Just about any Democrat would be even more influenced by leftists, and uncongenial to Poland, than is President Trump.
DeleteWithout bringing in present-day politics, here's a 'leftist' US president (a Democrat), who was more than congenial to Poland - Woodrow Wilson. Try focusing on individuals instead of being prejudiced against groups of people.
DeleteSo now you are getting personal again--talking down to me and telling me what I am.
DeleteBesides, there is a world of difference in politics at the time of Woodrow Wilson and politics today.
Here's an interesting article. Note that some commentators not only indulge in whataboutism, but immediately generalize - one about (all) Poles, another about (all) Jews. The accusation against (all) Jews being sympathetic to Bolshevism, for example, can easily be refuted by looking at the life stories of people like Henryk Wars, who fought in the ranks of the Polish army.
Deletehttp://bieganski-the-blog.blogspot.com/2015/12/adam-aston-and-henry-vars-sound-of_18.html
I happen to believe that it's not up to non-Jewish Poles to judge whether Jews collaborated with their enemies. That should be a matter for Jews themselves.
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/09/06/poland-world-war-two
That should read, more specifically, “whether some Jews collaborated” etc
DeleteHello Mr. Karski,
DeleteThanks for that link. I really enjoyed reading that article.
Below are links to an interview with Mr. Moorhouse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cGLEFBcOUk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9-LJ1hFtZI
Interesting clips. Thanks for those links. Roger Moorhouse’s book looks like a very informative read. Also, Patrick Ney is producing some very worthwhile things on Polish subjects.
DeleteAbout the massacre at Bydgoszcz, there’s a novel by Tadeusz Nowakowski which deals with it, and you might already be familiar with it: ‘Oboz wszystkich swietych’. Here’s the book in English translation: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/bib14492
On a general point about the divisive terminology ‘Poles’ and ‘Jews’, when applied to the interwar period - I think that a more accurate way of talking about patriots such as Henryk Wars or Adam Aston, would be ‘Jewish Poles’ (as opposed to ‘Polish Jews’). A modern analogy might be how we describe someone who is a US citizen of Polish descent. Is the term ‘Polish American’ the same as an ‘American Pole’? The first would almost certainly have been born in the USA, and may not necessarily speak Polish, whereas the second would probably consider him or herself Polish first and a US citizen second.
Adam Aston, Henryk Wars and the very many patriots like them would probably have considered themselves Poles first and foremost. Marian Hemar famously said that his homeland was the Polish language. It’s today’s extremists and bigots who insist on divisions wherever they can find them.
PS – I’m impressed with the British historian’s pronunciation of the name Kasprzycki
Hello again,
DeleteWe have to remember thar pre-war Jewish population of Poland was a diverse group. The term "Jewish Poles" should be applied to those who were Poles first and foremost.
As for those unassimilated (and those unassimilable) I prefer to call them Poland's Jews. Because of they were here geographically.
The term "Polish Jews" is often used for all Jews in Poland. I think it's generalisation and/or oversimplification. In my opinion this term should be applied to those who don't belong to first two groups.
"It’s today’s extremists and bigots who insist on divisions wherever they can find them."
I agree, but sometimes those divisions are facts and not delusions of a sick mind. It would be a mistake to assume that all Jews in Poland were socially and culturally integrated. And it would be untrue to claim that they all were Yiddish-speaking hasids.
I ought to say that not all Polish Americans were born in the USA, although most of them probably would have been. Some may have arrived in the US at a very young age. How people identify themselves is also a very personal thing and would probably require a separate essay on the subject. Cheers.
DeleteHurricanes have disrupted and defined past elections in the USA.
ReplyDeleteAh - we have Mr Peczkis with a subtle suggestion that someone is pulling President Trump's strings. I wonder who he has in mind? (Not)
ReplyDeleteHere's a pic of a Polish person who is a big fan of President Trump. I understand there are a few more in the USA as well.
https://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/polityka/hit-sieci-usmiechniety-jaroslaw-kaczynski-z-czapeczka-trumpa-na-glowie-aa-9FvE-8qPY-sAHK.html
Could this be ‘Sharpiegate’?
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteYesterday in Warsaw Israeli students were beaten up by several Arabs, outside the club at 4 am. In many comments in Israel and Poland, first attempts were made to frame Poles, and when that was not possible, the Poles were accused of standing idly by.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/jewish-news/antisemitism-news/history-repeating-itself-in-warsaw-people-stand-by-as-jews-are-beaten/2019/09/08/