Go out with a bang

In Skypeland people often feel comfortable in revealing opinions which they might not in other circumstances. B, one of the more strident Holocaust deniers in Skypeland, visited a Skypeland forum to offer a few comments about 88 year old James von Brunn, white supremacist and accused Holocaust Museum gunman.

B claimed that von Brunn took rational and appropriate action; anyone who is older and at the end of his life should try to kill as many Jews as possible, to take as many with them as they can before they die. When I expressed some dismay at these comments, I was attacked and threatened and insulted repeatedly. B said that the news media was completely out of line to publicize this event, since "only a nigger was killed", so who cares.

B then complained bitterly that such museums would even exist in the US, since the Holocaust had taken place in Europe. Of course, judging by B's attitude, he would be glad to have an American version of the Holocaust on American soil, if he could arrange it.

B was also outraged that any government funding went towards this kind of museum. I was not aware that there was any government funding for the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, but when I checked I found out that the museum does receive federal funding, and is the result of a private-public partnership.

As disturbing as this event was, it had some value in exposing some of these attitudes which are just below the surface in many communities.