Thread by @wittelstephanie

I'm a Jewish person living in Texas in 2018. I've never felt oppressed or threatened because of my religion. Until now. This happened yesterday in Georgia. In 2018.

My Jewish mother grew up in Meridian, Mississippi. In 1968, the KKK blew up her synagogue in addition to several black churches in the area. My grandfather offered a $75,000 reward to find out who was responsible for the damage. It made national news and put a target on his back.

An informant alerted the FBI that the KKK was planning to bomb my mom's house in retaliation. The FBI moved the entire neighborhood into motels for a week since they weren't sure when the strike would occur. My grandfather brought his recliner with him.

Sure enough, two KKK members showed up in the middle of the night armed with 29 sticks of dynamite. A 21 yr old man and a 24 yr old woman who happened to be a Kindergarten teacher. They placed 29 sticks of dynamite beneath my grandparents' bedroom window.

Fortunately, the FBI was staking out the house. There was a shootout. The Kindergarten teacher was killed. The 21 yr old kid was sent to prison for many, many years.

Let me be clear, this photo is not "freedom of speech." It's hate speech that leads to acts of deadly violence.

A group of white people standing in a field in front of a burning swastika collectively performing the Nazi salute is historically dangerous and deadly. It's horrifying. It makes me terrified to be Jewish. Now. Today. In 2018.

The Holocaust was 70 years ago. 6 million Jews were exterminated like vermin. Seeing this familiar, brutal, and horrific iconography suggests what Jews have always feared most: that it can happen again.

What are we doing as a society to prevent this? Moreover, what are our leaders doing to prevent this? Last I heard, our President called neo-Nazis "fine people."

None of this is normal.
None of this is okay.

And history repeats itself.