There’s some middle place between lashing and shrugging

The story of the Polish Neo-Nazi couple who learned that they were Jewish is really interesting to me. I wonder what it would be like to discover that you are the thing you hate. I applaud Ola and Pawel for turning their lives away from hated and crime, and think it’s fascinating that they now practice Orthodox Judaism. But some of the quotes that appear in this article about them make me uncomfortable.

“I’m not saying I don’t have regrets but it’s not something I walk around and lash myself over,” said Pawel. “I feel sorry for those that I beat up … but I don’t hold a grudge against myself. The people who I hurt can hold a grudge against me.”

And Ola said that while she wasn’t proud of her past, she wasn’t embarrassed either. Really? I could be embarrassed over it. They stopped being Neo-Nazis because they realized that they were Jewish, but they’re not embarrassed about the spewing hatred and beating up people part of the movement? Eh, these two seem like extremist joiners, so maybe they see any endeavor that advances their current belief system to be okay.

I’m going to watch the documentary when it airs, and maybe I’ll come away with a different understanding of this couple.