Martin Niemöller, a prominent Protestant pastor, who spoke against Adolf Hitler and spent many years of Nazi rule in concentration camps, was mainly known for the quote "First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out- because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out- because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out- because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me- and there was no one left to speak for me." This quote has a powerful meaning, that can relate to multiple things.
I believe this quote can strongly relate to gender discrimination and bullying. In today's society, woman are always put down, but no one has the confidence to stick up for them. Same goes for bullying. People are too afraid to speak out against someone who is a leader. People aren't always willing to speak out against something that may not effect them. This quote can be taken in different ways, but I believe it's mostly about how we only speak out against things that effect us. But when it does effect us, the people who aren't being effected won't speak out. Even if this quote was from a long time ago, it still strongly relates to our life today.
I can personally relate to this quote in many ways. I remember at my old school, I watched a
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His quote is a great reminder about how people need to speak out against something they know is wrong, even if it's easier to stay silent. All the situation is going to do is progress if nobody is willing to speak out against it. Just how this quote was talking about the Nazis taking people away, it can be related to people getting bullied. If no one's willing to speak out against bullying, people are going to keep getting bullied. If no one's willing to speak out against the Nazis, they're going to keep taking more and more people
He mention the reason why people would claim why it is not a good to mange racist speech. The argument is that the freedom of speech is a stimulus in our democratic setup. Also another claim is that people suffer hate speech but it is necessary for the convenience of the society as a whole. To add it is essential to minorities because it's their only source of getting people to feel bad for them. Regulating racist speech would be impossible it would surge an imbalance between the continued free ideas and the parliamentary process dependent and on the other the need for the further cause of
"I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how people are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another. I see that the keenest brains of the world invent weapons and words to make it yet more refined and enduring. And all men of my age, here and over there, throughout the whole world see these things. All my generation is experiencing these things with me..."
Unfortunately, indifference is easy, tempting, and seductive, but there have been groups and people that have stood up for what they believe. Although, people believe these genocides can not happen now, there are many tragedies that are going on. We can learn to get involved and care for those who feel worthless from the speech. Feeling worthless or not important is worse than punishments. It is vital that we ask ourselves about the lessons we learn from the consequences of action and inaction during the Holocaust and other human rights tragedies. This can allow us not to make the same mistake
This quote by James Baldwin pertains to his relevant thoughts on the Harlem Riots of 1943. A copy of Newsweek from August 9,1943 described the riot in great detail, ?Within a half hour Harlem?s hoodlums were on the march. Windows of pawnshops and liquor and grocery stores were smashed and looted. The Negroes began wielding knives and the police their guns? Thousands of police reserves, many of them Negroes, were rushed to the district?All traffic was re routed around Harlem?It came down chiefly to a battle between the police and Negro looters.? Much of Baldwin?s writing came from this World War II time period full of racial tension. The Harlem Riots of 1943 were another piece in the Civil Rights movement of which Baldwin used events and experiences from in his own writings.
“In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
He mentions the very recent violence that occurred in Selma, Alabama; where African Americans were attacked by police while preparing to march to Montgomery to protest voting rights discrimination. Without mentioning this violent event that occurred a week prior, there would not be much timeliness to his argument, and it wouldn’t have been as effective. The timeliness of his argument gave the speech a lot more meaning, and it heightened the emotions of many who heard the address. He is appealing to the emotions of many American people, both Congressmen and ordinary citizens, to encourage them to support his cause. He reminds us of all of the Americans around the world that are risking their lives for our freedom. He refers to them as “guardians of our liberty.” He also address the problem as the whole nation should be concerned not just the north, the south, or the African American
“When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitives become irrelevant. Whenever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion or political views that place must become the center of the universe,” said by Elie Wiesel’s speech.
“The Perils of Indifference” is a speech that Elie Wiesel delivered in Washington D.C. on April 12, 1999, exactly 54 years after his release from the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald by American troops. Both Congress along with President Clinton and Mrs. Clinton were present to hear the speech. Wiesel spoke briefly about what it was like in the concentration camps, but he focused mostly on the topic of Indifference. His speech was effective in its use of rhetoric to convince the audience that as individuals and as a world culture we cannot afford to become indifferent to the suffering around us.
"There are only two definite things on earth. LIFE and DEATH. The difference between LIFE and DEATH is absolute. One cannot rely upon the dead; no one can make friends with the dead; the dead can neither speak nor mingle with the living. If you insist on marching west, we (by we I mean all living things) must bid you goodbye and stop bothering with you, because we, the living, are too busy to have anything to do with the dead."
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Having an opinion and or a belief is better than not having one at all. A great man such as Elie Wiesel would agree to that statement. He believes standing up for what is right by showing compassion for a fellow human being than for letting good men do nothing while evil triumphs. The message he passes was how indifference is showing the other man he is nothing. He attempts to grasp the audience by personal experiences and historic failures, we need to learn from and also to grow to be the compassionate human being we all are.
Along with rhetorical appeals, Wiesel also uses many rhetorical devices such as parallelism and anaphora. Wiesel depicts parallelism when he says, “to fight fascism, to fight dictatorship, to fight Hitler” (Wiesel lines 103-104). The parallelism and anaphora, in the quote, provide emphasis on the discrimination and abuse that has taken place around the world. Repeating the same initial phrase shows the significance of the words Wiesel is speaking. Wiesel mentions the victims of this extreme tragedy when he states,” for the children in the world, for the homeless for the victims of injustice, the victims of destiny and society.” (Wiesel lines 17-19). This use of anaphora and parallelism emphasize the amount of people the Holocaust has affected and impacted. The parallelism being used adds value to his opinions and balances the list of people Wiesel is making in his speech.
“When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant, at that moment that should become the center of the universe.” Elie Wiesel said this quote when he was awarded with the Nobel Peace Award for his campaign against worldwide genocide and violence in 1986. But what Elie Wiesel truly wanted to say is that the U.S did wrong because they entered two years after World War 2 started, so he didn’t approve it because if the U.S could fight the Nazis as soon as the war started then they could have saved a lot of people. In my opinion this quote is true because when a tragedy happens around the world no matter what or where it is always going to be the center of attention. Unfortunately
Through the Holocaust, Elie learned that silence is not an answer to oppression. At first, he couldn’t believe the cruelty and pain the Nazis were inflicting. He said, “’I could not believe that human beings were being burned in our times; the world would never tolerate such crimes,’” (Page 33, Night). Then, Elie came to realize the world was staying silent. He saw that people were suffering and dying, and all of humankind backed away in fear or indifference. Seeing this happen in the time he was at the camp made
In the book by Elie Wiesel, the young Elie Wiesel describes his life in the concentration camps. The injustice he faces was anti semitism, on the extreme side. Many of the sighet jews who “not only refused to believe his tales, they