A Birthday Not Worthy of Celebration

April 20th is not a day that has significance for most Americans. But for a few students at JP Case Middle School, April 20th, 2010 did have significance. You see, April 20th is the birthday of one of the most reviled figures in history, Adolf Hitler. Several girls, who happen to be friends of my 14 year old daughter- who is Jewish- thought it would be funny to signify Hitler’s birthday through various postings on Facebook, Twitter and other online blogs that they use.

A post first appeared on my daughter’s Facebook Newsfeed. One of her friends status message now read “Happy Birthday Hitler.” Since this girl has 300+ friends on Facebook, all of her friends could now see her status. A second friend of my daughter said that she “liked this”, indicating her approval or amusement with what the first girl posted. The second friend then became a fan of one or more facebook pages commemorating Hitler’s birthday.

But the two above Facebook postings were fairly inocuous compared to what my daughter’s third friend did. Not to be outdone, and as the defacto “leader” of this peer group, she posted a picture of Anne Frank on a blog website called “Tumblr.” Written across the bottom of the young Anne Frank’s photo was a hand lettered “Happy Birthday Hitler.” My reaction to all this was close to rage. Here was a group of 8th grade girls, roughly the same age as Anne Frank, who hid in isolation from the Nazis until her eventual capture and later death in a concentration camp.

Aside from the general repulsiveness of commemorating Hitler’s birthday, the postings showed a complete lack of judgment and sensitivity towards my daughter and other Jewish kids at J.P. Case. The kids who posted this vile crap thought they were being funny and sarcastic. But to a Jewish person, the Nazis and Hitler are not a joking matter.

Think about who actually celebrates Hitler’s birthday today? Neonazi groups, such as White Aryan Resistance and other hate groups routinely hold public celebrations on April 20th to mark the birthday of the man they worship as their “hero.” Hitler is their hero, because he tried to rid the world of Jews.

I wonder how people would have reacted if these girls had celebrated Obama Bin Laden’s birthday, or maybe they can throw a party on September 11, celebrating the fall of the world trade center buildings? Would there then be some outrage?

These are the girls my daughter is friends with? They really have no clue. Safe within their suburban bedrooms, they sit in front of a computer for hours Facebooking and blogging such words of wisdom as “I need2 shower and do my homework” or “I hate everyone rite now” or “I really need to calm down and stop being so obnoxious...” Wow. Such literary presence. Are these our future leaders?

Below is a passage written By Anne Frank in 1944:

“I finally realized that I must do my schoolwork to keep from being ignorant, to get on in life, to become a journalist, because that’s what I want! I know I can write ..., but it remains to be seen whether I really have talent ...
And if I don’t have the talent to write books or newspaper articles, I can always write for myself. But I want to achieve more than that. I can’t imagine living like Mother, Mrs. van Daan and all the women who go about their work and are then forgotten. I need to have something besides a husband and children to devote myself to! ... I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met. I want to go on living even after my death! And that’s why I’m so grateful to God for having given me this gift, which I can use to develop myself and to express all that’s inside me! When I write I can shake off all my cares. My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived! But, and that’s a big question, will I ever be able to write something great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer?”

The answer to Anne’s rhetorical question at the end is of course, yes, as history defines her as millions of people have read her diary since its release.

I wonder if any of my daughters “friends” have even read The Diary of Anne Frank? I seriously doubt it. How can you have time to read when you spend countless hours texting, twittering and facebooking?

There is a final chapter to this story though. Offended by the Hitler postings, I confronted one of the girl’s mothers. Rather than ask her daughter to apologize, she wrote me the following:

“As for my daughters opinion on Mr. Hitler......We are very fortunate to live in a country that provides us certain unalienable rights, included in these are freedom of religion and freedom of speech! If it is offensive to you, then do not read it or turn it off. That is your right! Just because you do no not like her opinion does not mean she has to remove it!”

Really? I wonder how the school would react if her daughter posted the picture of Anne Frank in the hallway? Technically she is probably correct. However vile, her daughter can post antisemitic material on her blog. However, then I will exercise my right of free speech to expose her daughter as an anti-semite hater, who is insensitive to her friends and classmates that are Jewish.

Here is an interesting thought; Anne Frank’s birthday is coming up on June 12th. Let’s send all these idiots a message by celebrating Anne Frank’s birthday.

Saying goodbye to winter

April is a busy time of year for many of us as we transition from winter into spring. Aside from doing our income taxes, I start winding down my ski season and ramping up for cycling and bike racing. This year was a heck of a winter in the northeast, with several snowstorms in late February and early March that left people wishing winter would end. But I tend to hold onto winter as it's one of my favorite seasons.

Winter is a time when you can spend more time inside with friends or family, read a book sitting by the fire, enjoy a hot bowl of soup or cocoa. But you needn't spend your whole winter indoors getting lazy and fat- even if that is a programmed biological tendency for mammals. Winter goes by much faster if you spend more time outside. There are often gloriously sunny days during winter with cloudless skies and sunlight is a known antidote to the winter blues. Moreover, winter sports such as skiing, snowshoeing or skating will keep you fit and stimulate your body's endorphins.

And then there are the storms. For those of us that love this season, the excitement starts when those first flakes begin to fall and the ground gets covered in a blanket of white. Suddenly, the neighborhood becomes a silent, mystical place. Roads and walkways vanish into one extensive white landscape.

I do a lot of skiing during the winter. Some days were pure recreational ski days, others were driving my daughter to race practice. This winter we were fortunate enough to have some natural snow in the Poconos that lay in the trees between the trails. On a trip to Seven Springs, I found myself schussing through powdery moguls in Western Pennsylvania's coal country. It snowed there for four straight days as a storm system hung over the area during President's weekend. During the winter my daughter bonded with her racing teammates and I met a lot of people on the chairlifts and slopes. That in itself made all the early mornings worth it.

Now the snow is all gone and a lot of us find ourselves missing our winter friends and mountains. We will just have to wait anther 200 days.