"The Landlord" - Hal Ashby's 1970 Film Teaches and Inspires

Woody Allen in "Annie Hall", 1977

Turner Classic Movies has been featuring some amazing films during the annual "31 Days of Oscar" but to their credit they've also showed some unconventional and distinctly 'Un-Hollywood' movies as well.

Last night I watched "The Landlord" starring Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, Diana Sands and Pearl Bailey; with Louis Gosset and Robert Klein rounding out an excellent cast as well. This hilarious racial satire was also the amazing Hal Ashby's 1970 directorial debut and was produced by prolific director Norman Jewison. The story, based on the novel by Kristin Hunter, follows a naive and privileged young man named Elgar Winthrop Julius Enders (brilliantly underplayed by Bridges) who leaves his family's cushy suburban enclave to buy a building in Park Slope, Brooklyn. This is most definitely NOT the gentrified Park Slope of today and Elgar's initial plan to evict the black tenants from his building falls apart when he begins to become attached to the various characters and their lifestyles. 

While Hal Ashby is perhaps best known for directing "Shampoo", "Harold and Maude" and "Coming Home", I am a huge fan of his 1979 film "Being There" with Peter Sellers and many of the elements that are characteristic of his visual style, pacing and editing can be seen in "The Landlord". The film is way ahead of its time in terms of the unflinching portrayal of bigotry, snapshots of urban African-American culture of the early '70's and on-screen inter-racial romance. The culture clashes between Elgar and his domineering mother (played by Lee Grant) over race are hysterical, poignant and revealing; especially when they come face to face with the black residents of Park Slope.

So let me cut to the chase as I figure some of you who have bothered to read this far are wondering why I have a photo of Woody Allen when I'm talking about Hal Ashby. The reason I decided to blog about this film is because of one particular scene that stood out to me as emblematic of Ashby's skill as a film editor (he won an Oscar for editing "In the Heat of the Night") and made me suspect Woody Allen may have, shall we say, been quite inspired by it during "Annie Hall".

By the 2nd act of "The Landlord", Elgar has begun to loose patience with his parent's quaint racist attitudes and he angrily confronts his mother's prejudice by confiding to her that he's been seeing a black woman. Ashby cuts in close on Lee Grant's horrified expression and for a brief moment, it cuts to a scene of a tribe of African women in traditional costume dancing and singing in native tongue. The whole sequence lasts maybe 15 seconds but to me it was absolutely hysterical; and a brilliant way to use film and humor to illustrate how prejudice can distort thinking and perception.

For me Woody Allen's 1977 film "Annie Hall" is one of the funniest movies ever and in the same way Ashby uses humor to explore black/white relations, Allen uses it to examine his own cultural identity as a Jew who's more of an atheist constantly struggling to understand his own identity and place in the world. Like "The Landlord" one of the main sources used to examine anti-Semitism is a wealthy WASP family.

My absolute favorite scene in Annie Hall is when Woody Allen's Alvie Singer drives up to Connecticut with Diane Keaton/Annie Hall to meet her family for the first time. During dinner it becomes clear that Alvie is painfully self-conscious and that the Hall family are politely shocked that their daughter is dating a Jewish man. During the meal, Hall's grandmother doesn't say anything; she just stares at Alvie Singer with a nasty expression. At one point, Alvie glances at Grannie and dips his spoon into his soup; for a micro-second, Woody Allen suddenly appears dressed as a Hasidic Jew complete with the beard and hat as he sips the soup then it cuts back to Grannie glaring at him.

For me part of what makes "Annie Hall" a brilliant film, is Allen's choice to consistently break the 4th Wall and not only narrate the story directly to the audience, but also at times literally step outside scenes his character is in to talk about what's happening. In fact he confides his observations to the audience and calls grandmother Hall a "classic Jew-hater" then uses a split-screen flashback to compare and contrast family meals at his own house in New York as a child as his stereotypical Jewish mother argues back and forth with the relatives at the table as she cuts the father's food for him.

So I'm not accusing Allen of ripping off Ashby or anything. My sense as I thought about the two scenes and their similarities was that Allen was clearly inspired by the scene with Lee Grant in Hal Ashby's "The Landlord" and decided to employ the cut in his own script/film. To me that reflects the power of cinema, to both inspire and teach. And hopefully in the process, broaden our perspective by teaching us that it's okay for all of us to look at ourselves through a different lens and find the ability to laugh; even when the subject is as painful and uncomfortable as the racial and religious prejudice that's interwoven into the thread of American society.

Perhaps we have to embrace that before we can overcome it, what better tool for such a noble purpose than art?



    
   

 
 

Nicole Lyons Sets Her Sights on NASCAR

Nicole Lyons

Amidst the slew of depressing discussion about toxic Congressional dysfunction and the impact of The Sequester, I watched a pretty fascinating interview on CNN with aspiring NASCAR driver Nicole Lyons.

Lyons is one of the latest African-Americans (and select few females) making inroads into the exclusive male-dominated ranks of American auto racing.

She joined the cast of Speed TV's Car Warriors in 2011 and has  been attracting media attention for years as an accomplished and talented NHRA drag racer, but has literally been driving since she was 7 years old. Her father was the infamous and influential Los Angeles, CA street racing legend Jack Davis and she's been hooked on speed since she was 2 years old when he took her for an 11-second pass down the 1/4 mile strip in her car-seat.

Lyons inherited her father's love and knowledge of race car engines and in addition to her skills behind the wheel she's also an accomplished custom hot rod builder and owner of Cole Muscle Cars, a Sylmar, California-based car restoration shop staffed by female mechanics.

According to the CNN interview earlier today, Lyons isn't just content with being a successful businesswoman and car builder. After mastering several different classes of NHRA drag racers, she's been testing NASCAR race cars and is looking to make her mark on the nation's most popular racing circuit.  For me, a black guy who's always been into hot rods, racing and custom American cars, it's really encouraging to see African-Americans distinguishing themselves in the ranks of American motor sports.

Three months ago back on December 8, 2012 Paul Franklin wrote a nice feature in the Trenton Times on drag racer Antron Brown, who became the first African-American winner of a major auto racing title when he was crowned the NHRA Top Fuel World Champion in November, 2012. Like Lyons, Brown also had early exposure to racing from family members who were into the sport. The Trenton native was the son and nephew of African-American race car drivers and graduated from Northern Burlington High School in New Jersey and was the first person in NHRA history to earn titles in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle.  

On a day when Rep. John Lewis joined Vice President Joe Biden in leading marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in a re-enactment of the notorious march for voting rights on "Bloody Sunday" back in 1965, it's encouraging to see people of color making an impact and finding success in different segments of American auto racing. Change is exciting.

Bill O'Reilly Blunders Into Controversey Over Comments on Asian-Americans

As much as I would really like to offer up some kind of eloquent rebuttal to the unquestionably racist comments and bigotry-laden assumptions on the political leanings of Asian-Americans offered up by Fox News stalwart Bill O'Reilly, Hawaii Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa has already summed up the views of hundreds of millions of people across the globe.

Let's review: During his show on Wednesday, in response to his own bafflement that despite the presence of a large Asian-American populace, the state of Hawaii faces the very same social challenges impacting Americans all across the nation including financial debt, substance abuse and homelessness, O'Reilly offered up the ludicrous assertion that: "Asian people are not liberal, you know, by nature. They're more industrious and hard-working." 

If this ass-clown of a television host was an influential sociologist, he might just be dangerous. But since he can't possibly testify as to what millions of Asian-Americans think and believe, he comes off as ill-informed, dense and as detached from reality as Donald Trump. And as an increasingly irrelevant right-wing media pundit/wind-bag who's famously long on opinionated, cranky nonsense and short on logic or reason, he's just plain useless to a decidedly (and increasingly) multicultural society that's evolved beyond some kind of strange nostalgic desire for the kind of endearing cultural intolerance of Archie Bunker.

As Congresswoman Hanabusa astutely observed, "Leave it to Bill O'Reilly to thoughtlessly insult 1.3 million people with one sweeping misstatement." The rest of her comments are a spot-on summation of the growing disgust with his simplistic efforts to paint easy-to-digest stereotypes over a diverse Asian-American culture that spans a broad range of nationalities, religions, beliefs and perspectives.

Sadly, Asian-Americans have long been used by conservatives in the US to justify outmoded beliefs and prejudices about non-whites in this nation. From disenfranchised Chinese-Americans workers building canals and railways alongside other Americans under horrendous labor conditions, to loyal American citizens of Japanese descent being herded into concentration camps during World War II (which never happened to German-Americans or Italian-Americans...) Asian-Americans have long been used by conservatives to inspire fear, loathing, jealously, patriotism or loyalty depending upon the need to scapegoat or hold up as a "model minority" in a deceitful effort to malign other minorities in the US.

As if detached conservatives like O'Reilly use Asian-Americans to serve a duel purpose in the US; to inspire either racial fear or hatred. Case in point: hopelessly confused self-hating Filipino and right-wing extremist media pundit Michelle Malkin's book 'In Defense of Internment: The Case for Racial Profiling in World War II and the War on Terror' defending America's imprisoning of Japanese citizens. Or by projecting sweeping generalities and positive "super-attributes" about Asian-Americans (all Asian-Americans are great at math, great students) to subtly justify bigotry or prejudicial beliefs against other minorities; as in O'Reilly's misplaced use of code words like 'industrious' and 'hardworking' as a not-so-subtle indirect attacks against Hispanics and African-Americans.

But don't take my word for it, I just watched former 'Star Trek' actor George Takei on television being interviewed on MSNBC's 'Ed Show' in response to O'Reilly's detached ramblings; the man who brilliantly played 'Mr. Sulu' on the deck of the U.S.S. Enterprise is even more offended by O'Reilly's statements than I am.

And he rightfully pointed out that not only did an overwhelming majority of Asian-Americans cast their votes for President Obama in the 2012 elections (73% according to some polls, so much for O'Reilly's "Asian people are not liberal" theory...) , the most influential Asian-American politicians (including the recently passed and well-respected Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii) in the US have been Democrats and tend to align themselves with liberal agendas and political objectives; begging the question so many of us have asked before - what the hell is Bill O'Reilly talking about?

Jon Gruden's "Beast" Comment Reflects Disparities in Media Coverage of Black Athletes

ESPN football analyst Jon Gruden

Like millions of other Americans I spent the first day of 2013 nursing a hangover and watching college football; caught a good game between #10 South Carolina versus #18 Michigan in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida.

But listening to ESPN football commentator Jon Gruden analyze South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney gave me a bit of a headache that had nothing to do with the Stoly and tonics I drank last night.

Clowney is African-American, in the first quarter while previewing the key player match ups, Gruden, attempting to convey the 6'6" 256-pound player's incredible talent, offered this three word analysis, "He's a beast."

Seemingly innocent comments like that, often said in front of millions of viewers during moments of passion and excitement, bother me as a former college and professional football player; and as a person of color.

Calling a young man a "beast", even though Gruden obviously intended it as a compliment, tends to have the unintended effect of dehumanizing Jadeveon Clowney to a degree, reinforcing myths of inherent physical superiority and minimizing the intelligence, exhaustive mental and physical preparation and skill required to perform at that level.

 Over the years I've watched enough football and basketball games to credibly make the observation that television sports color commentators and analysts who use adjectives like "beast", "animal" or "monster" to describe a player, tend to use those kinds of simplistic animal metaphors to describe African-American athletes much more so than white or Hispanic athletes. Conversely, comments about white players tend to revolve around assumptions about inherent mental superiority; for example a white quarterback makes a good pass and he's "got a good head on his shoulders" or is a "very smart player."  

I've lost count of the number of times an African-American basketball player blocks a shot, or a linebacker makes an intense tackle and the very first thing out of the color commentator's mouth is, "This guy is an animal!" Now I'm not suggesting the "beast" comment Gruden made was racist, but I do think it reveals and reinforces some unconscious, very old and deeply ingrained assumptions and myths about black physicality and black athletic performance that many Americans (especially sportscasters) unknowingly perpetuate.

Like race in America, sports broadcasters and the way they cover and talk about black athletes is a very complex issue as evidenced by infamous career-ending verbal gaffes by Jimmy the Greek and Howard Cosell. Or much more recently the media controversy created by ESPN "First Take" co-host Skip Bayless's moronic observations about Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin, III; or Terry Bradshaw's idiotic "bucket of chicken" comment which I blogged about recently.

But let's focus on Gruden's comment for a moment. Now I generally like Gruden as a color football analyst, he's got a decent sense of humor and he offers some valuable insights into the game. I don't think he's a racist or anything, but what exactly is going on in his mind when he comes up with the word "beast" to try and describe Jadeveon Clowney? Is he referencing his physical stature, his hard-hitting style of play, or something else?

Clowney is certainly an imposing presence on the field, but he also made an impact last season as a freshman in the SEC (Southeastern Conference) the toughest athletic conference in Division I college football. Not only was he the first freshman defensive lineman to start at South Carolina since 2007, Clowney was selected as the 2011 SEC Freshman of the Year, second team All-SEC, honorable mention All-American for SI.com, was selected to numerous Freshman All-America teams and was the only freshman in the SEC to be in the top ten leaders in sacks (8.0) in 2011. This year as a sophomore he won the Ted Hendricks Award which recognizes the nation's top defensive end; which analyst Desmond Howard noted over on ESPN's sister channel ABC during the half-time show.

Does that sound like a young man you would describe as a "beast"?

Or does it sound more like a committed student-athlete who's spent countless hours in the gym strengthening his body, hours studying game preparation film to analyze his opponents and critique his own practice tapes in order to become a better player? Not once did I hear Jon Gruden credit or mention the University of South Carolina's defensive line coach Brad Lawing; a man with 17 years of coaching experience who's a big part of South Carolina having back to back 11-win seasons and has clearly helped Clowney develop into the player he is.

Did Gruden bother to mention that Clowney was the nation's consensus top high school recruit as a senior? Nope, he pretty much summed up Jadeveon Clowney as a "beast".

Interestingly enough during the very same game a University of Michigan linebacker named Jake Ryan (a white player with long blond hair streaming out of his helmet) cut across the field and made a nice tackle, Gruden lavished him with praise too. But he didn't call him an "animal" or a "beast". Noting Ryan's outstanding play Gruden said admiringly of the Michigan sophomore, "Jake Ryan is a fine player from St. Ignatius High School in Ohio, I know exactly what kind of stock he comes from."

Jon Gruden's comments are neither unique, uncommon or unexpected. I conclude my first blog of 2013 with an excerpt from the forward of a fascinating paper written by Emily Plec, a faculty member of the Western Oregon University Communications Studies department entitled:
 "The Great White Hype:Rhetoric and Racial Biology in the Coverage of the 1968 Olympic Protest"

Plec observes:
"Since the 1950's, U.S. Americans have experienced a substantive shift in public discourse about racial identity, difference, and inequality. Despite those changes, popular ideas about inherent African-American physical prowess continue to demonstrate, and likely reinforce, racist thinking and rhetorical practices. Such discourses contribute to the production of racism in three major ways: (a) by essentializing difference in racial terms, (b) by alluding to a "law of compensation" in which physical ability is juxtaposed with mental acuity, and (c) by utilizing dehumanizing animal metaphors."

Tea Partier Tim Scott Appointed to US Senate as Spielberg's 'Lincoln' Paints a Different Portrait of the Republican Party

Rep. (now Senator) Tim Scott (R-SC)

I finally got to go see the movie 'Lincoln' last night, what a vivid examination of a pivotal moment in American history; exceptional film making, great script and an amazing cast.

I think there are some fascinating and very relevant parallels between Steven Spielberg's brilliant portrayal of the intense philosophical/political debates surrounding the passage of the 13th Amendment banning slavery, the current identity crisis facing the Republican party and the growing cries for more assertive gun control legislation.

Enter newly-appointed Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley's decision on Monday to appoint conservative Congressman and Tea Party poster boy Tim Scott to replace Senator Jim DeMint certainly represents a watershed moment for the GOP, but it's also historic for the nation as a whole.

The 47 year-old Scott, who rose from poverty in North Charleston, SC to become a prominent hard-line conservative member of the House of Representatives, is the first African-American Senator from a southern state to join the US Senate since Mississippi Republicans  Hiram Rhodes Revels (who served from 1870-1871) and former slave Blanche Bruce (who served from 1871-1885) as part of the wave of 23 black Congressmen elected during the Reconstruction Era beginning with John Willis Menard of Louisiana in 1868. 

While Haley rightfully and enthusiastically asserted Scott's qualifications for the Senate seat, in terms of political strategy the move is no surprise in the wake of the pasting the GOP took in the last Presidential election amongst African-American, Hispanic and Asian voters. With a stunning 90% of black Americans casting their votes for President Obama (and overwhelming Hispanic and Asian votes as well) this past election was as much a warning as a wake-up call for today's Republican party.

It's hard to ignore the ties between the historic significance of Scott's election to the Senate and the lofty dialog between politicians debating a post-slavery America in 1865 in  'Lincoln', which interestingly enough, is in nationwide release at the very moment the Republican party is reeling from it's unwavering support of the NRA in the wake of the shootings in Newton, the ongoing battle over raising taxes on the wealthy and the impending fiscal cliff in Washington.

Spielberg scores not just with a revealing portrait of Abraham Lincoln, but by carefully reminding his audience that the Republican party weren't always characterized by the ideologically rigid, culturally intolerant extremists who control today's GOP.

In this nation it was Republicans who were once the ones who fought tooth and nail for passage of an Amendment to the Constitution that would outlaw slavery and establish the difficult pathway towards citizenship and equal rights for the millions of African-Americans struggling to escape the horror of generations of indentured servitude in this nation.

In the same way Republicans in the late 1860's and early 1870's sent black Congressmen and Senators to Washington as duly elected representatives of the people in an effort to cement the gains won by hundreds of thousands of Americans during the Civil War, I get the sense today's GOP leaders looked at the results of the 2012 Presidential elections and quietly decided there's no future in being a political party that cannot appeal to and serve ALL Americans.

Maybe (just maybe), in the appointment of African-American Congressman Tim Scott to one of the two US Senate seats of South Carolina, (the very state where the first shots were fired by the Confederacy against Union forces entrenched in Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 to begin the Civil War), there are voices within the Republican leadership seeking to reconnect the GOP to it's roots as the Party of Lincoln as it was once known.

Is it possible the appointment of Scott signals the start of a different kind of battle for the soul of the Republican party? Maybe. There's no question that right now the GOP itself seems enslaved; to Grover Norquist, the NRA, to the rejection of science and reason; to an ideology that seems increasingly out of step with mainstream Americans.

No matter how conservative you are politically, it's got to be hard to reconcile the party that once led the fight to pass the 13th Amendment with the slew of intolerant polarizing extremists like Rush Limbaugh, Dinesh D'Souza, Pat Buchanan, Donald Trump or even some of the Senators who will serve with Tim Scott that define today's Republican Party.     

Maybe somewhere, the great American statesman and Congressman Thaddeus Stevens is allowing himself just an inkling of hope that what once was might someday come to pass again; and the nation will be the better for it.

Unanswered Questions After Newton Shootings - Silence from the NRA

Newton, Conn. elementary school shooter Adam Lanza

I'm not the only one having a hard time getting my mind around the children and adults gunned down in a senseless act of moral depravity in Newton.

Frankly I'm just tired of being "shocked and saddened" over the horrifying slaughter of innocent people by gun violence. Aurora, Virginia Tech, Newton...how long do we keep adding the names of these towns and places and the innocent victims of these sick individuals who use illegally obtained guns to murder people?

My good friend "FK" just forwarded me an e-mail with a link to the blog of investigative reporter Jon Rappoport. In a December 15th post titled, Lanza, Bloomberg, Obama, Guns, Psychiatric Meds and Mass Hypnosis: the TV Script, Rappoport takes the mainstream TV media to task for lulling viewers into a state of hypnotic sense of numb helplessness by trying to "make sense" of this tragedy without using the power, reach and influence of the media to ask the really hard questions that lie at the core of 20-year old Adam Lanza's murder of children (six and seven year-olds) and adults at an elementary school.

Rappoport questions why the media aren't asking Lanza's physician what kinds of drugs he may have been taking for the well-documented behavioral problems stemming from his Asperger's Syndrome and whether or not that played into his decision to shoot his mother in the face then proceed to the Sandy Hook Elementary School and gun down 20 children and 7 adults.


Why have mainstream media outlets been largely absent on the issue of gun control in this nation? 
 
I watched the President speak last night but in the subsequent analysis by television news hosts and reporters, I saw very little discussion about the killer's mother and what role her delusional doomsday scenario obsessions, survivalist tendencies and decision to keep five weapons (including an assault rifle) in the house played in this event.

Obviously it's still early to reach conclusions. But the UK's Daily Mail Website seems to be one of the few news organizations asking the harder questions about Adam Lanza's mother Nancy and how her stockpiling of food, water, weapons and ammunition, her apparent beliefs that civilized society was coming to an end, as well as her choice to teach a child with a mental condition how to use weapons may have contributed to this unspeakable horror.

Of course the NRA, the gun manufacturers who bankroll them and their supporters on Capitol Hill in the House and Senate are not just silent on this issue; they're absolutely no where to be found. No Senator or Congressman who supports the NRA would even appear on any of the Sunday Morning news talk shows.

What's the reaction of the NRA, which has fought even the most basic kinds of restrictions on background security checks for people who buy guns and also fought the assault weapons ban?

They took down their Facebook page and it's Twitter account is silent. Their silence tells you just about all you need to know about their opposition to the need for stricter gun control laws in this nation. As the President said, enough is enough; we've got to have meaningful change.

It's almost 2013, isn't it past time the Supreme Court re-evaluated the definition and language of the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution drafted in the 1700's when we had no standing army and people used flintlock rifles to defend themselves against the British Army?

Jet Magazine Makes Headlines Featuring 1st Gay Male Newlywed Couple

I saw an interesting short piece on MSNBC this morning about Jet Magazine featuring Ravi Perry and Paris Prince as the first gay male African-American couple to appear in the magazines 'Weddings' section.

While Jet has featured same sex female couples in their 'Weddings' section before, I think a male black gay couple appearing there represents an important cultural gauge in light of recent conversations and national debate on same-sex marriage that have been increasingly frequent in the mainstream media with the Supreme Court set to rule on Federal cases in New York and California that could establish the right for same-sex couples in the US to marry.

Personally speaking, Jet featuring a simple photo reflects evolving views on the acceptance of same-sex marriage in America. Too often in this country the African-American perspective tends to get lumped into a rather narrow expression of "black conventional wisdom" that doesn't really take into account the enormous diversity of opinion that exits in contemporary black society. 
 
We're decades past the days when Jesse Jackson sitting on a television news program with an earpiece on "explaining how blacks feel" could sum up the African-American perspective with a couple quotes. While there is certainly a wide range of opinion on the acceptance of same-sex marriage among African-Americans, there's no doubting the enduring popularity and relevance of Jet Magazine as a solid snapshot on black culture and entertainment.

For well over a century barbershops and beauty parlors that cater to primarily African-American clientele have served as more than just a place where people of color can go to "get a cut". These small community institutions found in just about every corner of the nation have long functioned as unofficial community centers where one can go to catch up on local news and gossip, swap stories, hear a good joke or get the latest on what's happening in the local black community.

One common touch sure to be found amongst all these small businesses are plenty of copies of Jet, Ebony or Black Enterprise. While I never picked up a copy of Jet for extensive world analysis, it was always a fun, lighter read to leaf through where one could read stories about the lives of leading African-American celebrities and important figures from the world of business or politics; or sometimes just regular people. Jet still boasts a respectable monthly circulation of 700,000 according to the MSNBC report I saw, but it holds a special place in the black American community.

I got my first haircut at Jimmy's Barbershop located at 141 John Street which used to be located at the heart of what was the African-American community in Princeton. The owner Jimmy Mac, who left the Navy and opened the shop in 1954, was known unofficially as the "Mayor of John Street" and you could learn a lot about life and the community by just sitting there listening to him as he cut hair and held court. Sitting in one of the hard-to-find chairs in his small shop while waiting patiently for a haircut always offered time to pick up an old copy of Jet; and I'm certain I'm not the only guy who quickly leafed through the pages to check out the "Jet Beauty of the Week".

It's going to be months before the Supreme Court rules on same-sex marriage, but as more and more conversations about people's right to marry who they want take place across this nation in the media and in private, Jet's decision to feature a gay male black couple in the 'Weddings' section suddenly makes it even more relevant; a snapshot of a shifting perspective. Not just in the African-American community, but in the mindset of many Americans who understand that our concepts of family, marriage and individual rights are changing with the times.   

Beate Zschäpe - The Face of the National Socialist Underground in Germany

Beate Zschäpe was recently charged in Munich

German efforts to reconcile with the horrors and tyranny of the Third Reich, the rise of Adolph Hitler and the National Socialist (Nazi) Party, it's role in the Holocaust and plunging the globe into World War II are monumental in scope; a daunting task that is still ongoing almost 70 years since the end of the most destructive war in modern history.

The difficulty became even more apparent in November of 2011 when a botched bank robbery in the German town of Eisenach turned out to be the work of the Nationalist Socialist Underground or NSU; a little-known violent right-wing neo-Nazi faction. When police found the two robbery suspects Uwe Bonhardt and Uwe Mundlos dead of self-inflicted gunshot wounds in a mobile home, they also found a pistol belonging to murdered policewoman Michele Kiesewetter and a horrifying truth began to unravel.

The two men along with a woman named Beate Zschäpe were the core members of a ultra nationalist terrorist group determined to use murder to scare foreigners out of the country. Between 2000 and 2007, the three of them murdered eight Turkish immigrants, one Greek immigrant and the policewoman Kiesewetter in towns across Germany. 

According to a recent article in Der Spiegel, the year-long investigation into the murders that led to Zschäpe being charged have uncovered some unsettling lapses in domestic German law enforcement and intelligence that have left the majority of the nation shocked and confused.

It has led to a number of resignations of high security officials. For example, Heinz Fromm, president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution resigned back in July not long before it was revealed members of his own staff had destroyed documents that might have implicated them in the murders. A number of German law enforcement personnel have come under scrutiny and suspicion for being more than sympathetic to the NSU's xenophobic ideology.

An article in the November 24th issue of The Economist magazine alleges that German authorities spent years focusing their investigations of the murders of Turkish immigrants on members of the Turkish community (even members of the victims own families) rather than considering the neo-Nazi underground movement as suspects. As if Turks would detonate a nail bomb on a busy street lined with Turkish shops as the NSU did on a Cologne street in 2004. 

According to sources cited by Wikipedia an agent for the Hessian State Office for the Protection of the Constitution known only as "Andreas T" was present in a cafe in 2006 when the NSU killed the Turkish owner. Andreas T was known in his hometown by the nickname "Little Adolph" and was known to be open about his extremist political views. 

Part of what has left many in Germany outraged and confused about these killings is how so many different levels of the law enforcement institutions within the country (both local and national) could not have suspected the NSU much earlier. After all Germans tend to crack down hard on any kind of neo-Nazi activity; flying the Swastika is a serious crime.

I've been to Berlin twice and you're not even supposed to talk about Nazis in bars or restaurants. Doing so will get you cold stares from Germans seated nearby; total strangers will politely tell you it's not permitted to discuss such things in public.

As recently as 2011, officials in the town of Wunsiedel, Germany tired of being linked with extremists, exhumed the remains of Hitler's deputy Rudolph Hess and removed the headstone because his grave had become a shrine for neo-Nazis. In the years since the reunification of Germany, the nation has worked hard to stamp out the last vestiges of the Nazi Party and take responsibility for the extermination of millions of Jews, Poles, eastern Europeans and enemies of the Third Reich in the concentration camps scattered across the central and eastern Europe.

The trial of Beate Zschäpe and other members of the NSU demonstrates the unsettling reality that there remains a sympathetic element within Germany for Nazi ideology and the use of violence to "cleanse" the nation of those deemed unfit to be there. According to the Economist article, 7.3% of the West German population subscribe to right-wing political views based on research by the Frederich Ebert Foundation; 15.8% in Eastern Germany where the NSU trio lived under assumed names for years.

It's an unsettling trend no matter which way you look at it, especially given the country's past. But remember, such beliefs and acts are not restricted to Germany. That mindset exists here in the US and across Europe too. While it's a sad reminder during the Hanukkah holiday, I think it's important not to forget what often lies just beneath the surface.