So it would also be all right for someone who had brutally murdered an animal or a person to share how he did it with the world simply because he's happy about it? A dramatic example, but it is parallel. Or, more realistically, it's okay for that Kansas family (I think they're Baptists? I cant remember, but most people know them as the most hated family in America) to go to a gay man's funeral and express how happy they are about how he's dead and being punished in Hell? Also extreme, but real. Like I said before, I'm happy that this man is a survivor and that he can look back with a sense of gratitude that he survived instead of unhappiness that he had to go through it at all. It's a wonderful perspective. But somehow it just strikes me as something that could be very disturbing, especially to people who have personal ties, and I think he should have anticipated such a reaction and been a little more classy about it is all.
Lol, of course it's okay for them to do that-- it's a human right. and yes, all three of the scenarios are tasteless, but the difference is that Old Man has earned the right to be tacky. Whereas the others are just assholes.
Of course legally it is okay for everyone to express themselves, even if it's rude. However, even you just said that it was tasteless, and as this thread was more about his moral decision than anything... Personally, I dont care what this man does or doesnt do. He has earned the right to express his happiness any way he likes --but that doesnt stop me from thinking that he could have perhaps expressed his opinion in a classier way. I thought it was a bit insensitive, and maybe even thoughtless. Agree to disagree? I'm pretty much over this conversation anyway; I'm in too good of a mood to discuss morality and Auschwitz any further.
I agree with all three of these at once. I completely agree with Nonnie that he deserves to celebrate his life and is trying to make light of a situation. For anyone to survive something that horrific is amazing in and of itself. However, Cog is also right. Many people didn't survive the Holocaust, and dancing in front of a concentration camp can be taken the wrong way by the families of the victims--for them, it's like dancing on a grave. I like how he wants to celebrate his life, but surely it could've been more tastefully done? Halcyon said it perfectly.
Thank you, Gigi, this is exactly how I feel about it. I know it's not entirely the same thing, but I just feel like the video is sort of like if someone went to war and survived, then went and danced in the graveyard where all the tombstones for the fallen soldiers were, you know? Not a perfect comparison by any means, but that's just how I feel about it...I like the idea of wanting to dance and sing and celebrate survival, I just don't dig the location of the celebration...
I'm in Nonnie's camp, though perhaps not as...aggressively? I don't think any celebration of life can/should ever be seen as tasteless, especially as deserving a celebration as this man's. I also think that if families of victims are offended by this, then they are being quite selfish and short-sighted. This man's actions, frivolous though they seem to some, constitute a monumental act of defiance against the regime that attempted to eliminate his (and the other victims') entire race. This isn't one man saying "Yay, look at me, I made it!" It's a survivor saying "You tried to wipe us out, you killed millions of us, but WE overcame." Hence, the sharing in public. This isn't a private celebration, but an invitation for the entire population, however tangentially connected we may be to the actual events, to band together and celebrate the triumph of humanity. As important as it is that these places remain a serious testament to the tragic events of the past, if we cannot simultaneously acknowledge and celebrate the victory over that evil, then I think there's something wrong. And while I don't believe that his dancing is tasteless at all, I fail to see how the frivolity of the act has any bearing at all on the meaning. Would more people approve if he was playing Beethoven's Ode to Joy instead of dancing to Gloria Gaynor?
"Life is beautiful. Let the future generations cleanse it of all evil, oppression, and violence and enjoy it to the full." - Leon Trotsky I think that was the message they were trying to convey, along with trying to get us to stop and think of what man is capable of doing and to notice the absurdity of it all, for man continues on; man is unconquerable in the end.
I have to agree. He was a Holocaust SURVIVOR. He lived through the pain and suffering of that terrible, terrible, time in history. Do you think Anne Frank would've hated him for doing that? No, she probably would've been dancing right along with him. I'm not saying that I don't think the Holocaust was a terrible thing, because it WAS a very, very, terrible, horrible, atrocious time in history. I hate how Hitler did that to all of those millions of people. However, that man who danced to 'I will survive' , wanted to celebrate how some people DID survive it. I mean, just because people died, does that mean we can't celebrate the lives of the people who DID survive? It took a lot of courage for him to go back to that God-Awful place. Yes, it could've been taken in a more 'serious' manner, but...he lived through that time. He deserves to handle his feelings the way he wants. Happy Writing. -Writing.Geke.
I have mixed feelings about it. It's great that he survived and he's right to be so joyful about it - so so so many families were killed in Auschwitz, and the fact that he survived it should be something to celebrate by dancing. However, I also feel that it's somewhat insensitive and almost mocking the harsh reality of what exactly happened in Auschwitz. Obviously I wasn't there, and only the people who were will know exactly what it was like so perhaps none of us have a right to criticise it.
I think it was a shame that this personal family celebration did not stay that--personal and in the family, instead of splashed over youtube. Disco dancing and Auschwitz is not a combination that everyone can take.
Interesting (to me at least, as the thread starter) that this video splits this forum fairly 50/50, just as it seems to have done with the YouTube population as a whole. It's really not difficult to see both sides - it is a controversial way to handle such a heavy subject. There is no doubt in my mind that this old man has earned the right to stand outside Auschwitz with his grandchildren and celebrate his survival in whatever way he sees fit. As to whether it should have been posted on YouTube, well, it does have the potential to upset many without a doubt, but would YouTube be half as important a social phenomenon as it is if everybody played safe and only posted what they felt sure would never upset anyone? This man must have endured and witnessed unspeakable horrors, so let's allow him his Warholian 15 minutes of fame.
neither is true of me and it's pretty rude of you to assume such, nonnie... as a practicing philosopher and a nearly 72-year-old who was alive and aware of those horrors when they were exposed to the world, i've given it much more thought than you could possibly have done... and with an IQ well in the genius range, i certainly do not suffer from 'the inabilitity to do so' [if you meant to 'think'... though the sentence was not properly constructed/worded, if that's the case]! and btw, 'definitely' has no 'a' in it...
OK, let me tenderly insert myself into this subject: IMHO, this man survived horrors we cannot possibly fathom. An entire nation sought to exterminate people like him just because he didn't "fit in" with their warped view of the true race. Who are we to decide what he does? We were not in Auschwitz or the many other concentration camps. Unless we personally went through it, we have no right to judge. Like arron said, he's thumbing his nose at the Nazis. He's telling them and anyone with their viewpoint: "You will never destroy us. We will endure." If he wants to dance, then sir, you dance your heart out.
It seems like a waste of energy to be offended by this, honestly. There doesn't seem to be any ill intent behind it - which can't be said for countless other little gems scattered around the internet. True, this can definitely be taken a bad way. But if you let yourself get worked up over something with good intentions, what happens when you come across legitimate garbage?
