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Gentiles read Ann Frank's Diary and think "wow, what an inspiring tale of staying positive during adversity, how moving." Jews read it and think "this is who they took away from us. This is who they wanted to destroy. This is who we lost."

The point of sharing her story is not how inspiring she was, it's how abhorrent her oppressors were. It's not that she's exceptional, it's that she was a normal teenage girl, a child like other children, and someone hated her enough to torture and murder her and millions like her
There are inspiring moments in her story, yes, and it's not wrong to appreciate them and try to capture then in ourselves. But it *is* wrong to isolate them from the larger context. It is wrong to hold up the nobility of suffering as an ideal.
The suffering is a problem. We read her story to remember that the suffering was wrong, so wrong it's hard to fathom, and we must oppose the causes of that suffering in every way we can. Focusing on how noble the sufferer was undermines that opposition.
A whole lot of gentiles really want me to know that they, too, feel sad when they read it, and guys - I know you think it's sad, I don't think you're monsters. Many of you probably even imagine yourselves in her situation, what you would feel like. That's. Not. The. Point.
2 Maccabees Or Not 2 Maccabees
Not a Christian myself, but tired of Christian hegemony I accidentally started a Daf Yomi study server - see link below. Jewish | American | He/Him
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