November 9 12

I was all set to sit down and write you something incredibly witty. Well, it *was* witty in my head when I thought of it in the shower and laughed out loud at myself. It probably wouldn’t have been all that witty when I actually put pen to paper, or, you know, finger to keyboard, as it were.

But then. THEN.

There was an image that I saw on Facebook yesterday. And just so you know, there’s a lot of hateful shit out there right now. People are saying some horrible, horrible things. But this one? This one hit way, way too close to home for me. I won’t put the photo on my site, because I am THAT offended by it, so I will link it here, so you can see. Go on, click on over. And if you can stomach it, read through a few of the comments.

What this image boils down to is this: DEMOCRATS = NAZIS. The message is, be like the guy who didn’t hail Hilter. Be like that guy over there, the non-soluter—don’t be an Obama supporter, don’t drink the Democrat Kool-Aid, don’t be like the NAZIS.

Really? REALLY??!?!?

Look, I get it. Your guy didn’t win. It sucks. It hurts to lose when you see so much promise in your guy. I would have been disappointed had Mitt Romney won. I was really disappointed when Bush won. But, hey, guess what, that’s democracy, folks. We all get a say. Some said Mitt Romney (a lot, actually) and some said Barack Obama (more, actually) and that’s that. It’s over. Now, the right thing to do is that even though you don’t like the guy, he’s the guy you are stuck with for the next four years and you need to turn around and have some HOPE that he’s going to do right by the United States of America.

Because I spend a lot of time on social media, because I read a lot, I have seen some really ugly things this week—I have seen words thrown around, words that should never, ever be spoken, never be written, never be said about anyone, much less the President of the United States.

There’s not much that’s uglier than this.

My Bubbie and Zaydie, my mom’s parents, survived the Holocaust—barely. They survived concentration camps; death camps. They lost almost every single member of their families. They were tortured, starved, beaten down until the were almost destroyed completely. They made it.

Six million others did not make it.

When I think about their stories, what they went through, it’s unimaginable.

When I think about the fact that there are people out there, in 2012, who could possibly compare Obama and the people who voted for him to NAZIS, it’s unimaginable as well.

**Title courtesy of my wise friend Dave Lipetz, via Facebook.

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  1. So well said. I have nothing to add, just a thank you for writing this.

    Comment by Jennifer on November 9, 2012
  2. Well said, Ali. Thanks for putting it out there. xo

    Comment by Allison Zapata on November 9, 2012
  3. Sharing this with everyone I know.

    Comment by Sharon on November 9, 2012
  4. Well said. My mother is full blooded German. Born and raised. A lot of her family didn’t make it either, not because they were Jewish, but because they dared speak out.

    It makes me sick when people throw the word Nazi around so casually.

    Comment by TheAvasmommy on November 9, 2012
  5. People are stupid. This is perfect.

    (I totally cried reading it.)

    Comment by Angella on November 9, 2012
  6. What is wrong with these people? These folks need to suck it up.

    Comparing anything or anyone to Hitler/Nazis has to be the most weak, unoriginal, and pathetic argument a person can make.

    I cannot even begin to imagine what your grandparents went though.

    Comment by Danielle on November 9, 2012
  7. That’s disgusting.

    (Them, not you.)

    Comment by Nanette on November 9, 2012
  8. True story, you made me realize several years ago that using “Nazi” to describe someone, even myself, was inappropriate. It’s too real of a word to use to describe anyone who is not a Nazi.

    Comment by Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] on November 9, 2012
  9. Sharing. Thank you for writing this.

    Comment by Kristen on November 9, 2012
  10. Wow. I hadn’t seen that.

    I have no words. It’s disgusting.

    Comment by Kristabella on November 9, 2012
  11. You are completely right. I can’t believe this even has to be written. Ugh.

    Comment by Heather on November 9, 2012
  12. Thank you.

    My grandma survived the Holocaust. Her father did not.

    While I did not vote for President Obama, I refuse to vilify him in such a manner.

    One of my favorite things about the U.S. is that life simply goes on after a leader is elected. THAT is the gift of democracy.

    Comment by Steph on November 9, 2012
  13. So well written Ali. I was {and continue to be} shocked by the awful words put out there for the world to see by people unhappy about the election. People are just plain ignorant.

    Comment by Sarah on November 9, 2012
  14. Amen, and I will correct anybody when they invoke Godwin’s law, regardless of subject matter.

    Comment by karengreeners on November 9, 2012
  15. […] I will never understand how people can speak like this – Cheaper Than Therapy […]

    Pingback by Links I Like With One Direction | Kellidaisy.com on November 9, 2012
  16. I don’t know where all this hate comes from. Why is someone with a different opinion evil. Thanks for sharing this.

    Comment by Paige on November 9, 2012
  17. YES. To all of it.

    Comment by jodifur on November 9, 2012
  18. I wonder who the first person was to equate someone with a Nazi and have other people decide it was okay to do. I know that over time, there is a dilution to the impact of words, so I understand why, but that image is a step too far.

    I actually stopped referring to myself to a grammar nazi recently because I realized that I didn’t want to use the word that casually anymore.

    Comment by Avitable on November 12, 2012
  19. Oh my God, Ali. I completely and totally agree with you about this one. In a mommy group I belong to someone referred to herself as a nap nazi and I felt like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water at me. Are you strict about something? Great, say you’re strict. No need to say you are a disgusting nazi.

    Comment by Jen on November 13, 2012
  20. Such a great post, Ali. Thanks for writing this. xo

    Comment by Haley-O on November 13, 2012
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