DONIZETI@VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU (02/05/90)
To Corrine, Gabriel, et.al. I am beginning to feel a bonding with a group, for the first time in my 62 years of my existence--as a result, I feel horror for any group of people who are treated in a negative way because of supposed attributes that group is said to possess. Why am I saying this--I may be wrong, but I sense, at times the American trait of bigger and better--i.e.--there were more of us a part of this horror, rather than no group should be a part of the horror. What has been my experience upon reading The Nazi Doctor's--first I am about 1/3 of the way thru--it doesn't do much for one's emotions to read too much at one setting. This week saw the postings about the methods used at BYU--in 82--the continuation of the PBS 4-part series on the Holocaust--an argument thru letters with a former high school friend who believes that we are gay through choice--my response--I find the following ,as you have used it, the reason for my disturbance--"I love you, even though you are ------" and told her to fill in the blank--gay, Indian, Jew (She's Jewish), Black, etc. Dislike what some one does--don't dislike a whole group. My feelings on reading it are fascination that such a policy as the medicalization of killing of those with a "life unworthy of life"--the knowledge that, we here in the US can just as easily be led to believe that there are groups of people who could easily be turned into such objects of hatred that, given the correst economic situations--the passivity of most of our people--the talk about epidemics--those groups could easily be dispensed with, given enough years to institutionalize the process. And the best way to make things easy for those in power to do so is to set the various groups at each other's throats. I also have to face the fact that a relative I am close to works in a mental institution as a medical nurse--I have been involved in courtroom appearances with him due to his being caught for "indecent exposure"--he is on probation as long as he keep going to therapy--which depends upon his state insurance--which depends on his keeping his job--he was raised in a violent home, where his father took our his rage and frustration by beating up on his wife and daughter--thus, he follows his father's footsteps-- showing me a bruised fist where he had had to subdue a patient the night before with a clobber across the head. The added horror was that for one moment, I rationlized to myself--"Well, after all, these people are not quite human." It lurks there beneath the surface of many of us--and last, but not least, I watched "Rain Man" for the first time on HBO. How do we absorb these horrible feelings? Merle