I wasn't going to write about the events of Charlottesville, VA – and for the most part, I won't.
However, there is one aspect of these rallies I simply cannot ignore. The flags.
As a compassionate and level-headed human, I cannot sit back in silence, knowing I have a platform at my fingertips where I have the opportunity to take a stand for what I believe in; for what is right.
Doing so would be taking my opportunities and the privileges I have for granted. When so many are silenced and not given a voice – that would make me incredibly selfish.
A Nazi flag does not belong on our soil unless it is in a World War II museum. In 2017, we should not be seeing Nazi flags or memorabilia being celebrated and paraded around on our streets.
It blows my mind I have to even type those words – but I have to.
Regardless of 'race,' regardless of political party, regardless of who you voted for – you should know this is wrong.
A swastika symbol does not resemble 'your people'. It does not resemble nationalism. It does not resemble white power or pride.
Do you know what a Nazi Flag or a Swastika does stand for?
Death.
War.
Mutilation.
Humiliation.
Antisemitism.
Opposition to the Christian Church.
The Holocaust.
Concentration Camps.
Extermination Camps.
Separating families.
Slavery.
A totalitarian state.
Expansionism.
Evil.
We had a war over this. The whole world was involved.
This is what we should be reading about in our history books. These Nazi flags belong in museums, not on our streets.
No one should be waving Nazi Germany flags on U.S. soil like it somehow represents you as an American in any way.
World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history in terms of total casualties. Over 60 million people were killed. Seventy to 80 million people, including civilians.
Nearly half a million of those people were your American brothers who fought to take down the Nazi Regime.
By waving that flag, you are disrespecting every person who fought to take the Nazis down. By wearing that Swastika, you are abrasively disregarding not only history, but your ancestors decision to support denazification (the removal of not only Nazi militia, but press, politics, culture, etc.).
If you want to argue it resembles history – fine. Put it in a museum. Let us learn from the evil that occurred because of the Nazi Regime.
Lock it up in a historical building where we can learn from them, and move forward – not backwards.