Those of you that know me pretty well (whether online or in real life) know that I am not a person who is real preachy or voices my opinion a whole ton.  I love people that do because I view them as really strong (*cough* Kezzie *cough*), but I'm not a big fan of debate.  I'm super sensitive in that nature and take a lot of things personally, even if I shouldn't.  This is one of my exceptions...

www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/11/museum.shooting/index.html

Another thing people know about me (more so in real life) is that I have a very strong fascination with the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler.  Now, let me make it clear that it is not in an adoration way, not at ALL!  This all started when I was young.  I was raised by a Catholic Native American mom and Lutheran dad of mixed European descent (who doesn't really practice).  My mom ALWAYS made it clear to me that people, not matter what their beliefs, skin color, whatever, are people just like me.  She does not tolerate people being cruel to others for things like that.  Hence, the reason why my viewpoints are skewed from what people consider traditional Catholics to believe.  On the other end of things, my father had less tolerance for certain people, specifically the Japanese.  Reason being, he was in the military and was stuck on the Pearl Harbor bombing many years later.  Luckily, his viewpoint changed years later when he had to go work in Tokyo and he and my mom now have friends that they change holiday gifts with every year there.   

Anyhow, when I was seven years old (and I remember this SO well), my dad was playing the game Wolfenstien on the PC.  For those of you that aren't familiar with the game, it's about a solider trying to free people in Nazi Germany.  So, there are little pictures of Hitler in the game.  I asked Dad who that was and he told me.  I asked who Hitler was, and with me being seven year old, he gave me the most simple answer he felt appropriate.  "Hitler was a man who believed all people should have blond hair and blue eyes."  I mean, what are you going to say to a seven year old when they ask that question?  "I don't know" wasn't going to work.  I remember saying that was idiotic and being curious about it from there on out.  Dad had lived in Germany when he was seventeen to about twenty, I believe.  He guarded The Wall.  So he used to speak German and it really got me into the German culture as well.  Three years later, I did a project in school where we were studying the Holocaust.  We had to read one book and write one report.  Yeah, I read twelve books and wrote eight reports.  I keep trying to find the answer as to why as human beings really think that we are better than one another for such superficial stupid reasons.  I'm a religious person, but I often think of what the world would be like without it because so much pain is caused due to it, although a lot of happiness is at the same time.

I keep going off topic.  This is another reason I don't make these posts.  I decided to take German courses in school to study the good part of the history as well as the bad.  That was very interesting.  I talked to people who live in Germany now who still deal with foreigners calling the citizens Nazis and all that bullshit.  You're not helping.  As school progressed, I studied history of the country and war.  Being from a military family, I also saw things from a military angle that a lot of people can't accept.  I wrote an essay that fueled a great debate with my history teacher when asked how I felt about the Nazis in general.  I found it a difficult question to answer because not all of them were kill crazy bastards.  A certain percentage were eighteen year old kids that were forced into the military who would be just as bad off as the victims themselves if they refused to participate in the Nazi army.  That was NOT a popular answer because I was looked upon as a sympathizer, when in reality, I sympathized with anyone that was forced into that situation.  That would be horrific.  The only thing I could imagine would be worse than being a victim of that horrible time would be being forced to hurt people.  The guilt would kill me.  Nonetheless, I got an A.

My husband is one that was never big in history.  He's twelve years older than me and as far as educational smarts, he would tell you I outrank him.  Except in math, cuz I am awful at that.  I try very hard not to bring this stuff up, as interested in it as I am because it depresses people.  Every day, I listen to a certain someone who bitches left and right about how the US makes so many films about the Holocaust and how it is not entertaining.  It irritates me more than anything because, it's not meant to be entertaining.  It's meant as a learning tool, as new generations are emerging constantly and the victims of the time period are dying off.  More people will watch a movie than pick up a history book, I can promise you that.  My poor husband always gets a damn history lesson from me whenever we watch these films.  For those of you who saw Valkyrie, when the scene came up where they were at Hitler's house, I was able to point out each person sitting in that room by name and rank before a word was spoken, including the name of his German Shepherd (which was Blondie, for those of you who are curious).  When I was seventeen, there was a Neo Nazi rally this building in our suburb of Minneapolis.  My curiosity just killed me at that point, so I went over there since it was open to the public.  The stuff that went on there was enough to make my cry.  Apparently it was enough to get people arrested as well, because a riot broke out, which I got out of the way of fast.

I've wanted to go to DC for years, just to see this place.  People think I'm nuts for that, but it's history.  It's important.  And if you don't want to go, don't go, but don't stigmatize me for it.  I still have yet to get to Europe, but when I get there, I need to go to the concentration camp sites in Dachau and Poland.  My father went there and gave me all his pictures, which my mom came across one day and almost started to cry.  I'm sure someone reading this has been there, but everyone I know that has been there has said that there is just an incredible sadness there. 

I just find it amazing that people still believe this crap.  I mean, really?  You think all your problems are based on a specific group of people?  It's things like this that set us all back many years again.  That's why I hate to be lumped into groups, whether it be Catholics, Native American, handicapped, or even female.  People can always turn it around on you for their own gain.  And I'm not perfect about it either; it's very easy to say that specific groups of people are responsible for certain things, when in reality, it's just a few of choice jackasses who screw it up for the rest of the world.