Henry Goldschmidt eloquently analyzes the culture, actions, and reactions of two conflicted groups amidst a tragic accident. What is most ironic however, is the shared similarities between the two cultures, for both are considered minorities in society, racially for the Black community and religiously for the Jewish one. Additionally, these minorities have had a history of being victims of persecution, in slavery and the Holocaust, respectively. And despite the difference in religion, both groups ultimately rely on God for life’s hardships.
That is why it is so unfortunate that such violent prejudice arose as a result of the crash. The opportunity of cooperation enhanced by the shared sympathy of a history of pain has been wiped by the culturally distorted perspectives of each group. As Goldschmidt describes as the two cultures colliding at a cross, we see how the differences what each community accused to be a majority did not coincide and thus was lost in translation.
Occurrences such as these stress the need for people to try to adopt a culturally relativistic view to gain a better understanding of the various groups that coexist. It also displays the harm done due to the continuance of the culturally constructed, but actually mythical, racism. It is imperative that cultural and societal leaders take note of cultural differences when representing a population and to not be too swayed by the emotional strain developed from a combination of the past, present, and future. But all in all, I think it’s time that we’ve started recognizing each other as human.
