Anne Frank House and Charlottesville

Last Thursday, Mom, Tom, the boys, and I spent the morning at Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Although we knew the story, although I studied the Holocaust extensively in college, although I thought I knew what to expect, we all of us were rendered silent and emotional. We each listened intently to the audio tour, bearing witness to the horrors and courage and human spirit the Frank family (and millions of others) endured and demonstrated. 

Today, just two days later, I am back in America and watching with a heavy, outraged, disgusted heart the white supremacists marching and beating peaceful counter-protestors in Charlottesville, VA. Governor McAuliffe has declared a state of emergency, three are dead, dozens are injured. And that's just the physical damage. Imagine the psyches of Americans of color right now, as white men and woman wave confederate flags and scream about "taking our country back." Imagine how Jews watching Americans raise their arms in Sieg Heil salutes, swastikas waving at their sides (see below) must feel. 

72 years separates the end of World War II and now. 72 years. 72 years since Anne Frank was murdered after hiding for two years in a dark annex. 72 years since the hate-filled Hitler took his own life in cowardly fashion. Less than that between the turbulent Civil Rights movement in America and now. What are we doing? 

I am nearly speechless. I am sick to my stomach and desperately sad to be back in this country after enjoying two weeks in beautifully progressive, largely tolerant places. I'll leave you with this, courtesy of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect. 

Dear America,

Dear America,

Growing up, I learned that you were exceptional in pretty much every way. You were discovered by righteous white Europeans seeking a place to live openly. They were tired of being oppressed, tired of being unable to practice their religions freely, tired of being under a monarch's thumb. And so they bravely sailed west.

These settlers loved the Indians and were sorry to kill so many of them with illness they brought from their home countries. The ones they massacred so that they could more easily steal the native's land, well, that was for the greater good and all. I mean, they needed the good land to farm and build houses on. And the Europeans thought the native Americans were not as smart, that they were primitive and simple, and so they look a few lessons from them before kicking them away. At some point there was a lovely, communal Thanksgiving with cornucopias and bounty, and everything was jovial and fine after that as long as the red man stayed away on the parcels of land those Europeans so generously gave them.

And wow, then the settlers found cotton and just loved how it grew. But gosh, it was hard to grow and pick. So were sugar cane and tobacco. And so there was a great idea to outsource labor. Slaves! Just the ticket. Slaves can be sold for lots of money and then work for free. Man do the economics sound great. Also, slaves are pretty dispensable, and when you kidnap them en masse and don't really care how many make it from Africa to here, you can just keep on kidnapping and hauling and kidnapping and hauling. Dump the dead, sell the rest. 

See, Africans, like the native Americans, were also considered simple, dumb really. Immoral, barbarous, in desperate need of minding and structure and hard work. They weren't whole people, only partial. Maybe 3/5. The settlers knew best. They always did. And so really, it was an act of loving kindness to give the black animals work, routine, expectations, rules. They were given housing and food too. It was sort of an ideal situation and gosh, America, you thrived. Just grew and thrived like nobody's business.

Meanwhile, women were forced into their rightful places in the home. Why on earth would women need or want to vote, think, or be educated? Their minds weren't sophisticated enough to hold most jobs, and have mercy, there were babies to be had. Keeping them in the home was the best way to honor their maternal abilities, the best way to keep any dormant hysteria at bay. It was a fine celebration of reproductive vessels. The women wanted to be appreciated, right? Boy did you do that, America.

Then some Americans started to think this slavery thing was wrong and also some crazy women wanted to vote. Honest Abe figured out how to get enough folks on board with abolition, and the Confederacy accepted his decision peacefully. All the white slave owners were paid when their slaves were set free because really, they lost a lot of money when their human property was taken. The slaves weren't given a dime or any land or material anything and they sure as heck couldn't vote, but they were free so America and the slaves were even steven. Kumbaya.

Suffragettes worked really hard and no one called them idiots or threatened to kill them. Then women could vote. Kumbaya again. And civil rights and gay rights and women's rights and religious tolerance...sure, people may have had to fight (and some may have died) and argue, but you are America and you are so accepting. Some guy named Jim Crow, who was really bad, was even welcomed here. I mean, the first people came here for freedom so of course they wanted others to have freedom too. That's only right.

Today things are great. America is thriving, just like all that cotton once did. People get along and there is no racism or sexism, and facts are valued to the nth. A man who really isn't good at anything but lying, cheating, stealing, and being mean to people got to be President! He doesn't understand government or math or healthcare or geography! He is ugely NOT elite except that he has a lot of money. He hasn't actually made any of that money but he has it, and America, you do value money. This all goes to show that anything is possible in this great country. 

I think my education was lacking in many ways, because we really are more exceptional than I ever knew. Thanks for being you, America.

Sincerely,

Emily

Gun violence prevention event and #NRA2DOJ march

As y'all probably know guns are not my favorite invention. They wreak havoc on too many communities in this country, splintering families via death and incarceration, increasing rates of suicide and domestic violence, and holding the NOT illustrious award as second leading cause of death and injury for American children. 

And while the NRA used to be a reasonable organization in support of gun safety, education, and responsibility, it has, since the late 70s, hitched its wagon firmly to the Right-leaning political sphere. While it has continued to budget for education and safety training, the NRA now has an annual budge of "some quarter of a billion dollars, and between 2000 and 2010 it spent fifteen times as much on campaign contributions as gun-control advocates did," according to this October, 2015, New Yorker article. NRA money spent on lobbying peaked in 2015, at nearly $3.7 million, and last year, the organization spent nearly ten times that, $36.3 million, on efforts to help elect Donald Trump. As evidenced by many such behaviors, not least the grotesque video, The Violence of Lies, the NRA recently released, it is an organization that spreads fear and promotes discord, and it makes me exceedingly uncomfortable.

I have, since we moved into Maryland, been increasingly glad to have done so. We have excellent senators, Van Hollen and Cardin, my representative, Jamie Raskin, is terrific, and as I learned last night at a fundraiser for Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, our Attorney General, Brian Frosh, is too. He has worked to make Maryland a progressive, safer, environmentally sound state and a national leader in addressing and attempting to remedy the public health crisis of gun violence. 

MD AG Brian Frosh speaks at a MDPGV fundraiser

AG Frosh spoke about his (largely successful) efforts in leading the fight for the Firearm Safety Act, increasing protections for victims of domestic violence (nationally, many of these assaults involve firearms); and getting assault weapons and other dangerous firearms off of our streets. He is a vocal opponent of the NRA's attempts to weaken or eradicate reasonable gun safety measures like background checks, and I appreciated so much his educated, thoughtful positions and dedication to Maryland and, by extension, the US.

It was a perfect segue to the #NRA2DOJ protest and march I participated in this morning.

Organized by the Women's March leaders, today's event was a direct response to both the horrific lack of justice meted out in the Philando Castile trial (the officer who murdered Castile was acquitted; the NRA took nearly a year to make any public mention of Castile's shooting and death) and also the NRA video I mentioned earlier. Additionally, the Newtown and Pulse nightclub massacres, the deaths of so many black Americans at the hands of police, the gun violence crushing many American cities, and the role of firearms in domestic violence and child death and injury moved many to get out and make our voices heard.

We arrived at the NRA's Virginia headquarters just before 9am. The DC area has been enflamed in a record heat wave this week, and by 10am, temperatures were near 100 with off-the-charts humidity to boot. After a vigorous rally, we all planned to march the 18 miles to the Department of Justice downtown.

There was a moving tribute to the children killed at Sandy Hook and a number of inspiring speakers, well-known and not, rallied us. You should all listen to and follow Tamika Mallory, by the way. She is amazing!

Periodically, some NRA supporters strode around, guns and ammo strapped to their thighs and chests, their signs held high. They were all male and all white. Their signs read:
Free Speech BY ANY MEANS Necessary
and
The Second Amendment Protects the First
and
Free Speech Is Under Attack
and
Patriot Lives Matter

It seems to me that if you're walking around carrying such signs and wearing guns and ammo, you're free speech isn't being thwarted or denied in any way. What does having or not having a gun have to do with patriotism? Not a thing.

I didn't meet one person today who wanted to take all guns away. Not one. Everyone respected the Second Amendment although there was definite discussion on what the Amendment really says and supports (um, not assault weapons).

What we want is regulation. Background checks. Insurance. Education. Training. Safety.

We want perpetrators of domestic violence to NOT be allowed guns. We want mentally ill citizens to be vetted thoroughly before being given firearms. We see no need for enormous magazines and widespread ownership of assault weapons. We want NRA board members to stop saying things like, "If a man can't rape his wife, then who can he rape?"

We do not want guns in our kindergartens or on our college campuses, in our churches or in bars. We do not want our communities militarized. And we are tired of seeing hate militarized in the ways it too often is (see Dylann Roof's massacre of blacks at the Emanual AME Church in Charleston, see Omar Mateen's massacre of LGBTQ folks at Pulse Nightclub, etc)

This isn't a zero sum game. And a huge majority of Americans do want stricter gun regulation. Some can have guns and others can feel safe; both can exist simultaneously. But not in the current situation. 

The march began around 11:45. The heat index had pushed the temp above 100, and the migraine I've had since Tuesday remained lodged in my skull. My friend and I started off but ultimately decided to head home. 18 miles is a long trek, and I have five guests arriving tomorrow morning. I wish I'd been able to march the whole way. Footage from the arrival at the DOJ is very moving. Here's a summary article with some videos and stills. 

But I feel like I'm doing my part in the ways I can: financially, with my voice, with my time, with my feet. Hopefully you are doing your parts too, about the issues you care and are concerned about.