Little Old Lady Philosopher

The first part of this story happened about a week ago. I was walking to class in the morning, around 9 am, reading a book on Heidegger (a German philosopher for those who do not know). A little old woman asked me in English about what I was reading, and when I asked if she knew Heidegger, she said that Heidegger was a Nazi and she hated him. I tried to respond, saying that Heidegger wrote Being and Time before he was a Nazi, but she interrupted me. She said, "I am German. My father was killed by the Nazis. I hate Heidegger."

I was pretty shocked, and especially since I had wondered if something like this would ever happen with him.

This morning, I was walking to school reading The History of Sexuality by Foucault. At the same intersection, I saw her again. I waved and showed her what I was reading, hoping to make amends somehow. When she saw my book, she said "ah, Education". Then paused, and said, "He died of AIDS. He was a homosexual." I replied, "Yes. He was gay." She said something like "They did not know that it was dangerous, then. When I went back to America in [some year in the mid 80s], there was suddenly AIDS." Then, she pauses for a moment, and looks at my necklace, telling me that it is very pretty. Then she looks me right in the face for a moment and says "You are very good looking." Then she starts to totter away, but not without throwing a kind little "good luck" over her shoulder.