Mats Norrman writes:

>First of all let me point out that Mr. Akima was talking about race
>theory in Wagner's WORKS, not in Wagner.  And that's a big difference.

Perhaps, but I think it very unlikely that a masterful composer wouldn't
put himself into his works.  Stating that Wagner was a disgusting
anti-semite is not a reflection of the quality of his music, just the
quality of the man.  And I am tired of hearing these flimsy excuses for
Wagner's views.

>...what I plead is that we can UNDERSTAND Wagner even if we feel we cannot
>always DEFEND him.  We do right in trying to understand Wagner, as he had a
>great demand for being understood by his environment (think of Lohengrin).

I'm not interested in Wagner's "demands".  And I'm not interested in
understanding why the poor fellow just had to "knock" the easy-target Jews
after his negative Paris experience.  What difference does it make why a
person is anti-semitic or bigoted? Once a person is known to be in that
category, it's time to watch your backside and protect yourself from such
stupid and mean-spirited people.  What Hitler did was just one extreme end
of bigotry; both he and Wagner had a similar mindset concerning Jews - use
them for self-serving purposes, then lash out at them and/or discard them
at the right time.

I think this is all pretty simple.  A person either judges other
individuals on a case-by-case basis or makes the judgements based on group
identity.  If the latter, you've got a bigot to deal with.  Wagner was a
bigot, and bigots are dangerous/hazardous to the health of a nation and the
world.  Matt can do his best to try to understand the sources of Wagner's
anti-semitic views; he can also chastise us for picking out certain
writings of Wagner which fit our own perceptions of the man.  I don't see
it that way.  When a jerk writes hateful things about a race of people,
he has to absorb the results while he is alive and his reputation has to
absorb them after he's dead.  Matt and the other list member whose views
are similar seem to want to minimize this negative aspect of Wagner's
personality because they love Wagner's music.  All I'm saying is that
one can love the music and detest the man.  Please don't minimize one
to protect and/or promote the other.

Don Satz