Facebook Publication Date: 43587.253472222

Commentary by Hypatia Tiberius MacAllasdair

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day which, at its core, is about remembering the consequences of forgetting that people have inherent value simply because they are people. Marion was a hero, but her heroism and the heroism of others like her would not have been necessary if more people reaffirmed the inherent value of Jewish people and other groups the Nazis dubbed the enemies of the Fatherland, including queer people, people with disabilities, foreigners, and the press.

The Holocaust didn’t start with mass extermination, it started with the state vilifying the people it regarded as others, rounding them up, and dumping them into ghettoes under the pretense of national security; labeling the press and political opponents the enemy of the people; inciting stochastic violence against “outsiders” and “enemies;” and calling anyone who refused to go along with this platform a traitor. It started with white supremacist nationalism and proliferated because people didn’t want to get political because it might be boring or impolite. People didn’t want to confront the bigotry of family and friends because it might hurt their feelings. Some felt they had better things to do with their time. Others were uncomfortable uniting with the opposition movement because it was “too radical,” too focused on the equality of immigrants and the permanent underclasses, and was demanding too much too loudly.

If you have ever considered what you would have done during the Holocaust, it is whatever you are doing right now.
Heroism later will be too late.

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