PJ Media

Roger: You seem to me to say that self-criticism was a necessary tool in the process that got Lee to back down. That should set off some alarm bells! It appears to me that Lee was isolated — deprived of his support group — and then put under pressure to admit his failings and change his viewpoint. That, plus the necessary self-criticism, reminds me of KGB interrogations from the Stalin era…and of a few other nasty things.

You ask who I am to judge in this instance; I take that as not just a demand that I produce my qualifications, but that, because “Neither of us know,” no one is entitled to render an opinion. That seems to imply that everyone should go along with the hot tubs and hugs, and shut up. My answer to your question: I think of myself as a principled and rational individualist. Please don’t ask me to stand down, for if you do, you will be requesting the silent acquiescence of every other observer.

Colette: You badly underestimate the lingering effects of slavery, Jim Crow, KKK terror and discrimination. All these things are either gone or much reduced, yet they still sear the souls of black folks. No, a lot of people do NOT know better, because among other things they can point to contemporary offenses as evidence of the survival of race hatred. For many if not most black people, slavery is just as significant today as the Nazi era is to Jews, and that stereotype of the Jewish blood-sucking merchant is still vital. Simply ending the enormity (whether it was imagined or real) does not eradicate its consequences. As to shaming an angry man, I think you forget that anger comes from hurt. Adding shame to pain cannot be helpful. Or…?

Why do you put quotes around that word “feelings”? To indicate that the hurt and rage are fake? There is nothing illegitimate about them — you are wrong to deny their validity and importance. As to censorship, I suggest that isolating, then badgering a person into backing down and confessing his sins is intimidating. The tacit message is, “Shut up! And if you don’t we’d like to get our hands on you!”

Too, Lee is now likely to be regarded with suspicion by his associates, who may be antagonized by what they see as an establishment that cannot tolerate the truth. “Look what they did to Lee!” While I readily admit that a kumbaya cannot impose censorship, it certainly runs the risk of creating rumors of repression and generating paranoid fantasies.

That nonsense will appeal to some, because the kumbaya does smack of cult indoctrination and reprogramming. It reminds of Scientology, EST, The Children of God, and other authoritarian/totalitarian mind-bending groups. That makes it suspect, no matter how soft and loving and watered-down it is, and even though it’s voluntary.

There are better ways to deal with Jew-hatred, ways that show more respect for the people who are confused and embittered by vicious myths. The use of isolation and pressure to bring about a confession of error and a possibly insincere expression of contrition is not how bigotry should be opposed, for it’s too inquisitional. But that’s another topic.