Schindler's List - Congressional Record: February 27, 1997 (House)

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about some of the inappropriate actions of some Members of this House. I cannot begin to fathom why someone watching the Academy Award winning "Schindler's List" on television the other night would choose to focus their attention on the harsh language or the images depicted in the film rather than the horrifying message of that film. Yes; an apology was given, a little late I might add, for the Holocaust is one of mankind's worst moments in history and the importance of telling this story to the widest audience possible is what happened the other night. Those of us with compassion and feeling understood that history cannot be repeated. Only by retelling the story can we prevent millions of innocent victims from losing their lives again. The story of man's inhumanity to man should have been the focus, not someone's prurient interest in this great film. Mr. Speaker, some apologies come too late and are disingenuous in light of what was said. I think we need to understand where these insensitive comments come from, just as we understand where the comments came from yesterday about the Branch Davidians and David Koresh were innocent victims. They were not. They raped young women. Mr. Speaker, I hope this pattern does not continue. I think this House needs to get on with the right kind of business, the people's business.