Choosing to stay strong

I am really missing my "Journey to Lithuania and Poland" friends. I long to see them and talk about everything that happened in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.

When they realized I was from Newtown, with care and sensitivity they asked me about my community and what it was like teaching there in light of the Sandy Hook tragedy.

They acknowledged, remembered, and showed compassion. They did this because they know firsthand about unspeakable loss. 

I remember how one Jewish friend shared how he once asked his parents, "how come we don't have any cousins?"

How horrible. No cousins?

Cousins are suppose to be your first best friends. As I prepare to see mine on Saturday for a family reunion, I think about how cousins are a "playground" for how to make friends. I can't imagine my life without mine.

Now, there are scores of families in El Paso and Dayton who when they gather at holidays, there will be empty chairs. They'll be missing someone at their dinner table. Forever.

I'm certain that for my Jewish friends, learning about how the El Paso shooter was motivated by  white supremacy, is a horrible reminder of Nazi ideology. It reminds all of us how we haven't done enough to make sure these atrocities do not ever happen again.

This makes teaching about the Holocaust all the more imperative. It has been said often that the Holocaust did not begin with the gas chambers. It started with words fueled by hatred, racial superiority, and a lack of respect for humanity. Those words transformed into an ideology that turned neighbor against neighbor, people into complicit collaborators, and even murderers.

And yet, those who survived rose up and saw their ability to thrive as the best vengeance of all.

I know my brothers and sisters in El Paso and Dayton will rise up, when they are ready. I know they desire to honor the memory of those they lost to this heinous crime. We must do everything in our power to educate the masses about unbridled racism and antisemitism.

What about those who were murdered? Remember their names. Say their names. Learn about their culture and the communities they came from. Honor them and support their families.

The horrible massacres in El Paso and Dayton have personally triggered my own sadness and sense of hopelessness.

I can not stay stuck there.

My students need me to be strong and willing to "fight the good fight." They need me to inform them with accuracy about the roots of racism and antisemitism, and thoroughly examine why it's on the rise today. I will encourage my students to promote justice, recognize and challenge bias, and take action. I will work hard to develop awareness, understanding, and empathy. I hope to inspire my students to become positive agents of change in their communities and the global society.

Education is the BEST antidote to violence, hatred, and evil.