Yearbooks recalled, due to Mien kampf

[Crabcakes]

It's probably a kid just being a smart ass or trying to sound cool.  But it also could be a sign of something serious or a cry for help.

 

They're right to pull the yearbooks because it reflects on the school, the community and his family but more importantly, they need to speak with the kid.  People who are feeling alone and disenfranchised are susceptible to influence by various groups.  I believe a Nazi party does exist in the US and other places

[Phil_314]

I mean it is possible that he could grow up to become one of those shooters who quotes things like books like these in a letter before doing his deed, but again I agree with most of you that it's probably nothing, and the head editor (though they're a student) should know better to run it by a teacher after they see what the kid wrote.  Having all the books recalled and effectively making a bigger deal out of it than it should be by effectively cancelling his freedom of speech is another matter altogether, and I think the school went too far.

[Grape]

5 hours ago, gurn said:

So they recall the yearbooks-even though they have no idea why the student cited it as his favourite. 

I suggest if you don't want to know people's answers, stop asking questions.

Simply liking a book is no proof of anti Semitism or anti anything for that matter.

Kid could be going into psychology, and that book is a good start on how some minds work.

Do you really think that's the case? You've gotta be really out of touch with how teenagers think to believe that. Or you just don't want to believe that kids being stupid can hurt some people other than yourself. Would you also excuse a kid going around school calling people the n-word, and say that they might just be doing a social experiment?

 

Given the very small chance that you are right, and the kid likes the book for academic purposes, then it's likely that the kid is also smart enough to know that putting it as his "favourite book" in an yearbook is extremely insensitive to those who are Jewish, given that it could be emotionally triggering.

 

Of course context matters; a TV character who is racist shouldn't get the show cancelled for example. But this is far from a situation where that's the case, and quite frankly it's a bit disappointing to see so many people agree there is "context" to be considered here, and that this would be okay given a certain situation. It's an extremely insensitive move no matter what.

Edited May 28, 2021 by Grape

[Angry Goose]

Censorship is a tricky one- at what point do you draw the line (there's gotta be a line regardless of an individual's supposed interest in said text)?  

[King Heffy]

42 minutes ago, Angry Goose said:

Censorship is a tricky one- at what point do you draw the line (there's gotta be a line regardless of an individual's supposed interest in said text)?  

Up to the school where they wish to draw the line since they're the ones publishing the yearbook.  Similar to CDC where the mods are free to edit posts.

[Ghostsof1915]

I'm torn on this one. I'd like to know why entered that in. The issue is in the States there seems to be a lot of people that despite that thousands that died in WWII trying to defeat nazism, seem to be latching on to Neo-nazi rhetoric. If its a joke it's in very poor taste. Maybe he thinks he's smart that a lot of yearbook editors don't really know what that meant.

 

But if this is just a symptom of a larger issue, or leads to larger issues. I think it would be funnier if he said "The Necronomicon". 

[Angry Goose]

33 minutes ago, King Heffy said:

Up to the school where they wish to draw the line since they're the ones publishing the yearbook.  Similar to CDC where the mods are free to edit posts.

It's more a constitutional issue I gather.   For example, schools are free to teach particular beliefs based on religious grounds, but that only goes so far. 

[BoKnows]

I never bought my high school year book.

[Ilunga]

Was listening to a lecture a few weeks ago about how Hitler was influenced by White Americans genocide of Native American re his Lebensraum -living space policy- and the Jim Crow laws in regards to his treatment of the Jews.

 

A book that was mentioned and now I am on the lookout for is by James .Q Whitman and is called 

Hitler's American Model 

The United States and the Making of Nazi Race Law.

 

[Templeton Peck]

7 hours ago, Bure_Pavel said:

Couldn't the remedy just be cut out the section of the book or page he put that? Maybe the kid is a history buff i'm sure it is actually an interesting insight into one of the most evil men on the planet. Most likely just a high school kid trying to be funny though. I will admit the documentary I watched on Hitler was very interesting, the man almost took over the world.  

It does seem like a waste of $10,000 to reprint all the books for one small line of print. I'd say just take a black marker and mark that one line out of every book. Better yet have the student in question be responsible for going through each copy and marking it out.

 

[coho8888]

3 hours ago, stawns said:

Having had face to face interviews with multiple suvivors of Auschwitz and Treblinka camps it's hard to accept anything around the final solution as a harmless prank.  Nothing can prepare you for or erase from your memory the first time you see a survivor roll up their sleeve and see the number tattooed on their arm.

My visit to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin was rather sobering.  You hear about the atrocities but until you actually step foot on the grounds you don't really get a sense of what went on.  The Anne Frank house had a similar effect.  Anyone doubting that the holocaust actually took place should give their heads a shake.  I can't imagine what it was like having to go through that.

 

[Gurn]

29 minutes ago, Templeton Peck said:

Better yet have the student in question be responsible for going through each copy and marking it out.

Brilliant idea.

 

Also- good to see you back here!

 

[King Heffy]

1 hour ago, coho8888 said:

My visit to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin was rather sobering.  You hear about the atrocities but until you actually step foot on the grounds you don't really get a sense of what went on.  The Anne Frank house had a similar effect.  Anyone doubting that the holocaust actually took place should give their heads a shake.  I can't imagine what it was like having to go through that.

 

Auschwitz wrecked me for the rest of the day after; it was easily the most emotionally draining experience of my life.  The rooms with all the possessions, seeing the sheer quantity firsthand is staggering.  Sadly, our education system seems to be failing to educate people; I was discussing my plan to go with a few other Canadian fans who were planning on doing the same and some guy piped up and asked if he should bring his own booze.  Anyone who has the opportunity to go, should.

[coho8888]

6 minutes ago, King Heffy said:

Auschwitz wrecked me for the rest of the day after; it was easily the most emotionally draining experience of my life.  The rooms with all the possessions, seeing the sheer quantity firsthand is staggering.  Sadly, our education system seems to be failing to educate people; I was discussing my plan to go with a few other Canadian fans who were planning on doing the same and some guy piped up and asked if he should bring his own booze.  Anyone who has the opportunity to go, should.

Draining describes it really well.  I did not take any pictures out of respect.  Such a surreal experience though.  The camp was a memorial but it was surrounded by a residential subdivison just steps away.  People were living there normally not really bothered that over the fence, thousands of people were murdered or tortured.  

 

After the visit, my spirits were somewhat renewed after this meal:

 

 

[buddhahoodlum]

Maybe it was the prose style he enjoyed reading, and not the subject matter?

[drummer4now]

2 hours ago, Templeton Peck said:

It does seem like a waste of $10,000 to reprint all the books for one small line of print. I'd say just take a black marker and mark that one line out of every book. Better yet have the student in question be responsible for going through each copy and marking it out.

 

I am sorry but it is not as simple as that.. 

This is serious stuff millions of people died in the holocaust and it is very disheartening for the families or victims involved. 

 

Make the student pay $10,000 to have all the books reprinted.

[drummer4now]

9 hours ago, stawns said:

Read it.  Mostly incoherent rambling and gibberish

Hmm that seems to be the case on book review sites.. 

 

 

[Whaleroad Train]

I will agree to censuring the student for liking Mein Kampf the moment the world also agrees to censuring all those people whose favourite book tells them to hate Homosexuals, hate Atheists and hate people who follow Non-Christian religions.

[morrissex95]

Honestly folks, I'm Jewish and I'm really not entirely that offended by this kid picking Mein Kampf as his favorite book. I think this issue warrants some exploration so bare with me. 

 

In what context is it his favorite book? Maybe he learned for the incoherent ramblings of a mad man? Maybe the book compelled him to abhor the National Socialist ideology? Does this necessarily mean that this kid should be punished or that he himself is a Nazi? Obviously this was an impulsive, foolish choice for this young man to make. But should he be condemned forever for it? Should he have to go $10,000 in debt to pay for these yearbooks? Is this entirely on him? What about the person that was supposed to PROOF READ the yearbook to make sure nothing offensive was written in it? Everybody knows how impulsive 16-18 year old kids can be. Some of them have a lot of aggression and anger pent up after they finish their high school years. How many inappropriate things have you seen written in yearbooks? I've seen a few but usually they're pretty PG. Nobody wants to look at their mothers yearbook and discover something obscene about their past. 

 

Sometimes aggression comes out in ways that are messy and unfortunately now this young man has embarrassed his school, his family, his piers, his friends, and his community. His reputation may never recovery from this. And for what? Is he even a Nazi? Does he know enough about Nazi dogma to know whether or not he fits in with their vision? I mean there were thousands of people in the holocaust who thought they were ethnic Germans. They had German names, they ate German food, they spoke the German language and everyone they knew was German. All of a sudden, a couple of stormtroopers show up at their house and tell them they have to relocate to a ghetto because one their grandparents had the surname Cohen. They didn't think they had anything to do with the Jews. The stormtrooper smirks at the victim and says "Jews don't get to decide whether they're Jewish or not". The next thing they know their standing in at thin pajama uniform, forced to do hard labor while they freeze to death under a massive cloud of human ashes. After all that suffering, they die suffocating on toxic gas when these Nazis decide they don't have a use for them anymore. Do I think some high school kid who is growing up in New York really wants to associate themselves with that kind of wanton disregard for human life? No, I don't.  He's probably very confused. Just my $0.02, hopefully nobody was offended. 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2021 by morrissex95

[stawns]

12 hours ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

I'm torn on this one. I'd like to know why entered that in. The issue is in the States there seems to be a lot of people that despite that thousands that died in WWII trying to defeat nazism, seem to be latching on to Neo-nazi rhetoric. If its a joke it's in very poor taste. Maybe he thinks he's smart that a lot of yearbook editors don't really know what that meant.

 

But if this is just a symptom of a larger issue, or leads to larger issues. I think it would be funnier if he said "The Necronomicon". 

they have elected officials minimizing the holocaust by comparing it to having to wear masks.  The US clearly has forgotten the lessons of WWII and that's a dangerous thing.