Dear Hans,
I guess that this comment of Jefferson would not have caused the same
furore if he had not already hijacked the list with controversial
positions about the Brexit a few months ago. He has come across as
someone who would seize any opportunity to use this list as a sounding
board for his personal opinions, however little connection they have
with German studies. The decision of the owners of the list has probably
more to do with this than with the 'N word' in itself, which just was
the last straw.
All best wishes,
Judith
On 2016-10-18 09:36, Hans Hahn wrote:
> Dear list members,
>
> I am rather puzzled about the furore caused by Steven Jefferson’s
> use of the ‘N word’. The use of this word with reference to Israel
> and the USA is obviously stupid, since it oversimplifies matters. But,
> as someone who has himself been guilty of exaggeration, overstatement
> and – yes – stupidity, I would hope that his offence will not lead
> to exclusion. Many of our much studied writers, e.g. Grass, Walser et
> al. have been guilty of publishing exaggerated and outrageous
> material, should we exclude their work from our studies? Maybe
> ‘Nazism’ was unique and the word should therefore only be used in
> historical studies. However, we witness again political and
> socio-cultural phenomena which are related, Trump may be one such
> case, nearer home there is Pegida or the Austrian Freedom Party.
> Surely none of us really suggest that we should not speak out against
> such movements?
>
> Hans Hahn, a very old subscriber, still attempting to be liberal
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