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