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In Reply to: Re: Maria and Peter's apology - don't they get it? posted by jo on December 01, 2003 at 16:18:31:
Just a philosophical question: Do you belive the Germans--as a nation prior to WWII--were collectively responsible for what their government did to the Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, etc., in the extermination camps? Yes, there were some Germans who subverted that activity and fought back. Many of them did not actively participate in the persecution and extermination. Yet, by their silence and unwillingness to face the truth about the "relocation" camps and what Hitler publically spelled out in Mein Kamph, those people passively assented to what was done. Should they feel responsible to say, "I was wrong to be ignorant, and I will never let it happen again"?
This is a difficult question, btw, because it also speaks to situation of mothers who are unaware and/or fail to protect their children from perpetrators. Such mothers are often victims themselves, and I wonder often how much responsibility they should take for exposing their children to the risks of which they were unaware--or perhaps aware, but felt powerless to challenge.
Still, there's a place inside of me that says ignorance is no excuse. Ignorance is the cause of much human suffering, and we must take some responsibility for the hurtful things we do out of ignorance. I don't mean condemnation when I say "take responsibility"...by that I mean, commit ourselves to grow in awareness of how other people experience the world and recognize the ways in which our action or inaction harms others.
Jo, I'm not trying to be difficult or confrontational. I'm posing these questions because I think you understand something that I do not. You've thought about this stuff deeply enough to have an informed opinion, and I respect that. If you respond, I think this thread should move to Journeys.
