Hey, Look, the Abyss!

Years ago, in Germany, my wife and I waited

For a train to visit Dachau. So morbid, so strange

To be a tourist of genocide, especially as descendants

Of the Native American genocide. So morbid,

So strange to take a fucking train to Dachau, as if

It were part of the show. And, damn, how I laughed

And laughed when the train, due to arrive at 11:25 a.m.,

Arrived at exactly 11:25 a.m. "In Germany," I said

To my wife, "the trains should never arrive on time."

I have previously written a poem about being a tourist

Of genocide—about visiting Dachau—but I wonder

How the experience has changed. I imagine the tourists

Now take solemn selfies in Dachau. Though a few idiots

Must take smiling snapshots, too, as in, "Look at me!

I think genocide is an amusement park!" Hell, maybe

Genocide, dripping with objectification and commerce, is

An amusement park. And now I have to again laugh

At the oxymoronic concept of "German amusement."

Talk about a tough crowd. I spent a week in Munich

And Berlin failing to make Germans laugh. I know

￼There are funny people in Germany but I never met

Any of them. In a theatre with 300 Germans, I joked

About my fear of prompt trains to Dachau and nobody

Laughed, though one man stood and said, "Geronimo

And his Apache people were put on terrible trains

In Arizona and many died on the long journey

To Florida." And I said, "Yes, but it's the United States,

So I know those genocide trains were running late."

Nobody laughed! And, okay, maybe the joke isn't funny.

Maybe it's too morbid and strange. Maybe Germany takes

Genocide, and the fear of genocide happening again,

So seriously that it is impossible to laugh. Okay, okay,

I understand that, but didn't the Germans genocide

The funniest people on the planet? And now, maybe,

Some of you are thinking, "Sherman, you are trading

In racial stereotypes. Not all Jewish people are funny."

And to that, I say, "Milton Fucking Berle." I say, "Joan

Fucking Rivers." I say, "I think it might be permissible

To accuse Jewish people of inventing funny." And now

I remember Billy Crystal emceeing a fundraiser

￼For the Museum of Tolerance, and advising the crowd

To "never ask a Jew to be part of a pyramid scheme."

We all laughed. Billy Crystal laughed at his own joke.

"Sorry," he said. "That was new. I mean, the pyramids

Are old. But the joke is new." Funny, funny. I know

There are scientific reasons why humans laugh in the face

Of tragedy. But science isn't funny! Funny isn't reasonable!

Funny takes a shit on your welcome mat! So now I think

Of the German comedian, Jan Bohmermann, who mocked

The President of Turkey on German television with a funny poem

About "repressing minorities, kicking Kurds, and slapping

Christians." First of all, you're thinking, "German comedian?

Really?" Secondly, you're thinking, "Funny poem?

Really?" And, really, I cannot tell you if Bohmermann

Or his poem is funny. But I can tell you that he is now

Being prosecuted in Germany for mocking "a representative

Of a foreign state." The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel,

Had to give permission for Bohmermann to be prosecuted,

In a German fucking court, for mocking the President

Of Turkey, who was deeply offended by the funny poem.

￼Can you imagine Obama giving permission for me

To be prosecuted inside the United States for mocking

Angela Merkel and the President of Turkey

Inside this poem? Well, I can imagine Cruz or Trump

Prosecuting me for mocking Cruz or Trump

But I am talking about Germany and Turkey.

I am talking about Angela Merkel,

Who is kissing the ass of the Turkish President

So he might close his borders and stem the flow

Of Syrian refugees into the European Union.

What the fuck can I say about any of this horrific shit?

I'm powerless, as are all of you. But it does remind me

Of my time in Germany, as I kept thinking, "Germany

Is so paranoid about the Holocaust because they know,

Consciously and/or subconsciously, that they would do it

Again. And again. And again. And again. Depending

On the random spin of world events. Depending

On expediency." And now, here, I must point out

That genocide is always happening somewhere

In this amusement park called Earth. I think

￼Of Primo Levi. I think of Geronimo. I think

Of Syrians, Tutsi, Bosnians, Croatians, Maori—

Of the indigenous people from everywhere.

Too many victims to fully name and count.

So many, so many. I think of the Armenians

Genocided by the Turks. I think of how Turkey

Officially denies that they genocided Armenians.

Hell, you can be imprisoned in Turkey

For believing that Turkey genocided Armenians,

For stating that belief out loud.

And now I recall my evening

with a white American liberal woman—

The dinner with me was a fundraiser prize

For a local Gay Film Festival. That liberal American

Brought three friends to the dinner. And I also

Brought a friend as potential armor

Against strangers. But it was a lovely evening,

With great food and great company and great politics.

We talked about the continual oppression

Of gay people. And the white liberal woman, a straight ally

￼Like me, lamented the genocidal history

Of the United States. And I said, "Well, the USA denies

It genocided us Native Americans. In the same way

Turkey denies it genocided the Armenians."

And the white liberal American woman, suddenly

Enraged, cursed at me for vilifying Turkish people

And canonizing Armenians. She screamed

About the beauty and grace of Turkish people

And Turkish culture. And I said, "I have no doubts

About the beauty and grace of Turkish people.

I'm absolutely positive that Turkish people are

Beautiful and graceful. But I'm also absolutely positive

That, throughout human history, all manner

Of beautiful and graceful people have actively

Or passively participated in the genocide

Of other beautiful and graceful people."

Of course, that dinner ended soon after

Our argument. But I remained disturbed

For weeks. I couldn't understand why

A liberal American would defend Turkey

￼And its human rights history. And then I learned

That white American woman had married

And divorced a Turkish man. It was a good

Divorce. She and her ex-husband happily

Co-parented their half-Turkish children.

And then I understood. She defended Turkey

Because of love. And isn't that how it goes?

We think genocide happens because of hate.

And I suppose that's how genocide begins.

But genocide persists because of love.

Because genocidal people are so convinced

Of their own beauty and grace.

Because genocidal people are so tender

To one another that they couldn't possibly

Be wrong about their cruelty to others.

Because genocidal people have mothers

And fathers who love them. Because

Genocidal people look in the mirror

And see their ordinary faces. Because

The ordinary don't commit genocide.

Because it's only the epic monsters

Who commit genocide. But that's not true.

Who are the monsters? Well, shit, it's me

And you. And you. And you. And you. And you.