I was recently made aware of a guy who tweeted some antisemitic content.  Nothing unique. Happens all the time.  Antisemitism is rampant on Twitter.   I try not to get into individual battles over it. That’s all  I would be doing all day.  This particular  tweet happened to come from a local kid(Dallas) so I decided to take an interest and teach him a lesson about his message.  Most speech is free from goverment interference  and Twitter does not prohibit this type of content but hate speech  does have consequences.  If I can teach one kid the consequences of his hate speech by costing him his job I am ok with that.   A short time later I got a tweet from a local Dallas atty asking me why I cared about the tweet of some random “tool”.  Here is the majority of the exchange.

There are some other exchanges that I have not posted but are in my Twitter stream if you care to look.  I admittedly got defensive and to use her word “rude’ with her.  For that, I apologize to Patricia.  I should have handled it with professionalism and a explanation of how antisemitism spreads.  Too much for 140.  Being anonymously rude was easier and more cleansing on a visceral level.  Even I can succumb to that in social media.

Here is why I care.  The kid may be a “tool” and a “waste of air”.  It’s not my place to say.  We all have value to someone.   The message he is spreading however, is not inconsequential nor harmless even from a random tool.  The message of antisemitism is spread  by “tools” lawyers, doctors, PhD’s and many others.  Millions of “tools” get together and that is how hate goes viral.  Pretty simple concept.  I won’t stay silent.

“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”

Those are reason enough for me to care about the Twitter message of a  random “tool.   Every genocide starts with one “tool”.   Here are some other reasons why I care. About 11 million of them.

Never again.

There is controversy over a YouTube video of Holocaust Survivor, Adolek Kohn, dancing with members of his family to “I Will Survive, in front of Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps.  There are those that are outraged over the video, viewing it as mocking the Holocaust. There are those who support it as a celebration of life. I stand with the latter.

I came across the video on the blog of Debbie Schlussel. Debbie and I have had our differences on various issues.  This is however, one time I am completely on board with her views. There is a huge difference between pimping out a tragedy and celebrating survival of that tragedy. I will not restate the entire controversy as she has covered it quite well.  As goofy as the video is, I frankly cried when I watched it.  For a survivor to go back and joyfully dance on the horrendous memories of his fight and the fight of all European Jews for their survival to me is a celebration of life and our ability as humans to take tragedy and smile back at it.  We did survive and more power to Adolek Kohn for allowing me to remember with a smile on my face.  IMHO, Adolek Kohn has earned the right to “dance his experience” any damn place he pleases.