OK forgive me for venting a little bit, but I don’t get this. A young fellow came on here because his class is studying the Holocaust, and since one option for a project for class was to create a diorama, he asked a perfectly reasonable question or two about the types of railroad equipment that would have been used and possible leads to models of the freight cars etc.
Instead of answering it, a few people voiced there opinion that this was somehow improper or in bad taste, and apparently the thread was deleted.
Yes if a kid came on and wanted info about modelling a concentration camp because he thought it was “cool” or because he was a neo-Nazi skinhead or something I would applaud it being deleted. But this was a very thoughtful post from someone genuinely wanting to learn. His questions were very reasonable, and ironically I suspect anyone who had actually lived through the horror of the Holocaust would welcome his questions and desire to learn.
After all, isn’t that the meaning of the phrase “NEVER FORGET” ??
I saw that thread, and wondered how long that would take. I was a little surprised that a school would have encouraged that project, but I agree, the thread, and the questions asked were done in a very respectful manner in my opinion. There are those who would not only like to forget the Holocaust ever happened, but also DENY that it ever happened, it was a sad part of mankind’s history, but should never be forgotten.
Oh please! Since the OP of that thread stated in the thread that he agreed it was likely a mistake to have posted the thread in the first place, AND he stated that he had no issues with MR deleting it, I really fail to see what the problems is.
Being one of the people who thought it was a bad topic for discussion all I can do is shake my head in wonder.
Considering discussions here, about the most mundane things can, and often do explode into flaming wars, how can you in good conscience complain that the thread was removed?
Since it was a part of History, and it was posted in a respectful manner, there was no need to delete it. IIRC, it had Auschwitz(spelling?) in the thread title, that should have been enough info to let you know what it was about, if you were likely to be offended, there was no need to open the thread and read it. Sticking your head in the sand doesn’t change the fact that it happened, and it should not be forgotten. There is enough unwarranted censorship on the forums lately anyway, no need to add any more.
If some had gotten out of line, then address those situations individually. How can You in good conscience, complain about a thread that you should not have opened? Read the title, and move on without opening the thread, it’s actually pretty simple.
Well, that was a surprise. I was typing out a reply to this post, and it went away because another reply came up on screen and blew mine away. I couldn’t recover the post I was preparing. So, here comes my $0.02 worth.
I wasn’t able to link into the previous post, so what I know of it is the original title and what I’ve read on this post. I have seen similar discussions on model aircraft websites, usually dealing with whether or not models of German (and Finnish) combat aircraft of the WW-2 period should have the swastika on them.
My feeling is that supression of debate like this plays into the hands of people like a cousin of mine, and the nazi supporting cultists who pull her strings. Don’t let people be reminded of what happened. Then, maybe sometime oin the future, we can gain power again.
You can’t run from unpleasantries. Nor should truth be supressed.
My own feeling, based on what I’ve read, is that the kid in question should have been given assitance for his school project.
I think a couple friends of mine, actually fathers of freinds, who were there, would agree. Especially one who passed away late last year, who spent a short time in one of the camps as a POW. He sometimes mentioned the nightmares he still had from the experience, over 60 years later.
There’s an old saying that goes “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. The same goes for those who choose to forsake history because they don’t happen to like it. History is no more than what it is. A record of what man has done. Just because you don’t like something that happened doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen. To try to hide from it’s truth and meaning is idiotic. Sure, you can cover it up, wish it never happened, but that will never erase the fact that it happened. There will always be someone or something that will remind you of it. Some of my ancestors were train robbers, not a fact that I’m overly proud of, but there it is. I was reminded of it on the History Channel in a documentary about train robbers including the Reno gang. Am I proud of it? No. Am I ashamed of it? Not really, but the fact exists that they existed and did what they did.
Gentlemen, whatever your opinions of the matter, the decision was made to delete the thread. Please respect the fact that our hosts have a set of rules, and that their view is that the thread was not suitable in this forum. As such, there isn’t much else to say, but to go on with other subject matter relevant to layouts and layout building. [locked]