Grayson Apologizes To Anti-Defamation League

[masuki bance]

Rep. Alan Grayson has sent a letter of apology to the Anti-Defamation League after describing the health care situation as a “holocaust in America” on the House floor Wednesday.

Grayson, who is Jewish, first called Thursday to apologize to the ADL – a sort of national arbiter of anti-Semitism – and followed up with a letter Friday, which is the beginning of the Jewish festival of Sukkot.

Grayson spokesman Todd Jurkowski confirmed the contents of the letter, which were first reported by FOX News.

“In no way did I mean to minimize the Holocaust,” wrote Grayson. “I regret the choice of words, and I will not repeat it.”

But Grayson is making no apology to Republicans, who said they were offended when he said on the House floor Tuesday that the GOP’s health care plan amounts to “die quickly.” It was during a mocking apology to Republicans for that remark – when he used the term holocaust — that Grayson raised the ire of some of his fellow Jews.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/27860.html#ixzz0Sox8aDPp

[malaise]

1. a holocaust is not the same as

the holocaust. No one group owns that word.

[Xipe Totec]

3. I agree, but if it helps smooth some ruffled feathers, so be it

I would rather appease our friends than our enemies.

[Cha]

8. Very well

stated.

[BlooInBloo]

5. C'mon. The notion that he wasn't referring to the Holocaust doesn't even pass the laugh test...

Much better approach: laugh at it as a faux non-issue.

[TankLV]

18. oh please - it's like the word "gay" - until the Nazi's made such grand use of exterminations,

holocaust was a valid word for large carnage - and 100's of Thousands certainly fit that bill - even tho it doesn't come close to what the bush/REPUKE SUPPORTED and BANKROLLED Nazi's did...

[BlooInBloo]

21. (a) It's nothing like "gay", (b) The rest of what you said is pro-what I said, not you. lol!

[TankLV]

30. YOU are the one trying to condemn him for daring to use the word holocaust in this context...

WHEN IT IS ENTIRELY PROPER TO DO SO!!!

It is JUST like trying to vilify the word "gay" when it's a perfectly fine term - "gay" meant "happy" and the REPUKES and other idiot CONSERVATIVES are trying to ban use of that word, too...in case you haven't noticed...

[BlooInBloo]

33. "laugh at it as a faux non-issue." - I don't think "condemn" means what you think it means.

[Cha]

7. I know and Grayson probably

realizes that too but wanted to apologize to this Org.

This apology to the ADL highlights his not apologizing to the republicons.

[Dr Fate]

19. I agree with your take. n/t

n/t

[BlooInBloo]

2. For the contrast on how some - including the ADL - handle this, depending on who says it...

see Greenwald:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/08/06/republicans/index.html

[Cha]

12. So the ADL had nothing to say

about limpbaugh comparing Nancy and PO to hitlers?

I didn't see it if they did but did catch the outrage at moveon.org.

[Dr Fate]

4. Since we cant use actual vocabulary words anymore, how about "Death-O-Rama?"

The Healthcare crisis amounts to a calvacade of death! Step right up , Hurry, hurry!

LOL! I just find it interesting that we cant use certain vocabulary words, even if they are the correct ones.

Maybe he should just call it "chopped liver."

[virgogal]

6. I have a book titled "Holocaust" that was published in 1959.

It is about Boston's Cocoanut Grove Fire,and I bought it 50 years ago.

Should I throw it out? Am I offending someone by having it in my bookcase?

This entire brouhaha about the use of ONE word astonishes me.

[Dr Fate]

10. How about "Lotso Dead Folks." Has nice ring to it, no?

I realize that it is a phrase, not a word, and kinda dorky, but it's the best I can do.

Apparently 6 million people have to die before we can use the "cool" sounding words.

I can wait.

[goclark]

24. Definition of the word Holocaust

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/holocaust

holocaust
Noun
1. destruction or loss of life on a massive scale
2. the Holocaust mass murder of the Jews in Europe by the Nazis (1940–45)

[virgogal]

25. That's right. It can be used as a common or proper noun. The crazed

reaction by some has really astonished me.

[joeybee12]

9. So we can use the word lynching now according to so many here?

After all, no one group owns the word, and even if it conjures up a certain memory or historical perspective, that's not it's sole definition. And since Clarence Thomas said his hearings were a "high-tech lynching" that means an African-American man used it's ok, just like a Jewish man used the word holocaust and that gives us all permission.

[Dr Fate]

13. If someone actually gets lynched, excecuted, etc. why not?

If less than 6 million people die for an immoral reason, but it's still a LOT of people, then it's still a mass death, holocuast, death-o-rama, whatever you want to call it.

[joeybee12]

15. No, the holocaust was systematic...what you describe is genocide...n/t

[Dr Fate]

17. Insurance companies systematically & intentionally deny coverage and pull coverage.

And as a result, 44 million Americans die every year in a holo-err, I mean "death-o-rama."

I thought "genocide" was even MORE specific to a race than holocaust, but I'm sure we cant use that word either w/o upsetting all the couch fainters.

[joeybee12]

20. Well, for some people who lived through it and some people whose

families died in it, you should show some respect...your flippancy is, IMHO, appalling.

[Dr Fate]

22. Fine, What WORD or words do YOU want me to use then?

"Mass Graves?" "Killing Fields?"- I'm afraid those have been taken too.

What do YOU call it?

I'm not disrespecting anyone's family by correctly using a vocabulary word, or pointing out the ridiculousness of not being able to use certain vocabulary words.

[masuki bance]

23. That's a lot of people. nt

[cali]

32. 44 million? eek. shows how much you don't know. not. even. close.

and Grayson did the smart thing here. He defused a situation without removing any of the sting of his blast at repukes.

[Smarmie Doofus]

11. ".... some of his fellow Jews." How many is " some"?

>>>It was during a mocking apology to Republicans for that remark – when he used the term holocaust — that Grayson raised the ire of some of his fellow Jews.>>>>

My guess is "not many". And most of the "not many" vote republican.

[ddeclue]

14. NONTROVERSY - creating a scandal from something meaningless.

This is a NONTROVERSY and the R/W is using it to pick nits with Alan Grayson since he kicked their ass the last couple of days in the media. It's all they've got left.

Doug D.

[Uncle Joe]

16. I'm nominating the word Monocaust to describe

our profit over people system.

As we allow 44000+ Americans; to die or be sacrificed every year due to worshiping at the altar of the almighty dollar and the belief in a system that people or corporations having nothing to do with health care should have a right to profit from their death.

[sabrina 1]

26. I'm sorry he felt the need to apologize for using a word

that aptly describes the deaths of over 45,000 Americans every year as a result of being denied the means to live by their government.

The word has been around since the 15th Century, as clearly there have been many, many holocausts throught history.

Does the ADL not care about the deaths of this massive number of Americans, but cares only about owning a word, which they clearly do not own?

Because they have successfully distracted from the issue of these massive numbers of people dying and handed the rightwing yet another tool to use to distract from the point, far more important imho, that people are dying in increasing numbers while we allow this kind of trivia to take over the dialogue.

It IS a holocaust, 45,000 a year. That is over half a million people since 9/11.

And yes, I will await the ADL's objectins to the rightwing calling Obama 'Hitler'. Maybe I missed it, and if so, then good for them for consistency. But if I did not, then shame on them for helping to take away from the point being made by Grayson which is a life and death issue, not a linguistic one.

[Behind the Aegis]

27. Reactions to Rush Limbaugh's Obama/Hitler comparison

---snip---

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called attempts by some opponents of health care reform to bring Nazi imagery into the debate, "outrageous, deeply offensive and inappropriate" and condemned remarks by talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who compared President Obama's health care logo to a swastika, and policies championed by the Democratic Party to those of the Nazis.

"Regardless of the political differences and the substantive differences in the debate over health care, the use of Nazi symbolism is outrageous, offensive and inappropriate," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor. . . .

---snip---

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/08/07/limbaugh/

[goclark]

28. excellent ~

[sabrina 1]

29. Thank you, I had done a little research and found Glenn Greenwald's

article asking why the reaction towards Limbaugh et al was so different than when someone on the left, such as Move-on invokes Nazi symbolism to describe their opponents.

Good that they criticized the right also. I had not seen anything about this on the media so I will expect this incident to receive the same non-exposure. I am not that familiar with the ADL, I assumed it was not a political organization, but rather a watch-dog group to ensure that anti-semitism does not go unnoticed or unchallenged and from what I did know of them, admired their work. However, if they are seen to be more tolerant of the right's use of such tactics than the left's, they will lose respect and credibility.

As for the so-called 'liberal' media, there really isn't much credibility left for them to lose.

Thanks for the link ~ I hope this doesn't get more attention than the points Rep. Grayson has been making so effectively. That would be a real shame, but par for the course as soon as someone has the courage to say what needs to be said.

[anonymous171]

31. I would just say that I was "sorry if they were offended."

Works for the GOP.

[GivePeaceAchance]

34. I don't feel he had any bad intent in using the 'h' word, but if the apology moves the focus back to

his main message that's a positive.