Jews survived by being useful
Hard to reduce an intellect like Frankel to a short phrase, I'd have said those Jews who survived did so through concentration, with a positive attitude, on the positives of their future. Clumsy wording, too long, and no matter. I'd be accused of antisemitism or racism if I said that about slavery. By people who know Frankel only as the owner of a Kosher deli (no, didn't own one)
“Jews survived by being useful”
Those that did survive, that is how they did it.
Viktor Frankel did, and his philosophy is praised by Stephen Covey in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe honored him, too. In a nutshell, Frankel believed that the only thing one can control is how one reacts to what happens in life. Since he was a famous scholar, this was praised. Rednecks have known for a long time, however, that when life throws you lemons, you make lemonade. Same thing, just more plainly stated. But it got Frankel through the Concentration Camp, and it is a profound perspective, whether expressed in Viktor Frankel’s or a good ol’ boy’s wording.
They ought to try being useful in DC, but they already are being useful idiots.
Greg, a very smart commentator IMO, was not really commenting about the Holocaust to Jessica. He was commenting about the comment in the Florida curriculum regarding the fact that some slaves developed skills under the horror of slavery. This is not an excuse for slavery but something noteworthy to be included in teaching about slavery. Jessica was correctly demonstrating that one can make claims about any terrible event and it can be taken as demeaning the horror of the event if one takes it that way.
The Five is a format of 4 against one (Jessica) so they typically don’t want any point she makes to go un countered. Greg was simply making a poor retort.
The same can be said for the comment about slaves learning skills. Why is it that slaves are never taught about skills that could be used to resist their condition of bondage?