As a Jewish person raised by a (now dead) father who thought Israel could do no wrong, I guarantee you he would make some sort of justification of this.
I don’t actually blame my dad for that, he spent half of his childhood in London during WWII just waiting for the Nazis to invade and throw him in a concentration camp and then afterward found out half of his relatives were murdered in the Holocaust, so he had some big blinders on when it came to “Jews have to be safe and Israel is necessary for that no matter what.”
That’s a justifiably skewed perception. I’d assume honest pro-Israel commenters aren’t old enough to remember WWII, but it’s not unreasonable to imagine a sheltered upbringing by a parent with that perspective distorting the narrative to their child. I’m glad you took it upon yourself to learn the world outside of his opinions.
I’m sorry about your loss. Your dad sounds like he was a resilient guy.
it’s not unreasonable to imagine a sheltered upbringing by a parent with that perspective distorting the narrative to their child. I’m glad you took it upon yourself to learn the world outside of his opinions.
Thank you, it took me a long time to break free of it and I still have to check myself sometimes when I see a criticism of Israel from having a knee-jerk reaction to it. My dad was both a force of personality and a university professor, so when he told you something, it was hard to disbelieve him.
That said, it always seemed off to me even back then, the way Palestinians were treated. But you didn’t really want to question my dad’s beliefs, so I didn’t really talk about it.
I’m sorry about your loss. Your dad sounds like he was a resilient guy.
Thanks. He was, and I loved him, but he could also be a major asshole. Anyway, he died in 2016, so I’m way past grieving. Obviously, I miss him, but I’ve accepted the loss a long time ago. He lived to 85, which is pretty good for someone who probably spent five years inhaling god knows what in the air from bombed buildings, I’m guessing a huge amount of asbestos.
That’s a good run. It must have been equally valuable and intimidating to have a professor as a dad. I absolutely see why you’d have difficulty challenging him.
My dad passed when he was 48 from being a stubborn smoking diabetic. He was a hard right winger who used to laugh at people like my mom for protesting Vietnam. Teaching him about racism when I was young was an uphill battle.
I hear you on how mixed feelings of admiration and opposition can affect a child. He’ll always be a part of me, good or bad. I like to say my dad taught me a lot, sometimes it was how to be, and others it was how not to be. There’s always a lesson.
Sorry to hear about your dad. Losing him that early must have been especially hard. I was already long married with a kid in Kindergarten when my father died, so it was a lot easier to cope with that much support.
My dad also taught me a lot and for that I will be forever grateful. He was a film historian, so the biggest thing he introduced me to was movies, but he also introduced me to amazing authors, got me interested in science, bought me computers back in the 80s when they were a lot more expensive, and he was a die-hard socialist, so even though he wasn’t especially progressive when it came to Israel, he was otherwise progressive. Interestingly, even though he was incredibly critical of the U.S. government, he used to call himself, “British by birth, American by choice.”
So yeah, just like you, good or bad, he will always be a part of me. The one thing I have tried to not have is his level of anger. I try to keep my temper as much as I can, although I can definitely lose it, but he died angry and I have vowed I will not do so.
It’s alright. It was his choice to make. He knew what was happening and kept smoking in spite of it. That’s one of the “how not to be” lessons.
A film historian? Oh man how I’d have loved asking him questions. That must’ve been so fascinating.
Good choice learning acceptance and forgiveness. I gave my 20s to resentment. I learned at 30 not to give it another year. If I hold anger or resentment, I just hurt myself.
As a Jewish person raised by a (now dead) father who thought Israel could do no wrong, I guarantee you he would make some sort of justification of this.
I don’t actually blame my dad for that, he spent half of his childhood in London during WWII just waiting for the Nazis to invade and throw him in a concentration camp and then afterward found out half of his relatives were murdered in the Holocaust, so he had some big blinders on when it came to “Jews have to be safe and Israel is necessary for that no matter what.”
That’s a justifiably skewed perception. I’d assume honest pro-Israel commenters aren’t old enough to remember WWII, but it’s not unreasonable to imagine a sheltered upbringing by a parent with that perspective distorting the narrative to their child. I’m glad you took it upon yourself to learn the world outside of his opinions.
I’m sorry about your loss. Your dad sounds like he was a resilient guy.
Thank you, it took me a long time to break free of it and I still have to check myself sometimes when I see a criticism of Israel from having a knee-jerk reaction to it. My dad was both a force of personality and a university professor, so when he told you something, it was hard to disbelieve him.
That said, it always seemed off to me even back then, the way Palestinians were treated. But you didn’t really want to question my dad’s beliefs, so I didn’t really talk about it.
Thanks. He was, and I loved him, but he could also be a major asshole. Anyway, he died in 2016, so I’m way past grieving. Obviously, I miss him, but I’ve accepted the loss a long time ago. He lived to 85, which is pretty good for someone who probably spent five years inhaling god knows what in the air from bombed buildings, I’m guessing a huge amount of asbestos.
That’s a good run. It must have been equally valuable and intimidating to have a professor as a dad. I absolutely see why you’d have difficulty challenging him.
My dad passed when he was 48 from being a stubborn smoking diabetic. He was a hard right winger who used to laugh at people like my mom for protesting Vietnam. Teaching him about racism when I was young was an uphill battle.
I hear you on how mixed feelings of admiration and opposition can affect a child. He’ll always be a part of me, good or bad. I like to say my dad taught me a lot, sometimes it was how to be, and others it was how not to be. There’s always a lesson.
Sorry to hear about your dad. Losing him that early must have been especially hard. I was already long married with a kid in Kindergarten when my father died, so it was a lot easier to cope with that much support.
My dad also taught me a lot and for that I will be forever grateful. He was a film historian, so the biggest thing he introduced me to was movies, but he also introduced me to amazing authors, got me interested in science, bought me computers back in the 80s when they were a lot more expensive, and he was a die-hard socialist, so even though he wasn’t especially progressive when it came to Israel, he was otherwise progressive. Interestingly, even though he was incredibly critical of the U.S. government, he used to call himself, “British by birth, American by choice.”
So yeah, just like you, good or bad, he will always be a part of me. The one thing I have tried to not have is his level of anger. I try to keep my temper as much as I can, although I can definitely lose it, but he died angry and I have vowed I will not do so.
It’s alright. It was his choice to make. He knew what was happening and kept smoking in spite of it. That’s one of the “how not to be” lessons.
A film historian? Oh man how I’d have loved asking him questions. That must’ve been so fascinating.
Good choice learning acceptance and forgiveness. I gave my 20s to resentment. I learned at 30 not to give it another year. If I hold anger or resentment, I just hurt myself.