Guest Post: On The Side Of Equality, Love And Inclusion

Beatrice Moritz  Photo © Alison Moritz

Today, I am giving But What If I'm Write? over to Beatrice Moritz, a friend of mine, a photographer extraordinaire, and, today, a voice of peace and reason in a time of turmoil and anger. In the wake of Charlottesville, and at time when many of us are feeling the vertigo-inducing sway and roll of turbulent social, political, and moral undercurrents, Beatrice's immigrant perspective is important and welcome. I first read this on Facebook, and Beatrice was kind enough to allow me to share it here.  JM

"I’m posting this in the hopes of more of you becoming involved and speaking out. Because I never thought I’d be on the streets protesting the death of a young woman by American Nazis.

I’m an immigrant. My Jewish mother spent much of her French childhood on the run from Nazis. My paternal grandfather was a German fighter pilot shot down over Libya. His son - my father - was a young child in the Hitler youth. Growing up I often asked my German Grandmother and her sisters what happened in our country, how could this happen? These beautiful women, who I loved very dearly, always replied they did not know then what was happening, that they had no idea. This even though their own father secretly gave money to his Jewish friends to help them leave the country.

It’s all so complicated, isn’t it? People do what they can to survive. My German grandmother and her two sisters - two of them young widows with 5 children between them - lived in one house and grew vegetables in the garden to feed their families, kept their heads down and just tried to keep their starving families safe. All while many miles away my maternal Jewish grandmother watched her husband get taken away to Auschwitz, and hid her child on farms in quiet villages, belongings hastily packed into just a pillowcase. Both grandfathers died, but the women and children made it through the war.

I wasn’t alive then, but for the longest time I carried tremendous guilt about what my people did during the war. I mean it really haunted me, and honestly still does. And years later seeing the Auschwitz intake form with my Grandfather’s name between that of a seamstress and a young child - all destined to be killed - was one of the saddest days of my life. I just do not understand that kind of pure, evil hatred.

So now we have so-called NeoNazis marching in the streets, carrying swastikas and shields and weapons, and spewing hatred at Jews and anyone not white. It’s happened before, you say, and you're right, it has ... but here’s what’s different this time: WE HAVE A PRESIDENT WHO OPENLY SUPPORTS AND ENCOURAGES THIS HATE. This is the current leader of our country. This isn’t who we are, we are bigger and better than this, but don’t think it can’t happen here. It’s happening now. PLEASE TAKE A SIDE AND SPEAK OUT, LOUDLY. And please let it be the side of equality, love and inclusion."    Beatrice Moritz