First they came for the cabbies...

When voicing my outrage at the stabbing of a New York cabbie I was recently blasted on my Facebook page for co-opting Pastor Niemoller's poem regarding his silence during the Holocaust. Apparently, since I am not Jewish, I am not allowed learn from Pastor Niemoller's mistakes. I have also been blasted for supporting the building of an Islamic community center a few blocks from ground zero in NYC. I've been told that if I'm upset by hate mongers such as Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck, I should just ignore them.

Well isn't that just the lesson that Pastor Niemoller was trying to teach us? Our silence in the face of intolerance makes us complicit. The Holocaust (and apparently, as a non-Jew I am not allowed to reference the Holocaust in any way, shape, or form) did not begin with the concentration camps. The Holocaust did not begin with the wholesale execution of Jews in Europe. The Holocaust began with mistrust of others. The Holocaust began with words. The Holocaust began with revoking the civil liberties of those with different political leanings, religions, and disabilities. The Holocaust began when people were silent because the intolerance was targeted at "them." But trust me, it won't be long before we become "them."

Dove World Outreach, a supposedly christian church in Florida is planning on burning the Koran on September 11th. Is this really how we want to express freedom of religion in the U.S? Yes, this guy is a whack job. But more than 6,000 people on his Facebook page have supported his hate filled "rally." One guy is a whack job; 6,00o people is a movement.

Know who else held rallies and burned books in the name of protecting the people from "them?" I'd say his name, but as a non-Jew whose family did not perish in the horror that was the Holocaust, I am not allowed to say his name (I'll give you a hint though, it begins with H and the guy had a funny mustache).

Back to my point about how "we" will eventually become "them." I try to ignore Glenn Beck. Really, I do. But this megalomanic is hosting a "rally" on the Mall this weekend. It's not a political rally, really! Yeah right. But beware. When this guy is done with the Muslims, he'll come for you next. In July he referred to Jews as being responsible for the killing of Jesus Christ (note to Beck: Maybe you need to go to a real University and take a comparative religion course. It was the Romans who put Christ to death, not the Jews.). It's this type of rhetoric that fans anti-semitic attitudes.

But let's stay away from the anti-semitism thing for a minute, 'cause like I said, I'm not Jewish. But I am Catholic and Beck recently called for Catholics to leave the church (I guess to worship at the Church of Beck) because Catholics are communists and fascists. So apparently I'm a communist now because I am Catholic. First they came for the communists... Beck is not stupid enough to outright condemn the Catholic Church or the Jewish faith, but such veiled rhetoric is nothing more than carefully crafted, socially acceptable hate speech.

Okay - enough of my impassioned rant for now. I've got hungry kid who are yelling for mac n cheese. But I'm going on record that I believe that hate IS NOT an American value and I am speaking out against hatred and intolerance. Want to join me? No? then feel free to ignore me.