ZaphodBurner wrote:jkisha wrote:I think your grandfather would be ashamed of you right now.
You don't know fuck about my grandfather. You don't speak for him.lucky420 wrote:Was thinking about visiting Portland this summer if I don't go to the playa, now not so sure...
A million people or so in the metropolitan area are NOT victims of crime each day. It is an unfortunate fact that you must be cautious on the MAX. Portland is a wonderful city with a large Burner community.I hope that's a legitimate question and not snark.smenkare wrote:How did your grandfather get out of the POW camp BTW? Did he lead a rebellion of inmates and slaves, and overthrow the guards?
He was rescued by Patton's army, who liberated the camp as soon as they heard about it. He was left at the camp because he and three other "kriegies" who had not eaten for days captured and ate a chicken raw. The other three died, and the Germans took him to KZ Mauthausen, expecting him to die. A couple of days later, before the army showed up, a jew marching to his own disposal looked over him and said "Cheer up, yank, you'll be home soon" and an SS guard shot the man in the head and let the dogs have the body. The next day, the SS all fled, leaving the dogs to roam among the camp and fend for themselves. The dogs were the only source of food, and he managed to capture, kill and eat one that had been eating the dying prisoners.
When he was liberated he was 6'1" and weighed 79lbs. It would not have been possible for him to overthrow the guards. He died in 1995 from organic destruction caused by severe malnutrition, complicated by Hepatitis C that he got from a VA blood transfusion. All for having to go fight to save some pacifists.
@wraith: GOOD POINT!
If the only legitimate question is a question you don't know the answer of, then yes, it's a ligitimate question. But I suspected that the answer was "no" your grandfather didn't lead a rebellion against his captors and that he was freed by other means, and so to that affect, yes, there was sarcasm intended. But that doesn't mean that I didn't legitimately want to know you're grandfather's story, and it doesn't take away from the story at all. I'd gladly hear more of your grandfather's story. Stories are important to my people. It's how we transmitted our culture and traditions for gennerations.
A couple hundred years ago, my people were many. We lived life on our terms on our father's land. Then someone invaded, told us it wasn't our land anymore and that we were to take up a new religion, new language and new culture.
We rose up and said NO, we fought to defend ourselves.
We were beaten back, many were killed.
We were displaced from our homes.
Families were seperated.
Family members were killed.
Other bad things happened...
We were many then, and they were few, a few men with soldier's training, horses and weapons of war.
We were many and they were a few men with violence in their hearts.
And they did us violence.
After the violence, they reimbursed us with what they thought was fair (some money, a small piece of land, some "rights" to natural resources)
They put a price on our land.
They put a price my people.
They put a price on my grandad.
They put a price on me.
But I don't have to accept it in my heart.
That said:
If a trained soldier can be shot down
If he can have his weapon taken from him
If he can be imprisoned and starved to 79lbs
Then what of those with no weapons?
What of those with no training?
What of those with no organized resistance?
What of those who had been rounded up by their fellow country-men and sent to the camps?
Starved...
Demoralized...
Seperated from their families...
Why didn't the Japanese rise up in the internment camps here in the US?
Why didn't my people rise up again once subdued?
You told us why your grandfather didn't rise up because he physically couldn't.
A lot of people couldn't.
That's one of the functions of POW camps and Deathcamps, to make sure the prisoners stay there and don't rise up against their captors. To keep the many under the power of the few. Those tactics work, they've worked for centuries, and will probably continue to work so long as there are those willing to use intimidation and violence to get what they want.
My grandad served in the Pacific Theater. Shit was bad over there too.
But he came back, healed, and raised a family.
My grandad came back a pacifist. Pacificist =/= victim.
He taught me that the monsters have human faces just like we do, and that's the scariest part.
He taught me that though those who stood up to defend our people were brave, but they died and you can't raise children if you're dead. If all my people stood up against the invader back then, perhaps I wouldn't be here, perhaps my people would have faded from the memory of the world.
Grandad taught me that you never know how you'll react in any given situation until it happens to you and that no matter how bad something is, or how much someone hurts you and your loved ones, deep down at your core, the only REAL power anyone has over you is power that you give them, that you're only beaten when you submit your will to theirs, but it's a personal choice that every human has to make.
He also taught me that just because someone has something you want, doesn't mean that you should take it from them by threat or force, and then pay them what you deem as fair. That makes you the invader...that makes you the bully.
So I'll ask some non-sarcastic questions...
Does my sarcastic question make you angry? If yes, then why would you give me that power over you?
