Two days ago at an alt-right gathering, it almost seemed like things were looking up. The New York Times announced that at the beginning of the rally, racially motivated violence was “denounced...Hispanic citizens and black Americans [were told that they] had nothing to fear.”. Prominent leader Richard Spencer even encouraged his listeners to take more respectable actions, according to an article written two days ago (link) by the NYT. And then, Spencer finished the evening by questioning the humanity of Jewish citizens before members of his audience proudly gave the Nazi salute.
We all thought our country was past this.
America isn’t a nation with a history to always be proud of. Our citizens and leaders have done horrible, monstrous things in the name of upholding our freedom-the freedom to be white, the freedom to be Christian, the freedom to educate your children in whatever manner you see fit. To keep this freedom protected, our nation has committed genocide. Our nation has enslaved millions of people for hundreds of years. Our nation has elected a man backed by the Klu Klux Klan and anti-Semitic writers and speakers.
Our country must learn from the past.
We must remember the chains and the smallpox blankets that allowed us to form this more perfect union. We must remember the water fountains and internment camps that allowed us to live in a world where everyone on our street was exactly like us. We must remember that when we demonize any group of people-be it a group based on skin color, or religion, or political views-we demonize ourselves.
One Holocaust was enough.
I'm so tired.
