Intolerant Encounter

My 13-year-old daughter and I came upon a frightening irony when we visited the Museum of Tolerance this past weekend. We had just come through a very moving and thought-provoking afternoon, starting with the different forms of prejudice and stereotypes we find in our lives today whether that be color of skin, gender or sexuality. We then moved on to the brilliant presentation of the Holocaust. Afterward, we wandered into the gift shop to purchase a book. My daughter brought my attention to a rack of novelty candy pills that I suppose are intended to be humorous remedies for society’s woes. What caught her attention were the pills labeled “For Dumb Blondes.” They were to be used to boost the dumb blond in your life’s IQ.

We were both a bit taken aback by this and spoke to one of the clerks. I said: “When people come through this very moving experience and are greeted by the same kind of icon that the museum has been created to decimate, it is not only tasteless, but completely hypocritical to the essence of a museum that bares the name of Simon Wiesenthal.” The clerk looked at us and said: “Lighten up; it’s just a joke.” I took my blond daughter by the hand and walked out.

What a shame that this museum’s powerful message gets all but negated on the way out the door.

DAVID KIRSCHNER

Hollywood