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From: mroddy@enmasse.UUCP (Mark Roddy)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re:forgiving the germans
Message-ID: <402@enmasse.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 8-May-85 10:44:23 EDT
Article-I.D.: enmasse.402
Posted: Wed May  8 10:44:23 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 10-May-85 21:42:50 EDT
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When I originally posted the never forgive them bitberg etc., I thought
about explaining myself a bit more. However, this is net.flame, so what the
hell. But, I'm getting mail from larrygkaren and flames abound, so:

I didn't say that I blame all germans, I said that the germans cannot
be forgiven. I think there is a difference.

Obviously those germans who were too old or young, dead or unborn, or
mentally or physically incapacitated ( more about them later,) are
not responsible, they cannot be forgiven because they are not to blame.

However, all the other germans are, as a class, responsible for what
they did as a nation. They cannot be forgiven because, with few
exceptions they either supported what went on or did nothing to
prevent it.

Those who resisted were put into the camps, along with the jews,
gypsys, homosexuals, mentally and physically incapacitated, etc.
They are amoung the victims.

While it is true that there is a difference between the government of a
nation, and the people of that nation, there is more than a casual link
between them. Government must be held responsible to its citizens, but
also the citizens are responsible for their government. In particular,
the citizens of a nation are morally obliged to prevent barbaric and
criminal behavior on the part of their government towards other nations
and peoples. 

It is one thing when a government goes internally beserk, as in Kampuchea
or Uganda or Iran, it is quite another order of events when a government
exports its insanity, as did the third reich. It is this second order of
state insanity, when it becomes international, to which I hold that the
citizens of the lunatic nation are obliged to end at whatever personal
cost, or be held accountable for.

-- 
						Mark Roddy
						Net working,
						Just reading the news.

					(harvard!talcott!panda!enmasse!mroddy)