Sachs' motives, respect for religious holidays

Reader comment on: Jeffrey Sachs at Occupy

Submitted by Emerich (United States), Mar 9, 2012 20:48

Frist--Camee Josh's comment implying we should give Sachs a pass because of his beautiful motives: his motives are irrelevant if Sachs's reasoning, actions, and influence are malign.

Second, this is the first time I can remember disagreeing with Ira, but I don't share your amazement or even disapproval at Columbia's insensitivity about scheduling an event on Purim. No Christians and--I'm willing to bet--few Jews can tell you what Purim's about. It seems to me comparable, perhaps, to scheduling something for Ash Wednesday or epiphany, two minor Christian holidays (I write as a gentile with both Catholic and Protestant ancestors). I would have sympathy for Christians taking offense at the scheduling of an event on Christmas or Easter, and for Jews if something were scheduled for Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur, but I think we're over-reaching if we expect much beyond that of those who don't share our religious beliefs.

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