Never Again

The recent violence and killings in the Middle East over Muslims protesting a low-budget movie in which the Prophet Mohammed is depicted in a negative light reminds me of a minor incident in my life many years ago.

Sometime around the year 2000, I was working in the lab at Abington Memorial Hospital as a Lab Client Representative. One of my duties required me to accept and sign off on specimens sent from outside locations, particularly nursing homes. Only lab personnel were allowed in the lab, but there was a waist-high windowless counter where anyone from nurses and doctors to outpatient patients could come and pick up lab results or drop off specimens. At the time, and I don't know if they still operate, but there was a courier service called "Medex," which operated much like Fedex, but they specialized in the transportation of medical specimens (e.g., vials of blood or plastic container cups filled with urine or stool samples). Basically, I had to accept the delivery and sign off the slip so the Medex driver could get credit for his delivery. After which, I processed the ordering of the tests for the sample into the hospital's computer system and then took the specimen to the proper department for testing, which was usually Urinalysis or Microbiology.

One day, a man from Medex walked in to deliver some specimens. Different drivers worked different nights or drove different routes, so you never knew who would show up with a delivery. Sometimes it was someone familiar and other times it was a new guy. But I had seen this man before, chatted with him briefly, signed off on the specimens he delivered, then said "goodbye" as he left the lab counter area and went on his next delivery. Never thought anything about him other than he seemed a friendly guy just doing his job by delivery specimens to a hospital lab. Well, my opinion of him changed after this one incident.

As I stated before, I had seen this man before and we had very brief but friendly chats while I would sign his yellow delivery slip. He would tear off the "client copy" and give it to me before he left. On this one night, he decided to actually read my name, ostensibly for the first time. Odd that he never took any notice of my signature before, but this time, he seemed curious as to what was my last name. As anyone who has seen my signature knows, I have an autograph that is not very cursive. My surname is easily discernible from my penmanship. So it came as great surprise to him when he identified my last name as being of Greek origin. Yes, my background is Greek (both mother and father), but I was born in the U.S.A., in Northeast Philadelphia in the now defunct JFK Memorial Hospital. So, I do consider myself to be a proud American, but of Greek bloodlines.

The Medex driver, who normally displayed a cheerful disposition, changed his expression to one of curious displeasure and asked me: "Ay, you Greek?" Not wishing to make a long discussion out of the matter by explaining that I'm American by factor of my birthplace, so I replied curtly: "Yeah." His eyebrows quickly rose in disbelief, then he took a step back—almost bumping into the wall behind him—and pounded his chest with his fist, saying "I'm Turk." Oh, I see! Just because you're a Turk and I'm a Greek, that means we should fight now or something? Due to his quasi-threatening actions, particularly in beating his chest, I told him (mindful of the hospital setting): "Look, we're both in America, so cool it." He left quickly, quite literally in a huff.

I don't know what was going on in his mind. Was he truly upset because of my Greek heritage? If that was the case, then I should be more upset about his heritage considering the atrocities committed by his people against my people. Maybe he was taking things deeper and—in a moment of contemplation—he didn't like that a Greek was in a higher position than him, i.e., that I worked in a hospital lab and he was just a lowly delivery guy. Whatever the case may be for his misplaced and sudden anger, I never saw him again.

In light of the Middle Eastern violence involving homicidally angry Muslim individuals, I really have to wonder if this is not an epidemic of hate fostered by cultural or religious bigotry. I had my little incident way back when, but what does this say about our world today? Is Islam the new threat to World Peace? Must all peace-loving, civilized nations unite together and defeat this barbaric threat before more people—millions more—lose their lives to senseless violence? Honestly, I don't know what's to be done. I can only ask questions.

As Americans, we all know after September 11, 2001, to say "never forget," but as the Jewish people know all too well, having survived a Holocaust by Nazi Germany in the 1940's, we must renew the slogan once more so that the message is loud and clear to our intolerant, uncivilized, chest-thumping enemies: "Never again."

~Andrew K.