Yesterday, I mentioned events that demonstrate the possible dangers related to discussions and research on human biological inheritance. I cited the experiences of African-Americans and German Jews as people who have suffered because of their ancestry, among other factors. My friend JoAnn Levin was not pleased with my wording "the business of Jews in Germany". She took exception to calling senseless murder on a large scale a "business".
JoAnn wrote:
I have a suggestion. Instead of using the word " business" regarding the extermination of the Jews in Nazi Germany, try to find another word. Treatment, murder, extermination, etc. I had a hard time with the word "business". Just a suggestion. That word minimizes or dismisses what happened.
JoAnn and I have exchanged emails and we agree that the program, the project, the aim of "exterminating" the Jews was literally insane. I mentioned to her the section of "The 10,000 Year Explosion" that explains the special intelligence and arresting list of accomplishments of the Jews. The same section mentions the well-known function of the Jews in Europe as money-lenders and financiers and that section mentions another aspect of Jewish life and history I had not thought of. Since Jews were often regarded as separate, the separateness could sometimes have a special quality. They could be conceived as not allied with Catholics or Protestants, not with one nation or another. At times, they could be viewed as neutral, intelligent and safe sources of reliable transactions and advice.
I did mention the section of the Great Course "Why Evil Exists" that gives a direct recording of a high Nazi official sympathizing with his crews of murderers, with their energy and accomplishments while encouraging them to buck up and keep on.
The book by the open-eyed British writer Nicholas Wade called "A Troublesome Inheritance" discusses various theories people have held about how babies are actually formed. You have heard of the "blood' theory, where my "blood" is conceived of as a 50-50 mixture of my parents and 25% from each of my 4 grandparents. Nice simple math but quite wrong. Lynn says she is interested in what is the right math. Read the books mentioned here. It is complicated and genes are better thought of as discontinuous bits that one gets or fails to get.
