I Am Ernst Zündel

(elaboration of a theme by Noam Chomsky)


Anything we love can be saved. So far as I can tell, Alice, I am Ernst Zündel. For the sake of argument, pretend I am Salman Rushdie. You may then ask, "Was he really Salman Rushdie? He did not appear to resemble him." He was indeed Salman Rushdie. He said, "Yes, I am Salman Rushdie. And this is what I offer you, hugging Fidel, becoming what we're called. It is the story of why I connect oppressions."

So then I got the notion of the "I Am Ernst Zündel" buttons. For a time, it was an omnipresent pin on the lapels of writers. It was akin to pondering the possibility that somewhere in Iowa, in the spirit of Cyrus the Great, Islam is a peaceful religion. It turned out that he had gotten his very own girls in pearls, a clear indication that he understood. But Salman Rushdie wearing his "I am Ernst Zündel" button: Holy Shit! What a remarkable and funny man. He invariably spoke in support of freedom of speech.

If you are Salman Rushdie, don't think I will ask you how to become a published author. I have turned my back on the sport of wearing a giant badge with the words "I Am Susan Sontag" emblazoned across it. Soon every right thinking, or indeed left thinking, citizen in America will be thinking "I am Ernst Zündel".