ZGram - June 10, 2004 - "Ritual Defamation"

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Zgram - Where Truth is Destiny:  Now more than ever!

June 10, 2004

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

A friend in Germany took the time to type out an early publication on 
Ritual Defamation by Laird Wilcox for me, supplemented by Ernst 
Zundel's comments.  It must have been from the early 1990s, judged by 
the various references. 

It reads ironic, in light of what has happened since to "Holocaust 
Denier" Zundel, including his recent political kidnapping and 
subsequent media vilification in Canada - and, to  a lesser extent, 
in the American and global media.  Ernst certainly underrated the 
viciousness and talmudic vengeance of his political detractors, 
especially when he says at the end:

"I'm satisfied that the Holocaust is a leftover of Allied wartime 
propaganda. In a few short years, all this will be behind us, and 
Germans and Jews will be able to deal with one another rationally, 
rather than the one constantly wagging an accusing finger at the 
other."

We live and learn.  At any rate, here's one for our archives:

[START]

The Practice of Ritual Defamation:  How Values, Opinions and Beliefs 
are controlled in Democratic Societies
By Laird Wilcox   (with commentary by Ernst Zundel)

FOREWORD

Defamation is the destruction or attempted destruction of the 
reputation, status, character or standing in the community of a 
person, or group of persons, by wrongful, unfair, or malicious speech 
or publication. For the purposes of this essay, the central element 
is defamation in retaliation for the real or imagined attitudes, 
opinions or beliefs of the victim, with the intention of silencing 
[him], and neutralizing his or her influence, and/or making an 
example of them so as to discourage similar independence and 
"insensitivity" or non-observance of taboos. It is different in 
nature and degree from simple criticism or disagreement in that it is 
aggressive, organized and skillfully applied, often by an 
organization or representative of a special interest group, and in 
that it consists of several characteristic elements.

"Ritual" defamation is not ritualistic because it follows any 
prescribed religious or mystical doctrine, nor is it embraced in any 
particular scripture. Rather, it is ritualistic because it follows a 
predictable, stereotyped pattern which embraces a number of typical 
elements, as in a ritual.

THE ELEMENTS OF A RITUAL DEFAMATION ARE THESE:
In a ritual defamation the victim must have violated a particular 
taboo in some way, usually by expressing or identifying with a 
forbidden attitude, opinion or belief. It is not necessary that he 
"do" anything about it or undertake any course of action, only that 
he engage in some form of communication or expression.

EZ:  By publishing "Did Six Million Really Die?" which questioned the 
Jewish version of the Holocaust and by refusing to join in the 
demonizing of Adolf Hitler, I was clearly violating two of the 
favorite taboos of the well-connected pro-Holocaust Lobby in Canada. 
Their reaction was not long in coming.

The method of attack in a ritual defamation is to assail the 
character of the victim, and never to offer more than a perfunctory 
challenge to the particular attitudes, opin-ions or beliefs expressed 
or implied. Character assassination is its primary tool.

EZ:  Virulent media-borne attacks were launched against me, which 
culminated in a massive demonstration.  It consisted of twelve 
hundred Jewish demonstrators outside my home and office in downtown 
Toronto, on May 31, 1981.Only a large police contingent prevented my 
house from being stormed that day.

An important rule is to avoid engaging in honest debate over the 
truthfulness or reasonableness of what has been expressed, only 
condemn it.  A debate opens the issue up for examination and 
discussion on its merits, which is just what the ritual defamer is 
trying to avoid. The primary goal is censorship or repression.

EZ:  I made repeated overtures and appeals in the early 1980s for 
Jews and Germans to sit down together to discuss the Holocaust and 
other matters dividing us. I even tried to enlist the good offices of 
the Jewish Ethnic Squad officers. Mark Mendelson and Mr. Bowerman, 
who took up my offer with the Jewish leadership of the time, were 
rebuffed, and called "errand boys for the Nazi on Carlton Street." 
Nothing came of my peace initiative. Instead, the media reported that 
the Attorney-General of the time, Roy McMurtry, received a delegation 
of Jewish leaders. The head-lines the next day read: ZIONISTS WANT 
CHARGES...AGAINST ZÜNDEL. Censorship, not dialogue was their aim.

The victim is very often someone in the public eye, although perhaps 
only in a modest way. It could be a school teacher, a writer, a 
businessman, a minor official, or merely an outspoken citizen. 
Visibility enhances vulnerability to ritual defamation.

EZ:  I certainly was "someone" only modestly in the public eye at the 
time, having come to the attention of the media with my 
demonstrations and protests outside movie houses, television 
stations, etc. to protest the negative stereotyping of Germans. 
Similarly, Jim Keegstra, the Eckville school teacher, was soon to be 
one of a long string of vic-tims to be singled out for ritual 
defamation. Next followed Joe Clark for his critical comments about 
Israeli injustices against the Palestinians. Malcolm Ross, and lately 
Paul Fromm, two more school teachers, have been subjected to ritual 
defamation.

An attempt, often successful, is made to involve others in the 
defamation. In the case of a public official, other public officials 
will be urged to denounce the offender. In the case of a student, 
other students will be called upon, and so on.

EZ:  Presidents of German clubs and organizations were enlisted 
against me by my detractors. The president of the Trans Canada 
Alliance of German-Canadians, the oldest and most prestigious 
German-Canadian organization, condemned my activities after the 
secretary, Mr. Matthes, had specifically called me to tell me that 
they endorsed my demonstrations against the Holocaust film then being 
shown around the world.  German diplomats, ministers of the Bonn 
government and media people in Canada and overseas joined in the 
chorus of condemnation. Bruce McCaffery, Roy McMurtry, David 
Peterson, Larry Grossman and Bob Rae all flailed at Ernst Zündel, the 
Carlton Street Heretic.

In order for a ritual defamation to be effective, the victim must be 
dehumanized to the extent that he becomes identical with the 
offending attitude, opinion or belief, and in a manner which distorts 
it to the point where it appears at its most extreme. For example, a 
victim who is defamed as a "subversive" will be identified with the 
worst images of subversion, such as espionage or treason. A victim 
defamed as a "pervert" will be identified with the worst images of 
perversion, including child molestation. A victim defamed as a 
"racist" or "anti-Semitic" will be identified with the worst images 
of racism or anti-Semitism, such as lynchings or gas chambers, and so 
on.

EZ:  I have frequently been called a "nut case", "insane", a 
"pathological liar", "history falsifier", "anti-Semite", "crackpot", 
etc. by my detractors in the media.  Canadian judges have called me a 
"danger to Canadian society", someone "who feed off Canada, but never 
gives anything back", someone "who has to be punished for his 
right-wing beliefs", all the while depriving me for nine years of my 
constitutionally-guaranteed right of free speech.

Also, to be successful, a ritual defamation must bring pressure and 
humiliation from every quarter, including family and friends, who may 
begin to shun him. If the victim has school children, they may be 
taunted and ridiculed as a consequence of adverse publicity. If he is 
employed, he may be fired from his job.

EZ:  My wife and children suffered hell. One of my relatives, who had 
the misfortune of being listed in the Toronto telephone book as "E. 
Zundel" was so terrorized by phone calls, nuisance delivery of 
pizzas, Chinese food and magazine subscriptions, that he finally 
moved away from Toronto. The Jewish Defense League blocked the 
entrance to my house with round-the-clock demonstrations, patrolling 
with vicious dogs on leashes, searching customers' packages and 
purses before allowing them into my house. Complaints to the police 
elicited the reply "We are not your private security force. Hire one 
if you need one!" My once-thriving graphic arts business was ruined 
within less than a year. My house was bombed. A Jewish organization 
took credit.

Anyone who defends a victim runs the risk of being associated with 
him and similarly defamed. Even if their own reputation is beyond 
question, their judgment and involvement with the victim may become 
an issue. Often, the victim of a ritual defamation becomes isolated 
and abandoned.

EZ:  Mrs. Lauren Marshall, my first lawyer, was threatened and 
questioned as to her motives for defending me. Doug Christie, my 
courageous defender in my nine year legal battle, was forced to 
defend himself before law societies and had to justify his method of 
defending me to at least one judge, Locke of Toronto. He was barred 
from practicing law in Ontario because of complaints by Jewish 
individuals to the Law Society about his "treatment" of Holocaust 
witnesses during cross-examination, who he did not treat with the 
usual deference but had the temerity to delve into their fanciful 
tales.

Any explanation the victim may offer, including the claim of being 
misunderstood, is considered irrelevant. To claim truth as a defense 
is interpreted as unrepentance, and only compounds the problem. 
Ritual defamation is not necessarily an offense of being wrong or 
incorrect, but rather "insensitivity" and failing to observe social 
taboos.

EZ:  This has been the standard treatment for me by most judges, 
prosecutors and police officials, especially those investigating hate 
literature crimes. It was clear from the questions asked, and the way 
the interrogations were conducted, that not one of these people had 
an interest in my side of the story. No one showed any interest in my 
version of the Holocaust. They only looked for indications and proof 
of my guilt, brushing aside and smirking at my explanations and 
protestations of innocence. The media generally behaved in exactly 
the same manner.

Many victims succumb early on, and go on through a "confessional" 
stage, complete with apologies and remorse. They may even denounce 
friends associated with the forbidden values, opinions and beliefs, 
or claim that they were "duped", as was the case with many suspected 
"subversives" during the McCarthy era. If the charges against them 
involve "morals," they may claim stress or mental illness as a 
defense.

EZ:  I have not apologized or recanted. However, two of my witnesses 
have. One, the geologist John Ball, who while running for the Socreds 
in B.C. was exposed as a Zündel researcher and witness.  He promptly 
apologized abjectly, saying on Sept. 24, 1991 in the Toronto Star 
that "anyone who does not believe the Holocaust happened is a fool" 
and "all the evidence is there." The Globe and Mail Sept. 26, 1991 
reported that Ball "abhorred my views." In the fall of 1992, Ball 
published a large-format book, debunking the Holocaust. Another 
expert witness, Dr. Gary Bolting, who lost his job as professor at 
Red Deer College, and became a lawyer, articling with Doug Christie, 
also caved in and apologized abjectly on Oct. 18, 1991, with a letter 
to the Times columnist of Victoria B.C., stating, in part, "... 
revisionists who deny the Jewish Holocaust are usually motivated by 
anti-Semitism".

The viciousness of ritual defamation is inspired not merely by 
revenge, although that is an important factor, but also to create an 
example so others will know of the savaging they can expect for 
stepping out of line. Ritual defamation is an important means of 
social control.

EZ:  That this is an important tool employed by my detractors can be 
attested to by two Toronto-area reporters, Dick Chapman of the 
Toronto Sun and Kirk Makin of the Globe and Mail, both of whom were 
derided by the pro-Holocaust lobby for their too-balanced reporting 
during my long ordeal. That this "impact prosecution" of myself by 
the state, and the attendant media vilification, has worked up to a 
point can be seen by the treatment meted out to David Irving during 
his recent deportation. "Savaging" a victim is a good description.

An Interesting aspect of ritual defamation is its universality. It is 
not specific to any particular value, opinion, or belief, or to any 
group or subculture. It may be used either for or against any 
political, ethnic or religious minority and also by any political, 
ethnic or religious minority.

EZ:  That not just Zionists are capable of such persecution of those 
who would question their racket  posing as "history" is demonstrated 
by the treatment afforded Salmon Rushdie at the hands of Moslems like 
Khomeini,  by the way the West German puppet-regime treats its 
dissidents and how the French persecute revisionists like Dr. 
Faurisson.

Ritual defamation often appears in paradoxical forms, as in the case 
of organizations claiming to oppose defamation itself, even using the 
term "anti-defamation" in their name. Psychologically, this may 
represent a projective mechanism, in which the organization attempts 
to camouflage its own propensities in the form of an official myth, a 
kind of agreed-upon fiction that perfumes its actual activities, 
which are often transparently evident from its publications.

EZ:  Zionist organizations like the B'nai Brith League for Human 
Rights, the Jewish Defense League and the Simon Wiesenthal Center 
have frequently tried to deny people, whose ideas displeased them, 
like David Irving or myself, our human rights, because we question 
the verity or universality of their dominant myth, i.e., their 
version of the Holocaust in history.  They want to deny us the right 
to question their myth -- smearing us with terms like "Holocaust 
denier" or "history falsifier".

The power of ritual defamation lies entirely in its capacity to 
intimidate. It embraces some elements of primitive superstitious 
belief, as in a "curse" or "hex." it also plays on the subconscious 
fear most people have of being rejected by the "tribe" and being cut 
off from social and psychological support systems. Only the truly 
courageous and independent person can withstand the full force of a 
ritual defamation, and occasionally they may even survive such an 
attempt relatively unscathed.

EZ:  There was a meeting at a Toronto synagogue, the Lodzer Center, 
on July 5, 1983, during which various Jewish speakers agitated the 
crowd, regaling them at one point with how they were "driving this 
guy (me) crazy" with a campaign of telephone terrorism, to the loud 
applause of the tribe. Several Jewish individuals have been traced by 
Metro Police for making hate calls and death threats to me. They were 
subsequently tried and convicted. One was a design engineer with 
Ontario Hydro, another was a stock broker, and one was a real estate 
broker, who drove from phone booth to phone booth in a white 
Cadillac, making his hate calls to me.)

The weak points of ritual defamation lie in its tendency toward 
overkill and its rather transparent maliciousness. Occasionally, a 
ritual defamation will fail because of inadequate planning and 
failure to correctly estimate the vulnerability of the victim. Ritual 
defamers often exhibit extensive projective mechanisms and delusions 
of persecution themselves. Although it may appear to be an offensive 
maneuver, it's actually quite defensive in nature. As Eric Hoffer 
said: "You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the 
means he uses to frighten you." (The True Believer, 1951).

EZ:  This overkill was best-illustrated by the reaction of most 
Jewish organizations and its spokespeople after my Aug. 27th, 1992 
Supreme Court victory and by many Jewish and liberal Gentile 
columnists and commentators who went berserk in their vilification of 
me, culminating in an attempt to have me charged under a different 
law within days of my victory. The description in this paragraph 
certainly fits my detractors to a "T". What they seem to fear most is 
exposure of their racket posing as history. They know their 
"enterprise" cannot withstand public or expert scrutiny by historians 
and forensic scientists.

Paradoxically, a ritual defamation often brings about the very 
values, opinions and beliefs that it condemns, as in a 
self-fulfilling prophecy. It enhances paranoia and hatred, and 
generally serves to divide and alienate. It hardens positions and 
polarizes a situation as nothing else can. A person accused of 
supporting a particular belief may find himself propelled into that 
position. Politically, for example, it's quite effective in creating 
rebels and dissidents. It has been used in various forms by 
dictatorships and totalitarian systems all throughout history. In 
democratic societies it has become a favorite tool of special 
interest groups to vilify and neutralize their critics and opponents.

EZ:  This state of affairs now exists in Canada - and West Germany in 
particular. Demonizing one's opposition frequently creates heroes and 
martyrs out of victims and gets people off the fence. David Irving, 
the noted British historian, would never have embraced the unorthodox 
version of what passes as the "Holocaust" if, after giving testimony, 
he had not been so vilified in the media by the Holocaust Promoters. 
Revisionism is breaking out all over the world, Archives are being 
opened and a new generation of bright young people looks at newly 
released and declassified documents. Nothing will stop that trend. No 
demonizing of Ernst Zündel or anybody else will impede the March of 
Truth for any length of time. The ludicrous charge that I was 
financing the European Neo-Nazi movement from Canada was laughable. 
More money has been donated by European idealists for my defense in 
Canadian courts than I will ever be able to ship back in the form of 
newsletters, books, tapes or video films to Europe to help free them 
from their mental and spiritual shackles.  Commercial envy and ethnic 
hatred, as well as the fear of losing the battle for men's minds and 
hearts in the global market place of ideas, are what partially 
motivates my detractors. They now use their tribesmen in the CBC to 
do the dirty work their lackeys could not achieve for them in the 
courtrooms of Canada. Not to worry - the tide of history is against 
them. I'm satisfied that the Holocaust is a leftover of Allied 
wartime propaganda. In a few short years, all this will be behind us, 
and Germans and Jews will be able to deal with one another 
rationally, rather than the one constantly wagging an accusing finger 
at the other.

[END]