This kind of silence hurts the bystander and allows the oppressor to harm himself. Elie Wiesel spoke up. We don't need a holocaust or a cross burning or a riot downtown for us to speak up.
When a beloved family member reverts to bigotry we can speak up. A simple "That's not right" will be enough.
When a friend says something ugly about another friend. "That's not right" will be enough.
When someone, bullies someone in the school hallway, an offer to walk with the one being bullied will be enough, whether we know them or not. And if we do know them, our intervention will mean even more.
We can speak up in our own lives, in our own corner of the world, and in our own time in history.
When I heard that Elie Wiesel had died I felt no sadness, only gratitude that he had lived and that he spoke up.
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