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halfmanhalfbronco

Holocaust Museum opens George Floyd exhibet.

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23 minutes ago, East Coast Aztec said:

Seems odd they would include that in there.  The comments are showing some denialism on the Floyd case, though.  So maybe there is a loose point?

Seems like a good, well intentioned exhibit.  Just in the wrong place.  IMHO.

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Just now, halfmanhalfbronco said:

Seems like a good, well intentiones exhibit.  Just in thr wrong place.  IMHO.

My take as well.  Though putting Michael Brown in there is not a good choice.  Use Garner or Tamir Rice, selling cigarettes and having a toy gun aren't reasons to be justifiably killed.  Rushing an officer is.

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4 minutes ago, East Coast Aztec said:

My take as well.  Though putting Michael Brown in there is not a good choice.  Use Garner or Tamir Rice, selling cigarettes and having a toy gun aren't reasons to be justifiably killed.  Rushing an officer is.

I mean tying the horrific murder of Floyd to what happened with the Jewry of Europe at the hand of Nazis just seems to miss the mark.  On the other hand it is drawing attention to the exhibit it may not have gotten if placed elsewhere.  

Good intentions, poor execution. 

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51 minutes ago, halfmanhalfbronco said:

Seems like a good, well intentioned exhibit.  Just in the wrong place.  IMHO.

I may agree with you but is it our choice. The  museum decides its exhibits. They seem to think it is a fine place for such an exhibit so good for them. They want to draw the parallels and probably discuss it in the museum. Good for them.

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7 minutes ago, tspoke said:

I may agree with you but is it our choice. The  museum decides its exhibits. They seem to think it is a fine place for such an exhibit so good for them. They want to draw the parallels and probably discuss it in the museum. Good for them.

Not our choice but I hope we can discuss these things even so.  Reactions early online from American Jews seem mixed with a majority not approving.  

I would also even say drawing parallels is not always productive, especially when they do not seem to exist or need to be stretched beyond reason to do so.  What are the parallels between the annihaltion of European Jewry at the hands of Nazi Geremny and Floyd, in your opinion?

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1 hour ago, halfmanhalfbronco said:

I mean tying the horrific murder of Floyd to what happened with the Jewry of Europe at the hand of Nazis just seems to miss the mark.  On the other hand it is drawing attention to the exhibit it may not have gotten if placed elsewhere.  

Good intentions, poor execution. 

Yea I think the intentions are good and it’s their prerogative what exhibits they have, but I can’t help but think the natural “...wut?” Reaction people are going to have seeing this will take away from the message. I think my political leanings are pretty obvious from my posting here, but even I read this and thought:

Dave Chapelle GIF by MOODMAN

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50 minutes ago, halfmanhalfbronco said:

Not our choice but I hope we can discuss these things even so.  Reactions early online from American Jews seem mixed with a majority not approving.  

I would also even say drawing parallels is not always productive, especially when they do not seem to exist or need to be stretched beyond reason to do so.  What are the parallels between the annihaltion of European Jewry at the hands of Nazi Geremny and Floyd, in your opinion?

I don't really know. I would be curious to check it out and see what they have for the parallels. I imagine it isn't actually about George Floyd but using George Floyd as a individual face for the issue of police brutality and the murder of black americans. Which can be argued that the police as the government is systematically killing black people, obviously not at the level as the holocaust but I'm not the one making the argument.

My usual reaction to something like this is"That seems weird, But lets see what the full story(or in this case what the actual exhibit) is before I give a half cocked opinion. 

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jews are pretty big on the whole "small incidents that could potentially lead to what happened to us shouldn't be dismissed as singular."

by the time there could be consensus among observers that what was going on for the jews in poland and germany, it was too late.  this is the problem with the idea that people can even argue over what 'fake news' is -- it creates doubt and hesitation because the answers are foggy and the questions misunderstood.  this is probably my number one gripe of what came from the trump administration.  we aren't sure what cause and effect are when we don't have a clear view of facts and dishonesty is spoken and woven by those whom the facts describe.

in this thread we already have people laughing -- not just disagreeing with its placement as a subject of a nuanced discussion or exercise in taxonomy, ostensibly to identify the most appropriate place to put such an exhibit (a discussion which requires the buy-in that such an exhibit is worthwhile and has a good and correct message that needs to be sent) -- that such a thing could even happen.  that george floyd was a thug.  that it was even a brutal murder at the hands of one who was charged with keeping the peace.

i think it's a good place for it.  sometimes an example of state oppression becomes so extreme and heinous that its existence becomes evidence for the fertile soil (that's a nazi double entendre for those not following along) that birthed a populace ready to accept, embrace, and endorse the sort of leader and his party that could perpetrate a holocaust.  to some, myself included, it's a shocking and worrying event that can't be easily dismissed as a one off because conditions are ripe for it...  because we aren't addressing the sources of the problems. as such, the exhibit must feel 'at home,' despite the cursory differences.

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I get that a link may be made, but in the interest of serving the more germane discussion, re: race relations in America as a whole and it's impact on our society, I would think the discussion would be more appropriate here: https://washington.org/visit-dc/guide-to-smithsonian-national-museum-african-american-history-culture

I think there is more value in discussing these recent events in the context or furthering race relations in America rather than trying to conjure up a fascist boogeyman. I guess I am approaching it from the viewpoint of museums should be furthering public knowledge by contextualizing historical lessons, and should stage exhibits for the maximum impact towards that cause. It would seem much more value could be made by continuing the discussion of race relations rather than the somewhat longer shot warning of fascism (which is such a long shot it may not even hit the mark, while racial relations is a real, pervasive and very currently damaging issue in American society/culture). 

I guess what I am saying is presenting this issue in the wrong context, or the less correct one, bastardizes the real lesson to be learned. Given America's difficulty in dealing with it's racial relations, it can be damaging too. What is more important for the country? Warning against genocide at the hands of a fascist regime (which given our construct seems highly unlikely to occur)? Or picking at the scab of the very real existent problem of racial relations that should be an ever-present discussion in our society?

At best, it is misguided. At worst, it damages racial relations in this country by decontextualizing the real issue.

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