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i’ve remained quiet on the topic of anti-semitism and the events that have occurred recently but i’ve also remained fairly quiet on being jewish and what that experience has been like growing up n i’m tired of being quiet 
if there’s rly anyone to blame, it’s the american school system — the curriculum has a tendency to sugarcoat this country’s ACTUAL role in the holocaust along with recognizing the anti-semitism that blatantly still exists here
i also blame myself for not being vocal enough about this bc for a while, i never thought being jewish was such a huge part of my identity. i’m not religious. i never went to hebrew school or had a bat mitzvah. i don’t belong to a synagogue or attend services
but it’s also bc i was lucky enough to grow up around diverse n open minded groups of ppl who never once made me feel uncomfortable for being jewish. to be completely honest i didn’t even know that it was THIS bad ubtil i was a lot older but i know that wasnt the case for some
while i made it a point to take all of the european history classes and history of the holocaust classes i could in college, i never took the time to actually ask my own grandparents about their experiences before they passed away — which is something i regret immensely
in 2016, i was visiting my grandma in the hospital. after a brief period of silence, she suddenly started going into detail about my great grandfather. i had never really heard anything about him prior. it was almost like she was having some rly intense flashback.
when my she and my family had to leave their homes for somewhere that was “safer” for jews, my great grandfather found a job by lying about being jewish. shortly after someone found out about this, he was shot and killed by a Nazi. this was a ... huge turning point for me.
it made me realize that just because i’m not religious, doesn’t mean i’m any less jewish. my family went through hell and back and it’s my responsibility to them and my ancestors to continue to keep its traditions and its values alive regardless of the circumstances
but knowing the history of anti semitism here makes it tough. i mean a nazi rally was held at MSG in 1939!!!!!!!!!!!!! in NYC of ALL PLACES!!! thankfully that’s not the case now but other parts of america STILL DO THIS
it was only 3 years ago that i asked my friend who lived in a state i will not mention in the PNW about locations to get an airbnb for the weekend bc it was my first time visiting. i sent her a bunch of links on the outskirts of the city i was going to n she tells me
to stay away from those areas and i’m like oh! why? is it just not safe?? i’m thinking more so along the lines of bc i’m a woman n maybe the areas are just sketchy. no. it’s bc that’s where most of the white supremacists lived
the worst was when i went to a brunch years later (in that same state) and the person i was with had to announce to his group of friends that i was jewish bc they were clearly saying some fucked up shit that i didn’t hear bc i was talking to someone else at the same time
everyone stopped n looked at me like i was E.T. fuckin asking to phone home. “she is...?????? ohhhh.......” like it was this CRAZY THING!! i wish i would’ve said something but tbh i felt so uncomfortable n weird that i legit froze
anyway this is all to say that i need everyone to always remember that america is built on white supremacy. i’ve learned from an early age, as a child of immigrants, that no one wants you here unless you have roots in this country.
i’m not sure how i feel about how the Eagles are dealing with DeSean Jackson bc i’m trying to wrap my head around how he thought anything with Hitler’s name attached to it was okay. it’s really sad, especially because he has such a huge platform and reaches so many ppl
but seeing Julian Edelman’s response inspires me to want to be compassionate n understanding of the fact that ppl do mess up and that we all have learning to do — myself included.
i also encourage you all to watch this Vice documentary from only ... 3 years ago. and The Plot Against America on HBO — both of which prove this country hasn’t gotten as far when it comes to change as a lot of ppl want to believe that it has.
