Do widzenia, Karol. Serdecznie dziękuję
Apr. 4th, 2005 07:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaunthieEven while on vacation, my husband and I could hardly remain unaware of the decline and death of the Pope. We aren't Catholics, but you could hardly miss the news, even if the hotel hadn't thoughtfully provided newspapers outside our door. I thought I had misremembered the media circus that attended the last papal death, although my chief memory of the event was my severe irritation that the TV stations had cancelled Saturday morning cartoons to cover the funerals and coronations (as I remember, we had two popes in almost as many months way back then). Judging from what my husband calls "Pope Death Watch 2005 (He's Still Dead)", if anything my memory falls far short of accurately remembering the fuss.
As I said, I'm not Catholic. Nor did I agree with a lot of John Paul II's conservative stances, although again, not being Catholic, I can't really comment on their theology (although I have quite a lot I could say about some of the epidemiological and social consequences of some of them - but that's another post). But I did read some of his books, and I did admire him for many of his accomplishments, his intellect, and for his obvious and genuine faith. Moreover, I was and am grateful to the man, Karol Wojtyla, for being so very Polish, and for everything he did for his country.
Being part Polish myself (like most Americans, I'm a nice hodgepodge of ethnic identities), and growing up in the pre-PC era, I remember being infuriated by the seemingly endless stream of "dumb Pollack" jokes. I knew better, of course; I certainly wasn't dumb, my mother certainly wasn't dumb, and anyone who thought my 100% Polish grandmother was stupid was going to get a very rude awakening in nothing flat - she's incredibly intelligent and intellectual. The jokes still stung, though. I remember those jokes tailing off sharply after his election to the papacy, and the sense of pride my child self had that a Pole had been elected Pope - yes, even though I'm not Catholic. The Polish jokes came back eventually, but never with quite the same virulency or frequency (at least in my hearing). And countering their return was a growing awareness that Polish could be cool, too; the Solidarity movement and the courage of the Polish people in the face of Communist oppresion was a more than effective counterbalance to the "stupid Pole" stereotype of the jokes. Having a red-and-white Solidarność pin was the apotheosis of cool for a while (I never did get one, and I still want one to this day).
So farewell, Karol, and thank you very much.
As I said, I'm not Catholic. Nor did I agree with a lot of John Paul II's conservative stances, although again, not being Catholic, I can't really comment on their theology (although I have quite a lot I could say about some of the epidemiological and social consequences of some of them - but that's another post). But I did read some of his books, and I did admire him for many of his accomplishments, his intellect, and for his obvious and genuine faith. Moreover, I was and am grateful to the man, Karol Wojtyla, for being so very Polish, and for everything he did for his country.
Being part Polish myself (like most Americans, I'm a nice hodgepodge of ethnic identities), and growing up in the pre-PC era, I remember being infuriated by the seemingly endless stream of "dumb Pollack" jokes. I knew better, of course; I certainly wasn't dumb, my mother certainly wasn't dumb, and anyone who thought my 100% Polish grandmother was stupid was going to get a very rude awakening in nothing flat - she's incredibly intelligent and intellectual. The jokes still stung, though. I remember those jokes tailing off sharply after his election to the papacy, and the sense of pride my child self had that a Pole had been elected Pope - yes, even though I'm not Catholic. The Polish jokes came back eventually, but never with quite the same virulency or frequency (at least in my hearing). And countering their return was a growing awareness that Polish could be cool, too; the Solidarity movement and the courage of the Polish people in the face of Communist oppresion was a more than effective counterbalance to the "stupid Pole" stereotype of the jokes. Having a red-and-white Solidarność pin was the apotheosis of cool for a while (I never did get one, and I still want one to this day).
So farewell, Karol, and thank you very much.
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Date: 2005-04-07 03:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-07 03:39 pm (UTC)