With apologies to Pastor Martin Niemöller

[wendymr]

Comments

[editrx]

Didn't you know, we Jews are at fault, too.

[wendymr]

Everyone's at fault except The Donald, don't you know...

[amberfocus]

Do you have any idea how extraordinarily disrespectful and hurtful altering that poem like this is to anyone whose family history was forever changed by the Holocaust? It does not compare.

[wendymr]

I am genuinely sorry that it's caused you distress. However, I'm not convinced that there isn't a comparison. The hateful and inciting rhetoric I've been hearing for the past more than a year isn't just unpleasant, it's downright disturbing and scary. I've seen American Muslims saying that they feel at far greater risk now than they did immediately after 9/11. I'm not going to risk getting into a political fight here; I'll just say that I have been appalled by the things I've seen and heard said, which really do remind me of what history shows us of the early days of fascism in Europe. Believe me when I say that I did not write or post this lightly,

I'm also, now that I do a bit of searching around, far from the first person who has referenced Niemoller's quote or altered it in the context of current US politics. Whether or not that actually means anything at all...

[amberfocus]

What is going on right now is horrible and nasty and scary. It gets worse each day, it seems. But people are standing up. People are speaking out. Daily. It is not a secret shame. It is an obvious one. Speaking out is good. It is very good to express your fears and your worries and be someone who will not just stand by, who shines light so darkness cannot hide things. Just please, do it with your own voice. You have an ability to write and to express yourself in ways many others do not. You don't need to borrow and alter something that is nearly sacred to some to make an impact on others. Its heart belongs elsewhere. Your own heart is where you should write from. Trust it. You don't need to shock when you can awe.