This Week's Opening Thought: October 24, 2022

TW: Antisemitism, hate.

This week’s opening thought: there has and will never be a justification for hate. There will never be a justification for antisemitism. There will never be a justification for defending a hateful and anti-semitic person as they inflict harm on others. Not mental illness, not some past experiences with one or two members of a community, not a narcissistic need for attention.

Nothing.

Please understand that justifying hate and antisemitism is more than just hanging a banner off the side of a Los Angeles freeway overpass while striking a Nazi salute. By not standing for the lives of Jewish communities, by not speaking up and being clear about your denouncement of this hate, you are passively supporting antisemitic rhetoric and views. Your stance is that the lives of Jewish folx in your community, of Global Majority communities in your city, aren’t worth your time and energy to stand with and support in dire times or any time. “Not wanting to get involved” or claiming you don’t have a viewpoint is you involving yourself and stating your viewpoint. And your “lack” of a stance? It is more than a stance. And it speaks volumes about how little you value the safety and lives of people in your community and workplace. Not standing in legitimate solidarity with your Jewish friends, coworkers, and neighbors is just as harmful as blatantly agreeing with and championing antisemitism.

Standing up and speaking out for those in your community who are receiving hate is not a stance; it’s a lifestyle. It’s a selfless lifestyle that does not seek ego strokes, constant validation from Global Majority communities, or gold stars and cookies. That is what being actively anti-racist and opposing hate and oppression in all its forms is.

Yes, we all need to be in solidarity and support our Jewish friends, colleagues, and neighbors right now. You also need to stand against and fight against antisemitism every day in every space, not just when it’s in the news cycle. Are you still going to stand up next week when newspapers shove the antisemitism to page seven? Or are you not planning to stand at all today, next week, or any day?

Your soul and humanity are about as holey as that one guy’s shoes.

To my Jewish friends, colleagues, and neighbors: I stand in solidarity yesterday, today, and every day of my life with you as you navigate these troubling times. You are not alone, and your lives matter.

P.S.: Don’t let the irony of a Black man with money and a need to be in the news cycle being patted on the back for championing antisemitic views and rhetoric by white people who hate his race pass you by. That’s the world we live in, folx. We should be working toward a better society, but we can't do that without acknowledging the generational trauma of hate that the United States was built on. You don't move forward without learning from what happened behind you.