On the night of November 9, 1938, a campaign of hate officially began. Kristallnacht (literal translation: "night of crystal"), often referred to as "The Night of Broken Glass", has been cited as the first true act of terror that Jewish people experienced during the Holocaust. While the bulk of this destruction occurred in Germany, regions that were also affected on this fateful night included Nazi-occupied lands in Austria and Czechoslovakia. Although this night signified the annihilation of material goods, in reality on this night, 11 million lives began to come to an end.
78 years later, this destruction has echoed and has been amplified with the results of the 2016 United States Presidential Election.
Unfortunately, there is no denying that a similar campaign has been launched across the United States. This is the cold, brutal reality. In Hitler’s Germany, Jewish people were made to register with authorities in order to signify their religion and heritage. When asked about Muslims, Trump has stated numerous times that he too would like to have Muslims registered with authorities. In other words, will we turn a blind eye, and ignore this ominous warning, when we have seen this all before?
Image Courtesy of Philadelphia Magazine
Although we are meant to learn from history's mistakes, many of us have realized that we are only repeating them. Much like how Adolf Hitler's campaign was won by scapegoating minorities, Donald Trump has found himself using much of a similar platform.
Image Courtesy of The Triton
In the wake of the 2016 United States Presidential Election results, many Americans woke up to disheartening news. Across the United States, minorities have been attacked since and chastised since Donald J. Trump was declared the President Elect.
While there are many reports circulating around the media, there are a few reports that stand out in the wake of the election results:
- A gay man from California was physically assaulted this week in wake of the election news.
- An Asian woman in Minnesota was both verbally and physically assaulted by a group of white males. When police officers arrived on the scene, the victim was handcuffed and subsequently questioned. Thankfully, upon the officers' further investigations, she was released immediately.
- A Muslim woman adorned in a hijab was accosted in a Walmart; The victim noted that her attacker ripped the hijab off of her head, claiming that she "was not allowed to that anymore, and that [she] should go hang herself with it".
- In California, a woman on a college campus claims to have been attacked for wearing a hijab.
- Cell phone video has circulated of Caucasian students chanting "build that wall" towards their Latino peers.
Similar to the Kristallnacht, many places across the United States have also been vandalized. In south Philadelphia and in Upstate New York, residents woke up to very chilling pro-Trump graffiti: Swastikas were spray painted, along with slogans such as "Sieg Heil 2016" (meaning "Hail Victory").
To be completely fair, not all Trump supporters are racists and bigots. This is absolutely a strong misconception. However, those who voted for this campaign have allowed hate to prosper. A vote for Donald Trump, even if it was just to spite Hillary Clinton, was still a vote for prejudice and a tool for scapegoating. A vote for Trump means that you stand idly by as a campaign of terror spreads across the United States. Previous generation have seen this happen before. We have heard stories from witnesses who claimed that they did not know what going to happen, only for those same words to be echoed 78 years later.
History cannot be ignored, however our peers are turning a blind eye to the homegrown terror associated with this election. For women, people of color, and LGBT individuals, this campaign represents terror. We will be told to leave, but we will not, because like it or not this is our country too. The Trump supporters spewing hate are not real Americans, they do not honor or respect our Constitution; For those of us who have taken a stand against intolerance, we are real Americans, we fight for justice and we will not let the echos of Kristallnacht destroy this great nation.
"For in the end, it is all about memory, its sources and its magnitude, and, of course, its consequences", Elie Wiesel, Night.
