"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for Jews, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me- and there was no one left to speak for me."
-Martin Niemöller
Yesterday, August 13th, 2017, there was a Neo-Nazi, White Supremacist rally in Charlottesville, VA. After taking some personal time to process how I feel and to think of what to say, I've learned that I am angry. Beyond angry, in fact, affected to the the point where something must be said and done to fight against the hateful rhetoric that impacts everyone, even if you believe it does not affect you.
Now, my intention behind writing this article is to show that after such a display of violence, it is no longer appropriate to remain in a corner and to talk amongst yourself. The hate, violence and rhetoric that was put on display, threatens your corner and your convictions.
Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet, Transylvania before the Nazis invaded his town, destroyed the Jewish community and deported those remaining. Before the Nazis appeared in Sighet, first the foreign Jews were deported. A friend, Moishe the Beadle, was amongst the group:
"And then, one day all foreign Jews were expelled from Sighet. And Moishe the Beadle was a foreigner. Crammed into cattle cars by the Hungarian police, they cried silently. Standing on the station platform, we too were crying. The train disappeared over the horizon; all that was left was thick, dirty smoke. Behind me, someone said, sighing, "What do you expect? That's war..." -Page #6 of Night by Elie Wiesel.
Now, that type of attitude was not appropriate and is currently not appropriate for our modern day situation. If any of you think that the rally in Charlottesville, VA took place there, only there and only applies to Charlottesville, your wrong. There's another rally currently scheduled for Richmond, VA in September. And, if you look at the last US election, there were thousands of Americans choosing to come out of their racist, Anti-Semitic, homophobic, masoginist closets. After the display yesterday, you can no longer brush off violent, hateful incidents as "no big deal".
On the same page, Wiesel writes, "Days went by. Then weeks and months. Life was normal again. A calm, reassuring wind blew through our homes. The shopkeepers were doing good business, the students lived among their books, and the children played through the streets. One day, as I was about to enter the synagogue, I saw Moishe the Beadle sitting on a bench near the entrance. He told me what had happened to him and his companions. The train with the deportees had crossed the Hungarian border and, once in Polish territory, has been taken over by the Gestapo. The train had stopped. The Jews were ordered to get off and onto waiting trucks. The trucks headed toward a forest. There everybody was forced to get out. They were forced to dig huge trenches. When they had finished their work, the men from the Gestapo began theirs. Without passion or haste, they shot their prisoners, who were forced to approach the trench one by one and offer their necks. Infants were tossed into the air and used as targets for machine guns...How had he, Moishe the Beadle, been able to escape? By a miracle. He was wounded in the leg and left for dead...Day after day, night after night, he went from one Jewish house to the next, telling his story and that of Malka, the young girl who lay dying for three days, and that of Tobie, the tailor who begged to die before his sons were killed." -Pages 6 & 7 of Night by Elie Wiesel.
After this heinous act, the people of Sighet still ignored the rising hatred and antisemitism. Now is not the time to ignore a display like this. Instead of silently meeting together, Virginian Neo Nazis have officially decided to march into downtown Charlottesville and soon Richmond. After the Nazis marched into Sighet, edicts began to appear. The Jewish leadership were rounded up, ghettos were created, valuables were forcibly handed over to the Nazis and the Jews were forcibly marked.
Although the Neo-Nazis do not hold as much power as the Nazis that came out of Germany, the point is that violence escalates and hate spreads. Therefore, now is the time to speak up, to let your voice be heard so that you can combat the hate and violence that no longer hides or lurks in the shadows. Fight the Anti-Semitism, the Islamiphobia, the racism, the masogony and the denial of unalienable human rights that is staring you in the face and making its presence known.
*Quotes and facts pertaining to this article are owed to Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night.
Alot of this articke' s content derives from my personal opinion while the other articles on this blog are based off of fact.*
