Re: Shaming Redux (was Re: [Fwd: Culture and Technology (was Re: Abortion, Killing etc)]

[Doug Henwood <dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx>]

Andrew Wayne Austin wrote:

> But I think we should explore how and why Goldhagen made his way into this
> discussion. I dispute Wojtek's claims about the importance of ideology and
> use the example of the Holocaust. I do not mention Goldhagen in that post.
> Based on previous discussions I have been involved in concerning
> Goldhagen, you seek to put my point in the context of the Goldhagen
> controversy. Is it your contention, Doug, that anti-Semitism did not play
> a role in the Holocaust? What is your explanation for how ordinary Germans
> were able to mass murder Jews? And why did they select Jews? Coincidence?
> To argue that anti-Semitism played a marginal role in the murdering of
> Jews is like claiming that blacks in the US South were not lynched because
> they were black. It is an incredible argument, Doug. Do you believe that
> dragging Goldhagen into the discussion, given all his bad press among the
> left, will via some sort of game of association invalidate my argument
> that anti-Semitism played a role in the Holocaust? And to what end? Would
> it not be more scholarly, If I may use that word, if you were to dispute
> the role of anti-Semitism in the Holocaust and support your claim with
> logic and evidence, rather than bait me by holding up a maligned Zionist
> scholar to dispute my point?

As much as I'd love to respond, one of the moderators has asked me not to.

Doug