Althouse: "The management decided that it was a good way to cool people off on a very hot day. They said they were sorry if I was offended...""

September 1, 2015

"The management decided that it was a good way to cool people off on a very hot day. They said they were sorry if I was offended...""

"... and I told them that there is no way to apologize to the victims of the Holocaust."

30 comments:

Grackle said...: The Germans should build a little railway with WWII-era freight cars to haul non-Schengen passengers around Frankfurt airport.

False Grackle; 9/1/15, 6:21 AM
traditionalguy said...: They really need a line where those entering can be stripped naked ...after all it's hot.; 9/1/15, 6:29 AM
Hagar said...: This is silly.; 9/1/15, 6:41 AM
Anonymous said...: The tag is Germany, but the country is Poland...; 9/1/15, 6:50 AM
Expat(ish) said...: Does she object to the pavement and the water fountains and the a/c visitors center?

Good to know that Americans aren't the only special snowflakes.

_XC

PS -If you follow the link the picture that 'reminds' people of the showers couldn't be any more absurd.; 9/1/15, 6:51 AM
rhhardin said...: You'd think that victimhood would work the Islam connection today, not the Germans.

It suggests the lazy outrage or well-worn paths.

Maybe Islam is too touchy to offend.; 9/1/15, 6:57 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: Stop with the symbolism, please. Yes, the showers 70 years ago in Auschwitz were evil, but that has no bearing on showers in general today, jeez.; 9/1/15, 7:29 AM
CWJ said...: I'd like to second Expat(ish)'s postscript. These are not showers. They are misters.

You can react one of three ways. You can enjoy being cooled off. You can notice the superficial similarity and chuckle at what seems a tone deaf juxtaposition. Or you can be predisposed to outrage and stretch the facts to fit. Given that these are visitors to Auschwitz, I imagine an overrepresentation of the last group.

I presume the management either didn't have the funds or didn't have access to the more high-tech rotary fan misting devices I've seen here in the states. If they did this would never have come up.; 9/1/15, 7:46 AM
Tank said...: I wish they would, in general, STFU about the Holocaust already. It was a long time ago. The Germans alive today didn't do it. Teach it as history, but stop looking for a way to scream victim and act all butt hurt every day. God, I hate these f*****g Jews.

It's a fricking mister designed to keep you cool.

Everyone searching for their victimhood.

Tank (A Jew); 9/1/15, 7:54 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: ... and I told them that there is no way to apologize to the victims of the Holocaust.

There is no need to apologize to the victims of the Holocaust, they are not the ones taking offense.; 9/1/15, 8:06 AM
Scott said...: They are not showers, they are mist generators. This is an example of an aggreived minority struggling to take offense at any damn thing. The self-pity is appalling.; 9/1/15, 8:10 AM
Fernandinande said...: Record-Breaking European Heat Wave Forces Ikea to Take Meatballs Off Menu in Poland; 9/1/15, 8:27 AM
Peter said...: These appear to be the usual outdoor misters that are used to provide outdoor evaporative cooling, and in any case they're outdoors; they seem visually quite distinct from the gas "showers" which, of course, had to be in an enclosed space.

Although if an actual holocaust survivor were to explain how these things somehow related to the mass murders I think I'd pay attention.; 9/1/15, 8:30 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: High school gym class must have been a living hell.; 9/1/15, 8:54 AM
chickelit said...: Heidi Klum should apologize on behalf of all Germans and it go at that.; 9/1/15, 8:56 AM
tim maguire said...: I have two showers in my house. I had no idea that made me double-Nazi. They're coming out today. I may smell a little tomorrow.; 9/1/15, 9:13 AM
traditionalguy said...: The story talks about showers for the new arrivals on the trains. That was only true for the immediate death line of the weak and old or small children that were made to strip naked and then packed into locked " shower rooms" that had no water from the shower heads but zyglon B gas fumes. Only the line for slow death slave laborers got real water.

It is that gassing that is the icon of Professional Jew Exterminationists. That is why the Hamas today in Gaza also love to use gas on their targets and Syria like Saddam's Iraq pushed poison gas programs. Spraying water is ok.; 9/1/15, 9:14 AM
Jason said...: Bunch of douches if you ask me.; 9/1/15, 9:26 AM
The Godfather said...: "[T]he local Jewish community and Holocaust victims’ advocates indicated that they believe that the whole matter had been blown out of pro - portion, although they said the negative reaction was understandable."

I agree with the local Jewish community and Holocaust victims' advocates.; 9/1/15, 10:33 AM
Mark said...: Just who are the oh-so-sensitive snowflakes here? Because there are an awful lot of people here taking offense and whining about other people taking offense. Why not quit your bitching yourself?

So what if they aren't "showers" and are simply "misters"? To treat a death camp like a water park, with people laughing and frolicking in their shorts and t-shirts is OK??

Show a little respect. Beginning with your attire, then your behavior. If you think it is hot, then offer it up. Endure a little bit of suffering. See what it is like. Some people went through a hell of a lot worse. Maybe you can learn something from the experience.; 9/1/15, 1:18 PM
holdfast said...: Seems in slightly poor or odd taste, which could be pointed out in a reasonable manner. Instead we have a massive over-reaction.

I think the problem is the universities with their "______ Studies" programs - creating thousands of credentialled idiots (some of whom are actually natively intelligent, if woefully ignorant) who are trained to find offense and whine. That's literally all that they are qualified to do.; 9/1/15, 2:06 PM
Lydia said...: It was in any case a totally tone-deaf move by the administrators at Auschwitz.

If that photo in the article is any indication, some visitors need a little schooling on the proper decorum to follow at the site of a death camp, too.; 9/1/15, 3:09 PM
Rusty said...: Hagar said...
This is silly.

Yes, Hagar, very.; 9/1/15, 3:39 PM
Derve Swanson said...: Lydia said...

It was in any case a totally tone-deaf move by the administrators at Auschwitz.

If that photo in the article is any indication, some visitors need a little schooling on the proper decorum to follow at the site of a death camp, too.
------------------------

Sackcloth and ashes for all!
The non-survivors would be ashamed to see all of this smiling, laughing and giggling all these years later surely.

Did they suffer and die for nothing? For their lives to have meaning, the rest of us must never again laugh, smile or enjoy a cooling mist on a hot summer day standing in the open sun. It takes away from their sad sad memory.

Point taken, Lydia.
Save all the fun and games and laughter for Christmastime, say.; 9/1/15, 4:06 PM
Lydia said...: Sackcloth and ashes not necessary. But behaving at the least as one does at a cemetery wouldn't hurt.; 9/1/15, 4:43 PM
CWJ said...: "If you think it is hot, then offer it up. Endure a little bit of suffering. See what it is like. Some people went through a hell of a lot worse. Maybe you can learn something from the experience."

Mark, did you even read the article? It was over 100 degrees fahrenheit. People were fainting from the heat. Is that really what you want to happen? The misters were placed where the danger was greatest. Management put them up when it was hot, and took them down when it was not. Auschwitz is presumably there to help teach history, not relive it.; 9/1/15, 5:21 PM
CWJ said...: "If that photo in the article is any indication, some visitors need a little schooling on the proper decorum to follow at the site of a death camp, too."

Funny, all I see are smiling young people. I guess I missed the part where they were throwing water balloons. I'm sympathetic to your sentiment, but happy energetic young people are a repudiation of what the masters of Auschwitz attempted to accomplish. I view this as a good thing. The hebrew toast is "to life."; 9/1/15, 5:38 PM
Mark said...: CWJ -- that ain't nearly as hot as it was in those rail cars. And if it is all that bad, too horrible for people to take, let them go elsewhere, let them go to the pool instead and laugh and play there. After all, that is what they are dressed for.; 9/1/15, 5:55 PM
CWJ said...: "... and I told them that there is no way to apologize to the victims of the Holocaust."

And that ultimately is what this whole kerfluffle is all about. Had there been no misters, then the complaint would have been it was as hot as an oven. There was nothing anyone could do or say to satisfy this person other than to stand there and be the target of his outrage. I suspect that was his objective all along. He was going to go to Poland and deal out some righteous indignation to those anti-semites. Well, he got his chance and took it. I sympathize and completely understand his feelings, but I doubt it ultimately gave him much satisfaction.; 9/1/15, 6:02 PM
Nichevo said...: Look, I've worked with flash evaporation systems for outdoor cooling, HVAC optimization and other applications. It is a great tech.

But you could absolutely think of being gassed when you walk through it. The architecture of these systems requires care.

It's one of those things but I don't think the outrage was manufactured.

Besides, as Obama shows, it's not like #JewishLivesMatter.; 9/2/15, 7:24 AM