I'm a pariah of sorts, at least around where I live. I haven't always been, but at least as of late I am. I'm also in the terminal stages of my marriage, which of course is all 'part of the deal.' I'm at peace with that also. I'm at peace with lots of things. . Not everything, but lots of things. I still have a problem with hate, abandonment and bigotry.  This week is the Week of Remembrance. I don't know how many of you here know that. We all should. Especially those here. For some reason, I feel compelled to share what I posted on Facebook yesterday. I'm a pariah there too. Especially there. There I now speak to and for myself. But I love myself. If we are going to change how society looks at us, views us as a whole, accepts us, we must begin to visibly accept who we are and strive to end the hate, bigotry and separation of basic human rights.
Yet another diatribe that will go unread:
Yesterday was the start of Days of Remembrance, something I'm sure many, if not most are not even aware of. It is a time to remember and reflect the loss of millions of innocent people, needlessly and brutally wiped from humanity and existence though the Holocaust or Shoah. Anyone who did not fit the mold of what society deemed as 'fit', as found to be genetically deficient, rounded up, and either slaughtered on the spot or warehoused in ghettos for later transport to death camps for later extermination by gassing. This not only included Jews, but also, Gypsies, homosexuals, the disabled and the mentally deficient. With full knowledge of the ongoing genocide, the Nations of the world stood by in silence without taking any action whatsoever. The pervasive attitude of "it has no effect on me" was shared by all even to this day. When you witness and injustice and remain silent, you carry and bear the same guilt as those who commit the injustice. If you do not have the courage to stand up for what is right, then you too are doing wrong. There is no middle ground. No grey area. We have Days of Remembrance not only because over six million people perished, but because we as a people failed them. And to this very day we continue to disappoint, disgrace their honor and forget, by turning our back on others, those who do not have a strong enough voice to be heard and yet are denied basic human rights. The hate and bigotry did not end seventy-five years ago. Some think it did. Maybe with this generation or the next it will. But unless people begin to stand up for the injustices of others, especially the injustices that have no effect on them, it never ever will. This is what Days of Remembrance is about.

Hugs, Sandra. Thanks for this. I hope things get better for you.

I agree, remembrance is as much about the future as the past.

Beautifully Written!

Sandra,
To be a pariah in the cause of justice is neither a disgrace nor something that necessarily should be avoided.  I spent decades of my life living in a shell that I knew was wrong, but because of fear of exclusion/rejection/abandonment, add more here, did my best to be something I wasn't.  The fascists were not the first perpetrators of holocaust, nor will they be the last.  Never Forget! is not a theme of history, but something from the front page above the fold.  I am proud and grateful to you for being willing to step up and speak out.  MLK said "Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere."  Those words are no less true on this week of Remembrance than for all the years past.  Be it the slaughter of the Armenians, the Russian purges of the 1930's, The incineration of the Jewish/Roma/Catholics of WWII, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia - the history of humanity is bathed in the blood of innocents.  As a tiny minority we are vulnerable, but as agents of change we are powerful.  The tools are there, we must find the inner strength to pick them up and wield them with courage.  I may only just want to live my remaining years in peace and without rancor, but somehow I must find the resolve to march again.  Thank you for your post.

Julie

yes , we need to remember

Not unread. Not unnoticed either, Sandra. Good on you for shining a light on this.