One week ago, there was a march in Charlottesville, Virginia called “Unite the Right”. At that march, attendees brought torches, Nazi flags, white supremacist flags, and as much hatred as they could muster. The head of the Ku Klux Klan attended. At the end of the day, one of the attendees rammed his car into a group of counter-demonstrators, killing one and wounding many.
I’ve been reflecting about that gathering this week. This is what I think.
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The Nazis created concentration camps, gas chambers, and killed millions of Jewish and non-Jewish people. The Nazi flag is a tribute to Nazis. If you carry a Nazi flag, then you are a Nazi. There isn’t any grey area here.
The Nazis believed in their own superiority, and began exterminating everyone else in their path. What resulted was World War II. It took the combined efforts of several countries, and several years, to defeat that evil.
At the end of the Holocaust, Jewish people said “never again”. Never again would we allow the horror of the Holocaust to occur.
We meant it.
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There isn’t a lot of grey area about white supremacists, either. They also believe in their own superiority. We fought a war about this, too. It took the combined efforts of several states, and several years, to defeat that evil.
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I don’t understand the hatred in the hearts of people who carry Nazi flags or attend white supremacist marches.
What I do understand is that they represent fascism, racism, sexism, and other kinds of hatred I cannot fathom.
There isn’t much subtlety to this. There isn’t nuance, or “many sides”, or explaining that can be done to explain it. It happened, and it tells me that that hatred exists.
There are only two sides to this. There is a right side, and an evil side.
Which side are you on?
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If you are offended by any of this, I have a special request for you. If there is a place in your heart for Nazi support, fascism, racism, or any other kind of hatred, please let me know.
Because if there is a place in your heart for that, then there is no place for you in my life.