I agree with that George, and, further to your last paragraph, I find myself wondering why the one word that is conspicuous by its absence throughout this thread is "forgiveness".

Terrible things have happened to many groups of human beings throughout our history, and in all parts of this planet. This we all know, and for most of us they engender feelings of horror, regret, and shame.

Having said that, it is also true that none of us are responsible for the actions of people who mostly died before we were born. We can only look to our own actions in the here and now, and strive to find a better way to build relationships in the future.

Those who cannot let the past be past, and hug to themselves the bitterness and anger that they quite naturally feel, can be a major stumbling block to future unity. Alternatively they can choose to say "I forgive", and move forward.

When someone treats me badly, I CAN choose to hate him forever, but I choose not to, because I believe that doing so will damage me much more than him.

If one truly forgives, IMHO, one is less likely to perceive insult where none is intended. There will always be those few who DO intend hurt and insult to those they see as different, but I look forward to the day when the watchword is not "look what your ancestors did to us", but rather "look what we can do TOGETHER".

Don T.