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I am pleased to see that BCTS readers accepted my story “Discharged – Female” for what it was – A harrowing work of fiction firmly based on researched fact bringing to light appalling injustices done to gay people during South Africa’s apartheid regime. Some on Fictionmania saw it as something very different.
Here are 3 reviews to that story:
“Reviewed by Rhonda on 12/05/2022
Strange that you would even write such a story on this site, but most disturbing - why do a story that, even if true, is negative about a Jewish person? Not cool at all. Please refrain from this in the future.”
“Reviewed by Rhonda on 12/06/2022
Joanne and Maryanne - If this had been a Muslim or a Catholic or Lutheran, etc., who did this, I would say the same thing! Why single out a Jewish doctor when there have been many other such situations - how about Nazi Germany - Josef Mengele? This seems anti-Semitic. Yes, as a Jew, I am appalled that you would basically paint all Jewish doctors with the same brush...this story is NOT acceptable on this site and especially, anyone who thinks this is acceptable, is wrong and likely anti-Semitic too!”
“Reviewed by Amy on 12/06/2022
Why a story about a Jewish doctor? This could have been about any doctor in history - how about the most horrible one - a Nazi named Mengele, who did gender experiments and was a sexual pervert and a horrible person - non-Jewish too? Seems like an anti-Semitic piece here. And does this type of story really belong on this Fictionmania sit? I think not!”
In a message somebody fairly pointed out that mentioning that the doctor who promoted forced gender change was Jewish “comes down to relevance”. I agree.
In my story, these are the words I used – “As many as 900 of us had some surgery upon our genitals. From the safety of his new home in Canada [Dr. Levin] told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up after the end of apartheid that “aversion therapy only caused slight pain and all my patients wanted to be cured”. He was furious at comparison with Nazi Germany, because the Colonel was Jewish. In fact, his father had been the first Jew to join the National Party which established the apartheid regime. His family were not just supporters of apartheid, but instigators.”
I wanted to refer to the comparison with Nazi Germany as for many apartheid was the same thing – just a different target. That led me to refer to the Levin’s father and son, aligning them with that regime despite their being Jewish. I think that is relevant.
Am I wrong? History like this should be told. Should details be left out because they might offend?
Maryanne
Comments
Based on historical fact.
It's historical fact that the Jewish people have suffered at the hands of antisemitic people and governments over the last couple of centuries. That said, we can't suppress the facts that there have been atrocities committed by some Jews. To bring them to light and name names is just part of life. Nothing is as unconscionable as mans inhumanity toward men.
Many of our trans-sisters have suffered sexual abuse by perverts and that abuse plays into their suffering and angst of just who they really. If you discovered an account of a Catholic priest that abused little boys and wrote a fictional story based on that priest's activities that traced the journey of one of that priest's victims, would that then be an anti-Catholic story?
I could see some old school Catholics might think so, but the truth is there have been such priests and without a doubt some of their victims suffer such angst.
I didn't read your story so I can't comment on the content, but if you named the doctor and he was actually involved then I say he's fair game and his name pretty much cements the fact he was Jewish. He doesn't get a pass because he's Jewish regardless of what's been done to the Jewish people through the ages.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
History should not be *washed
Just take a look at the history of the East End of London back through the ages. Because of the Port of London, you can chronicle when persecution took place just by noting who and when there was a large influx of people of a specific race/religion. Jews, Lutherans, and Huguenots just to name a few.
I applaud Marianne for writing this story. There are big moves in large parts of the USA to wipe whole parts of reality from what is taught in schools. I can still remember being taught about the 'Black Hole of Calcutta' and the absolutely horrible treatment dished out in that place. When I told my father about it, he said 'we have not learned one thing since those days about being human'. Then he proceeded to tell me about how his unit had been one of those who liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. He never spoke much about his war service and that was the only time he ever said anything about the camp. I can remember to this day, sixty years later how his voice trembled when he told me the story.
Years later, we visited the camp. Dad broke down in tears. That was the only time he ever cried.
Tales of oppression need to be told but some people will never believe in what man can do to man (and it is mostly men doing the nasty stuff).
Samantha
As long as the history is
As long as the history is true it has to be OK to post it. But care must be taken that the behavior of one person is not projected upon the entire race. To that end it should be OK to mention the racial affiliation in a subordinate clause, like a normal fact among many others and not mentioned further if it's not relevant. And it should be pointed out that no race is exempt from having at least a (very) few criminal members in it (at least I haven't heard where that's not the case).
As far as I know no other nation that gets bent out of shape when there's a story of one of their members commiting a crime (real or fictitious in a novel).
Jealous Hatred
I've not understood hatred of Jews at all. No reason for it has been revealed in all my studies.
Gwen
Unfortunately, there are
Unfortunately, there are people that need scapegoats, which they can blame for their own failures and shortcomings. In order to feel great (and / or like a victor) they need victims which they can look down upon. The Jews are just an easy target of opportunity for the haters (like a punching bag), it might even give them a feeling of unity. I think it's a sign of small minded people (which are more often than not the loosers of a competitive economic system). On top of that they like to solve problems (imagined or real) with violence.
This is a try at an explantion, but in no way an excuse for the haters.
History needs to be recognized even if we don't like it.
The fact the Doctor was a Jew is history. Without knowledge, horrible distortions often occur. One of the biggest is the history of slavery in the US. Whites did ship thousands of captured black people from Africa to the New World. That is historical fact. What is seldom revealed is how the white ship captains got their slaves to transship. The whites seldom rounded up slaves. The slaves were bought from other blacks. Tribal warfare was a part of life in Africa at that time. But like the Native Americans, much warfare had become ritual so as not to devastate populations. They declared their masculine bravery by counting 'coup' on their opponents. The African tribes had ritualized warfare that involved capturing the losers as slaves. This was a limited amounted because they couldn't use more slaves than they could economically use. At first the white merchants purchased the slaves the blacks already had. But greed by the black victors in wanting white trade goods led them to wholesale campaigns to get prisoners to sell. The greedy whites wanted black slaves and the greedy blacks wanted what the whites were trading so captured more slaves to trade. That truth is seldom ever mentioned. There are victims and greedy exploiters in every historical event. Sometimes the truth hurts, but often the truth is hidden because it doesn't match the narrative they want to postulate. This comment in no way defends slavery.
Boys will be girls... if they're lucky!
Jennifer Sue
Logic test
The main complaint seems to me to fail a simple logic test. The fallacy goes like: "This apple is green. Therefore all apples are green". All that can be logically deduced from the text is that "at least one (probably) Jewish doctor was a bad person."
I cannot say whether the doctor's "Jewishness" was important to the story. OTOH, when producing a "history", it is probably more important to include established facts than to exclude them.
Sara
Between the wrinkles, the orthopedic shoes, and nine decades of gravity, it is really hard to be alluring. My icon, you ask? It is the last picture I allowed to escape the camera ... back before most BC authors were born.
Wow! Just Wow!
Those acidic comments make you wonder if people understand that authors are human beings.
You wrote a story that revealed a part of history that shocked me. In no way was your story anti-Semitic!
The irony of the doctor being Jewish is so thick that to leave it out would have constituted literary malpractice.
Those comments say much more about those who commented than they do about you or the content of your story.
I wrote story called Baseball Annie in which the narrator is the manager of a major league baseball team. Some of his ideas are definitely racist. That doesn't make the story or me racist. . .but that's what at least one person thought necessary to say on Amazon.
I'm sorry this happened to you.
Don't let the bastards get you down.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Anti Semitic vs Semitic deification
The comments you generated come from the dark heart of contemporary zionism. I term it Semitic deification: that is that Jewish people can do no wrong. And if someone accuses a Jewish person of wrongdoing it is because that someone is anti semitic. All this despite rampant examples of individual Jewish people being evil. Dr Levin, multiple Jewish mafiosi, wide spread sexual and physical abuse in insular New York Jewish community’s, etc. No sub group of humans is free of the phenomena of evil actors. Even the post world war 2 promise of never again is hollow (Ruanda, Laos, etc.) Whew, I don’t have to bring other groups example’s up to this forum. We are all too familiar with many of them.
BAK 0.25tspgirl
So-called anti-semitic story
I've come late to this discussion but would like to make a comment. There isn't a country or race in the world which is 100% pure and that included Israel and the Jewish race. Here are two examples.
The former headmistress of an ultra-orthodox school in Melbourne Australia, fled to Israel when it became known that she would be accused of sexual molestation of some of her pupils. The Australian government fought for years to get her sent back to Australia to face trial and to their credit, the Israeli government finally did so. She will get a fair trial next year and I will not speculate on the outcome. I hope that if it goes against her, nobody accuses the court of being anti-semitic.
In the second case, a World Vision employee Mohammad El-Halabi, a director of aid to Gaza was accused to diverting a vast sum of money, more than he had access to, to the Hamas organisation. World Vision has made careful enquiries and is convinced that no money is missing. The case dragged on for six years while he was kept in custody, before he was convicted and given another six years jail in a decision which World Vision says is unjust and bears no relation to the facts of the case. Is this something that a country beyond reproach should do? I rest my case.