Gentle Readers, I'm not doing a blog today, I'm asking for help on three things. If you are able to help you may either leave a comment or you can simply send me an email, daveandjoe@hotmail.com. I really appreciate any help you can be.
First Request:
I am working on a project, and have been for almost 3 years, and in doing research I came across this little verse. I would dearly like to know who originated the quote. I have found it on four or five web pages always attributed to 'anon'. If you know, I'd be thrilled.
The quote reads: I dreamt of heaven the other night, and the pearly gates swung wide. An angel with halo bright, ushered me inside. And there to my astonishment, stood folks I'd judged & labeled as quite "unfit," of "little worth," and "spiritually disabled." Indignant words rose to my lips, but NEVER were set free, for EVERY face showed stunned surprise, not ONE expected Me!
Second Request:
At Vita we are gearing up to really begin a campaign against the 'R Word'. Many of you remember the Words Hit cards that we produced around the time of Tropic Thunder. We've waited to have distance from the movie to begin, we didn't want this to be seen as a protest against words in a movie rather than words in the mouths of our neighbours. In doing some research we came across that wonderful speech by Soeren Palumbo against the word and in defense of his sister. We'd very much like to send him some of the cards. We found him on Facebook and to my surprise Manuela, our ED has a facebook page ... who knew? ... and she sent him a message on his page. We'd like, however, to send him a letter along with some cards. If you know how to get ahold of him, we'd appreciate it.
Third Request:
We are watching a box set of Holocaust, the miniseries starring Meryl Streep and James Woods, and in it there is a scene wherein James Wood's character, in a concentration camp was being taught what the various triangles meant, brown for Gypsy, pink for Gay and so on. Then the character picks up a white rectangle with the word BLOD on it, the O had two dots over top of it. He asks what it means. He was told that it was for the disabled, the morons, the unfit, he asks their crime and you know the answer. We've read a lot about the Holocaust and I've searched before for the symbol for those with disabilities and never found any reference to any such thing. The movie claims to be quite well researched. Does anyone know about this? Does anyone know what it means? I'm guessing from a bit of googling it is a reference somehow to 'bad blood' meaning 'unfit'. Any history buffs out there? Penny are you reading today?
For those who came for a blog today, I'm sorry, I'll be back at blogging again tomorrow, every now and then we need to ask for help.
HOPE I WASN'T A BOTHER!
I remember enough of my German to confim that "Blod" with the dots on the "o" means literally "stupid". It is used both to say something is stupid (i.e my young boys would say kissing is stupid) or in a nasty way to denote someone who is intellectually disabled. It would certainly be the equivalent of the R-word. I have never seen the triangle, but know there was one. I will ask around in my family if anyone has ever seen a picture...
ReplyDeletePS= The R-word is not much used here in Australia, but the S(pastic)-word is in general use.
Heike, thanks, it wasn't printed on a triange, it was the only one that wasn't (the Jewish star was made by overlapping two yellow triangles) it was just written on a white rectangular strip of cloth.
ReplyDeleteHi Dave
ReplyDeleteI just had a quick search for the poem and found a discussion about its origin here:
http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Soc/soc.religion.mormon/2006-09/msg00138.html
It seems that no-one knows really, and that there are several versions.
This might also help with the poem
ReplyDeletehttp://id.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080110032315AA2q36P
Wow...I'd love to help but I feel like I'm in a nightmare version of Jeopardy where I know none of the answers! ;-) I hope you get some answers!
ReplyDeleteIn the Holocaust, I think that people with disabilities had to wear black triangles, the same as "asocials" (a much larger group). But probably a lot of people were euthanized in the years before the concentration camps and never made it there.
ReplyDeleteIf true, it might be a good symbol for us with disabilities to take up, much as people have taken up the pink triangle from the Holocaust for gay rights.
From a Holocaust museum:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ushmm.org/research/library/faq/details.php?topic=02
It does look like there's some truth to the Bloed referring to intellectual disability(I add the e when I can't add the umlaut). I imagine a lot of people with physical disabilities were killed right away and didn't get the badges--I doubt they could have got around the camps. I wonder if people were hiding their grandmothers and friends with MS. Hiding people with disabilities isn't something I've heard about, though maybe the Holocaust museums could shed some light.
Sorry to keep posting, both the Holocaust and disability rights are important to me. Here's some excellent info about what happened to people with disabilities. Doctors were put in charge of the killings since they knew where patients were. That makes my blood run cold:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chairgrrl.com/DisabilityTimeline/holocaust.htm
FridaWrites the history of the holocaust in relationship to disability is also an interest of mine ... have you read By Trust Betrayed, I don't remember the author but he's a journalist with a disability - he traces the history of the killing programmes regarding disability in Nazi Germany, an amazing book.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read it--I think I am going to check out some books in this area. Just reading what I have has kindled my interest (and a few tears).
ReplyDeleteThere's an autistic woman with ALS who's being denied desperately needed services. She lives in Sudbury Ontario, so if you know someone who might be able to get her some services, please help her out. Information here:
ReplyDeletehttp://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?p=572
My hubbie is a student teacher and was doing a project on the holocaust last year. He stunned his class when he told them that under the regime our son would have been put to death. It really brought the horror of it home to them. I was so proud of him as usually these lessons do concentrate on the horror of what happened to the jewish populations without discussing the other holocausts of homosexuals, Roma and the Poles as well as the disabled.
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ReplyDeleteHi, this letter o with dots looks like this Öö. It's the last letter in the swedish alphabet. We've actually got three of those dotted letters; u v w x y z Åå Ää Öö.
ReplyDeleteI've an interest in the history of antisemitism, the nazi-regime and the holocaust. I can reccomend a book by Robert Jay Lifton - the nazi doctors; a study in the psychology of evil. isbn 0333453964
January 23, 2009 10:40 PM
I had to correct a word.
Your quote is From "A Book of Prayer" collected and compiled by Canon W.F. Shail
ReplyDeleteChrist Church, Dorset, U.K
Dorothy
please keep us posted on your campaign against the r-word and let us know about any materials that we can use in our efforts - for example, i'd love a good essay or article or something i could give to people that would help me convince them that it's not just a few hyper politically-correct types but a large segment of the English-speaking world who find this word offensive. dan savage, a progressive sex advice columnist and LGBT rights advocate here in the U.S., used it the other day in a column and i really, really want to believe that with a little education he'd expunge it from his vocabulary...
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