An e-friend writes:
Jonah,
Comments such as those by your reader that say that if we could just “be around” those we “hate,” all would be “well.”
Doesn’t it occur to anyone that the Germans perpetrated the great mechanized slaughter against the Jews and yet they were, like, around them all the time? Jews were everywhere in Germany, in all the professions, academia, and even in government, such that people interacted with them everyday.
Oh, and weren’t all those slaveholders (like my ancestors) around black people ALL the time, and yet maintained a cartoonishly racist view of blacks? Or the segregationists who had black nannies and workers tending their offspring and yards, I guess they never interacted with any blacks day to day.
Or the misogynists, I suppose they never had any frickin’ women around, like their moms, sisters, wives, daughters, etc.
I could go on, but I’m supposed to be billing a client right now and I can’t while emailing you.
All laud and honor,
Me: Ah, yes, understanding as the balm of all wounds. I’ve written about that in a few G-Files, including this one.