Tag: Elie Wiesel

The Danger of Indifference

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The Danger of Indifference

The Danger of Indifference

By D.S. Mitchell

 

Writer, Teacher

Elie Wiesel, teacher, writer, philosopher and Auschwitz death camp survivor, told the US Congress in a speech in 1999, “indifference can be tempting-more than that, seductive.  It is much easier to look away from victims.  It is after all, awkward and troublesome to be involved in another person’s pain and despair.”

Forgotten

Furthermore, “to be indifferent to that suffering makes the human being, inhuman.  Indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor-never the victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten.  The political prisoner, the starving children, the homeless refugees-not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their despair by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory.  And in denying their humanity, we betray our own.  Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment.  Where I came from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders.”

Then and Now

Today’s bystanders are no different than the “bystanders,” of the past; wanting more than anything to look away from the victims, to look anywhere but in the direction of the suffering.

I frequently hear my friends and even those in power claim to be “a good person.”  “A person with a heart,” I am repeatedly told.

Why is it then, we continue to ignore the plight of the war ravaged Ukrainians and the mass murder of the Palestinians in Gaza, or the starving children of Sudan?  The photos  of the pain  and destruction  is horrific.  We have all seen television clips of bloodied, crying, starving, and even dead children.  I have seen their pain.  I have heard their cries.

A Plea to America

My simple plea to America; shed the hate and grow the love. Get involved, call out the offenders and the perpetrators, do not turn away, do not be silenced. Remember, it could be you, instead of them, ducking bombs and searching for a dead rat to eat. There is no comfort in being  5,000 miles from their wars, not if you are truly a “person with a heart.”

America are you listening, are you seeing, or are you destined to become just another group of bystanders?

USAid

We are the wealthiest country on earth and the home of the most generous people on earth and our basic instinct is to help, not turn away.  The American people want to help. Sadly, the richest and the most powerful of the 1% want big tax breaks, and they plan on gutting services, not only USAid, but also health care, disability assistance, and food from the poorest in this country.

The New Resistance

We were once the light of the world; now we ignore the homeless and the starving here and abroad. Come on America, don’t continue to look away, show your heart, show that “goodness” we always hear about. Don’t be a bystander, be an activist, be a demonstrator, be a protestor.

The New Resistance to Trump’s cruel and disastrous agenda is active and growing. Join the fight to save our democracy from the oligarchs and the dictators. Join the fight to save lives; not destroy them. Join the fight for universal health care. Join the fight against homelessness. Join the fight for voting justice. Join the fight to save public education. Join the fight to save Due Process.

Find your cause and hit the streets. Enlist support of your friends and neighbors. Everyone, but a few die hard MAGA’s dislike what’s happening. We need to prove our numbers; hit the streets, be visible. Carry a sign. Hit Facebook. Call your congressman, Call your Senators. If you have a FaceBook page create a support section for the warriors in the field, post pictures of local protests.. You can’t hear silence. Make noise. As Arthur Ashe said, “disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed.”

Campaign Lies

Trump lied when he said he’d end the wars in the Ukraine and Gaza; “on day one.” Yet, the wars go on, he has not contributed in one way to a  just end in either of those conflicts. Trump lied when he told voters that he would not touch Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security. After a meeting with hold outs Trump personally twisted arms at a  meeting on the Hill, leading to the House passing a bill that would destroy health care for millions of Americans.  The estimate runs from 8-13.5 million Americans, bringing with it the closure of nursing homes across the country and a new round of rural hospital closures.

The destruction and gutting of our government and destruction of our social safety nets was not what anyone in their right mind voted for.

I understand the forces opposing the soldiers of good are powerful but if the many leave the ranks of the bystanders and join the war against Trump cruelty and lawlessness we can win the battle for due process, human decency, and justice.

Let’s Be Real

The list of needs for a country of 350,000,000 million human beings eliminates any further discussion of return to small government. The list of proposed cuts to basic services will effect everyone, but those most hard hit will be the already suffering. Stop turning away. Stop being a  bystander.

“Killers, Victims or Bystanders”

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Killers, Victims, or Bystanders

By D. S. Mitchell

Indifference Is Seductive

Elie Wiesel, teacher, writer, philosopher and Auschwitz death camp survivor, said in a speech before the US Congress in 1999, “indifference can be tempting-more than that, seductive.  It is much easier to look away from victims.  It is after all, awkward and troublesome to be involved in another person’s pain and despair.”

Three Categories

Furthermore, “to be indifferent to that suffering makes the human being, inhuman.  Indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor-never the victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten.  The political prisoner, the starving children, the homeless refugees-not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory.  And in denying their humanity, we betray our own.  Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment.  Where I came from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders.”

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Killers, Victims and Bystanders

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Killers, Victims and Bystanders

By D. S. Mitchell

Research dog

Screaming Mad

I have spent the last couple of years figuratively and in real-time screaming my head off. I do it on Twitter, on my blog, sometimes just at the television screen, and yes, even at those I love.  I cannot accept what is going on in the Trump administration and my frustration just boils over.

Nefarious Means

I was doing a search through www.calamitypolitics.com archived blog articles when this piece from 2/25/17 came up. It just reminded me that I need to keep screaming and banging the drum of outrage. I grew up with kids from dozens of different backgrounds, of various colors, and a multitude of religious faiths and I learned so much. We as a country are so much better than the Orange George Lincoln Rockwell that has seized the White House by foul and nefarious means.

Brown Bodies

As I read it through my old post from 2/25/17 I thought it was valuable enough for us to take a look at it again. In 2017 Trump told the country that the asylum seekers were those brown “criminals” and “terrorists” from Syria. Today Trump’s rhetoric of hate is directed at the brown “criminals”  and “terrorists” at our southern border. He must be talking about those diapered and shoeless babies running from the tear gas. There is a consistency to Trump’s message. Unfortunately, it is an ugly message that offers no benefit to us as a country. It seems to me the Syrian refugees may have been the lucky ones in this story.

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White Supremacist Kills Two And Wounds Third

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White Supremacist Kills Two & Wounds Third

D. S. Mitchell

It was a sunny 80 degrees in Portland, Oregon on May 26, 2017 and three heroes emerged from the many on the Max Green Line that afternoon. It was 4:30 pm and the Line #3 train was headed East from downtown, crowded with homeward bound passengers. These people were just riding a train home and without warning, they were caught up in an American tragedy.

Two teenagers, one black girl, and one Muslim girl who was wearing the traditional head covering hijab became the target of a man using abusive language. A witness, identified as Evelin Hernandez 38, reported that the man became quite agitated and began yelling racial slurs at the two young women. According to Hernandez, the two young women tried to move to the back of the train, while the man continued his rant of insults.

As the teenagers moved away, the insults became more virulent and the situation appeared to quickly escalate. It was at this point, according to witnesses that two men, Best and Namkai-Mechi attempted to intervene and quiet the rowdy man. The agitator continued yelling “hate speech” at the retreating teens. In the midst of the man’s ranting and raving he pulled a knife, turned on the Good Samaritans and viciously stabbed and slashed the two men, slicing each of their necks. A third young man, Micah David-Cole Fletcher stepped in and attempted to stop the carnage, at which time the assailant turned his rage on Fletcher, who was also stabbed, and his throat slashed.

During the assault several passengers called 911 and police were dispatched to the scene. After the attack the perpetrator attempted to flee the scene. After running from the Hollywood Transit Station where the train had stopped, he was apprehended in a neighborhood close to Providence Medical Center, said Portland Police spokesman, Sgt Pete Simpson.

In a prepared statement Simpson identified the alleged killer as Jeremy Joseph Christian, a 35 year old professed white supremacist with a long history of criminal activity, including felony robbery, kidnapping and weapons conviction. Christian served eight years in prison related to the armed robbery of a convenience store when he was 20. During that robbery Jeremy Christian was shot in the face by a Portland police officer during that arrest.

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