Response to Blog: Alyson Carey

Well let me just start at the beginning. I am so surprised that the concentration camp or holocaust survivor was actually getting his "number" that he received at Auschwitz re-traced via tattoo. Mr.Zmijewski should be arrested immediately because what he did was convince the man to get his number retraced. This is ethically and morally incorrect because you make this poor old man re-experience what he faced during the holocaust. The holocaust definitely was not a time or tranquility or peace but more of horror and what us Americans would call "a living hell". I honestly don't care if Arthur Zmijewski is an author or not because this definitely is not what anyone, by any means would define art as. Zmijewski is taking full advantage of this man and does not even know what the holocaust was like, even so being born in Warsaw,Poland does not make you an expert. As Ken Johnson (the author of the article) questions the ethics of Zmijewski he asks," Ostensibly, renewing the number is a metaphor about memory and history. We mustn’t forget the Holocaust and other catastrophes, or similar events are bound to happen again. Was this hackneyed lesson worth the price of a vulnerable old man’s peace of mind?". As anyone can see this man is not sure if he should have the artist tattoo the "number" onto his arm because the man clearly does not want it done. For example I feel that Arthur Zmijewski is just like a child that begs and begs constantly for his own way in anything, not giving up, thus being extremely persistent. He just had to be morally incorrect and does this man even have a conscience? On a daily basis this old man will never forget those horrific days that brought so much mental, social, and physical pain. I feel a tremendous amount of sympathy for him because many other Jewish Europeans could not survive the holocaust and were tortured against their own will. This old man symbolizes survival, courage, bravery, persistence, and perseverance. He should be honored on a daily basis not tormented, re-tortured by engraving his "numbers" back onto his arm, and respected, a quality that Artur Zmijewski lacks and must gain.