Dr. Lance
Hill
Photo
Exhibit:
<latech.edu/media/news-photos/hill_l.jpg>
To
place the Nazi Holocaust --that ultimate manifestation of
Man's inhumanity to Man, on the same footing with a
natural disaster, be it an earthquake, a volcano, a
tsunami, a river flood, or a hurricane, is a preposterous
undertaking that needs not be buried in silence when is
being promulgated by a purported learning institution as
it represents a cynical attempt to trivialize the
Holocaust and its tragic legacy.
Dr.
Lance Hill, Executive Director of Southern Institute for
Education and Research, in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
(that is located on the campus of Tulane University), in
his Open Letter of January 30, 2006, (Exhibit,
hereto), after trumpeting of the greatness of his
Institute as being, and we quote, "the Deep South's
largest and most successful Holocaust education
organization [that incidentally is composed of only
two active members, himself and his associate,
Plater
Robinson
that was presented by us in here],
introduces a preposterous notion that somehow the tragedy
of the Holocaust can be equated with the tragedy of the
Katrina hurricane and that "the Lessons of the Holocaust"
can be applied somehow to "heal the wounds of Katrina."
[sic!].
We
respectfully take exception to Dr. Hills' views with
respect to the placement of the Holocaust on the same
footing to any natural disaster, regardless how horrific
it may be, as such a placement of the Holocaust is a
cynical attempt of trivilizing its very
existence.
How in
God's name, a learned person (who even holds a Ph.D. is
History from Tulane University), in his normal state of
mind, can equate and compare two so fundamentally
different events --one, fueled by an extreme fury of
nature, the other, fueled by an extreme man-made hate?
How twisted a Mind can be to equate the Holocaust
with Katrina hurricane or any other natural disaster? How
an institution that proclaims of being engaged in
disseminating the study of the Holocaust can be so
off base in grasping the nature of the Holocaust and
not recognizing the impossibility of comparing two truly
incomparable events?
In his
referenced Open Letter exhibited hereinabove, Dr. Hill
has an entry entitled "Using the Lessons of the
Holocaust to Heal the wounds of Katrina" where this much
is being stated:
"...
the Southern Institute is creating a 'Katrina Oral
History Program' for middle and high school students.
The program will use oral histories of the Holocaust
and Katrina for a comparative study that will increase
students' understanding of the causes of prejudice and
the power of the individual to remedy injustice.
Students will compare the experiences of the Holocaust
and Katrina by using the same social and psychological
theories that the Southern Institute currently uses to
teach the Holocaust, i. e. categories of social
behavior including Perpetrators, Victims, Bystanders,
and Rescuers. Through their own stories and the
testimony of friends and neighbors, students will
learn why people behave in helpful and hurtful ways in
different circumstances. More importantly, they will
learn how to create a personal moral compass that can
guide them on a path of compassion and forgiveness
even in times of uncertainty and popular
passions."
To
teach students that Katrina hurricane and the Holocaust
somehow can be equated, compared, and mirrored in
any
way is a repugnant undertaking that needs to be exposed
for what it is --a travesty of the teachings of the
Holocaust.
Respectfully
submitted,
K. K.
Brattman
Managing
Editor
Dated: May 8, 2006
