I found myself scrolling on Twitter this morning when I came across a Tweet from Jemele Hill (an American sports Journalist) that read:
"Been reading Isabel Wilkerson's new book, "Caste", and if you were of the opinion that the United States wasn't nearly as bad as Nazi Germany, how wrong you are. Can't encourage you enough to read this masterpiece".
Before I get into and talk about this Tweet, I wanted to share with you a Tweet that was written by Burgess Owens, who is a US Congressional House Candidate running for a congressional seat in Utah:
"This woman needs to visit Auschwitz, she needs to meet the survivors... This is delusional, and unfortunately this type of view is becoming mainstream".
According to Wilkerson, she made this Tweet about race relations in America, and she compared these race relations to Nazi Germany. America's history was awful, and Jim Crow Laws, SLAVERY, forcing African Americans to sit in the back of the bus, Brown V. Board of Education, segregating public facilities, were awful as well.
However, saying that the United States isn't nearly as bad as Nazi Germany is a scary thought.
During the Holocaust, the Nazi's took firearms away from Jews.
Jews were forced to wear the Star of David.
The Gestapo (also known as the Secret State Police) would go out in the streets and brutally attack Jews who did not carry identification papers with them.
On January 30, 1953, Adolph Hitler was appointed Chancellor.
On February 28, 1933, Constitutional protections were suspended throughout Germany.
(Predictably) on April 1, 1933, Members of the Nazi Party and its affiliated organizations organized a nationwide boycott of Jewish-owned businesses in Germany.
On April 7, 1933, German law was created that excluded Jews and other political opponents from civil service positions.
Later in April 1933, The Nazi Party believed that Jews were "overcrowding" schools throughout Germany, so they created a law in Schools and Universities that limited the amounts of Jewish students in public schools.
On May 10, 1933, and books that were deemed to be "un-german" were PUBLICLY burned throughout Germany.
On July 14, 1933, New law was created to mandate the "forced" sterilization of certain individuals with physical and/or mental disabilities. (I also want to quickly add that the Nazi Party targeted members of the LGBTQ+ community as well).
On October 4, 1933, law was also created to to FORBID "non-aryans" to work in Journalism.
On September 15, 1935, The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 herald a new wave of antisemitic legislation that brings immediate and concrete segregation.
On August 17, 1938, A new German law required that Jews bearing first names of “non-Jewish” origin to adopt an additional name: “Israel” for men and “Sara” for women.
On October 5, 1938, The Reich Ministry of the Interior invalidated all German passports held by Jews. Jews must surrender their old passports, which will become valid only after the letter “J” has been stamped on them.
On November 9, 1938, an event by the name of Kristallnacht occurred, which was a nationwide pogrom where members of the Nazi Party (as well as other Nazi formations) burnt down synagogues, looted Jewish homes and businesses, and killed at least 91 Jews.
On November 12, 1938, all Jewish owned businesses were forcibly closed, and Jews were then forcibly banned and excluded from the German Economy.
During this time, parents of Jewish children risked their lives to protect the lives of their children by sending them to other parts of Europe for safety reasons.
So, (with all due respect) how dare anyone say (or even compare) the United States to Nazi Germany. In no way shape or form am I trying to chisel away anyone's bad experience of living in America. I'm not even trying to say that there aren't racists living in the United States (because there are, and I'm not trying to deny those facts whatsoever), but really? Comparing the United States in 2020 to Nazi Germany?
Can anyone please explain to me why the United States in 2020 is even comparable to what it was like to live in Nazi Germany? Yes, there are real racists in America. But, is the government making any sorts of laws in 2020 that are banning minorities and Americans of different races, minorities and ethnicities that are excluding them from attending school? Is the US Government burning books publicly in the street? Is the US Government making passports of Americans that are of different races, minorities and ethnicities invalid? Is the US Government not allowing Americans that are apart of different races, minorities, and ethnicities to run for Public Office? Is the American government publicly and nationally boycotting businesses that are owned by Americans whom are apart of different races, minorities, and ethnicities? (I really just want an explanation as to why people believe we are living in a country that can even be compared to Nazi Germany).
There are real racists living in the United States, I'm not going to sit here and act like that's not the truth because it is... there are people in America that are true racists. However, what happened in Nazi Germany was awful, and (frankly) absolutely disgusting as well. I'm hoping that Jemele Hill and other people who believe this try and take the time to educate themselves before they say things like this, because it just sounds ignorant.
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