My Apology to Goldenstein Wherever You May Be

11diplo_web2-master768Yesterday as my correction notes, as I occasionally do, I confused a name and wrote out one in place of the other. It’s something that happens. I’d prefer that it not but it does  especially when my editors are tired.

It reminds me of the time when I was cross-examining a witness in an arson case. He was presenting an alibi for the defendant suggesting that he remembered something because the day before he drove to Saratoga to watch the horse races. The Saratogo Race Track is in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Not being much of a horse racing fan I never heard of Saratoga. What I thought he said was he went to Sarasota. I knew Sarasota was in Florida. So I jumped into my examination asking “are you telling the jury you drove to Sarasota just to go to the track?” He’d say “Saratoga.” I heard Sarasota. I repeated the question adding emphasis to it while looking at the jury to show my utter disbelief in his statement. He’d say “Saratoga.” I’d hear Sarasota. This went back and forth for a bit. I’m not sure what the jury thought of my performance but I’m sure it wasn’t impressed.

Yesterday I wrote about the Comey firing. I talked about the memo Rosenstein sent. Twice I took quotes from other sources that had the name Rosenstein in them. When I was writing I use the name Goldenstein. Both I assume are considered to be Jewish names. I mixed them up. It wasn’t that I wrote the name Goldenstein and the memo was written by a guy named Richardson or O’Malley. It wasn’t because I was trying to emphasize the Jewishness of the memo writer because I don’t believe the name Rosenstein is more or less Jewish than Goldenstein.

The fact is that when I was writing the post the idea of Rosenstein being Jewish did not have anything to do with the facts.  Even now with the issue being raised I can’t see writing anything differently than I would have done if his name was Canata, Gendrolis, or Polska. So why am I even writing about this?

A guy who identified himself as Jonathan Starr with a harvard.edu address wrote this in a comment to me. “Are you deliberately confusing the names Goldenstein and Rosenstein in your post? Conspicuous in your constant maligning of the Jews in your posts, you are desperately looking for more Jews to blame or to ridicule.”

I wrote back to him: Wow. The anti-Jew card. I’ve been posting over 5 years. Show me any post maligning the Jews  What’s with you?  If I erroneously wrote Goldenstein rather than Rosenstein how is that anti-Jewish. How am I looking for more Jews to blame?  Do you think I am suggesting two people wrote the memo? For your information and perhaps to your dismay the idea of Jewishness did not even occur to me for the simple reason it is not relevant to the matter. You apparently think that it is. I don’t know you or your background but let me suggest it is people like you that make false allegations like you did who do damage to Jews when you take a comment having nothing to do with Jewishness and suggesting that it does. You must live in a very narrow world.”

I don’t have any idea who the person who calls himself Jonathan Starr is. He could be Crazy Red who used to go through the trash barrels in our neighborhood. I know I should ignore his comment.

I would but I did write the name Goldenstein instead of Rosenstein. I corrected that but I fear somewhere there might be a person named Goldenstein who may be bothered that I threw the name into the stew surrounding Trump. For that I apologize to him or her.

As for Crazy Red I’ve said all I need to say. Perhaps I should have ignored his empty comment. But there is an old adage that silence is consent. And I found his allegations offensive so I had to respond.

That left me with one question. How did I come up with the name Goldenstein? I don’t recall knowing anyone by that name. Then it occurred to me. Recently I read 1984. In that there was a character named Goldstein. I combined both names (Rosen and Gold) and came up with Goldenstein.

Which leads me to another question: “why does what is going on now with Trump remind me of 1984?”

8 Comments

  1. How many times in your life have you been called Connell or O’Connell or Donnelly or some similar Irish name? Would you immediately jump to the conclusion that the person who called you that is a racist? The person who sent you the comment is ill. Hopefully not Jewish, as he does no justice to those who are.

  2. So you apologized to a guy who doesn’t exist – Goldenstein. 🙂

    without going into too much background detail:

    There is an opera called Lieutenant Kije, based on a story that somehow, the Russian tsar thinks that there is a guy called Kije – but he really does not exist.

    Well, if the tsar thinks there is a Lt. Kije, then there must be a Lt. Kije, and people go to great lengths to fill in the blanks. The problem arises when the tsar wants to meet this now renowned hero.

    The bureaucrats solve the problem by telling the tsar that the renowned hero has died.

    To which the tsar responds – “too bad, he was a good officer.”

  3. Simple mistake, Matt.
    Forgive, forget and move on.
    Happy Mothers Day!

  4. Matt: It was a simple error. Nothing more. Happy Mother’s Day.

  5. The furor over the firing of FBI Director Comey and others also has a parallel in the Obama administration – the firing/accepted resignation of General Stanley McChrystal for the actions of his minions in their reported disrespectful utterances regarding the President:

    https://www.wired.com/2011/09/mcchrystal-network/

  6. The slanderer with the Harvard email address did not just accuse Matt of bigotry on the basis of a name kerfuffle he alleged a pattern of anti-Jewish writing. How does one counter such a libel? Having read this blog for some time I have never seen a single post that could reasonably construed in that way.

    There is a well known phenomena in psychology called projection. The gist is that individuals accuse others of the dark secrets within themselves. On that basis this frivolous accusation can be seen as the act of an anti-Christian Racist, the most under reported Racism in the world. “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

  7. Wasn’t there an all powerful deep state that spied on everyone in 1984? Brennan, Comey, Rice, Hillary and Obama seem to fit that mold more than the guy who is trying to drain the swamp. HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all.

  8. Matt:

    Perhaps you are recalling those characters from Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?