“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” (– Attributed to Anne Frank)
Today we commemorate the national Days of Remembrance, established by the US Congress as the nation’s annual recognition of the Holocaust. Tell us why you #remember: https://t.co/nN52qLgiu0
— US Holocaust Museum (@HolocaustMuseum) May 2, 2019
.@HRC joins the international community to honor the six million Jews who were murdered and millions of others who were victimized, including members of the LGBTQ community, under Nazi Germany before and during World War II. #HolocaustRemembranceDayhttps://t.co/9XHQl1Gi1B
One thing important to remember is that there are fewer Jews in the world than in 1939. The Holocaust radically changed the Jewish world affects Jewish communities worldwide deeply to this day. On this #YomHaShoah, we remember those lost.
If you're not a Jew you can't even really comprehend how much of our time culturally and religiously is spent remembering and discussing all the times over the course of thousands of years people have tried to kill us.
In 2019 in the United States of America, the Jewish community still experiences life-threatening anti-Semitism:
There is a Passover song, “Zog, Maran”, which is structured as a conversation between an Ashkenazi Jew and a Sephardi Jew celebrating under the fear of persecution and murder. It ends:
We are shocked and alarmed at the second deadly attack on an American synagogue in six months, this time at Congregation Chabad in #Poway, on the last day of Passover. It must serve as another wake-up call that antisemitism is a growing and deadly menace. https://t.co/NXsREnPriwpic.twitter.com/NsyE2WpnFv
If the Jewish and Muslim communities can support one another, then others can–and must–also learn to de-escalate.
Thinking about how moved I was when so many Muslims stepped up to help their Jewish neighbours after the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh last fall. Hoping to see lots of similar acts of solidarity after the horror in #christchurch.
I know I speak for many when I write that Muslims appreciated the outpouring of love, prayers and support from our Jewish brothers and sisters after the New Zealand mosque shooting. Let us know what our communities can do to help after this latest #Poway synagogue shooting.
Violence is committed every day, but people in marginalized groups experience violence at considerably higher rates than majority group members, and more often simply because of who they are. For minority group members, this can lead to a pervasive (and frankly, realistic) sense of vulnerability that causes increased symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD, especially when hate-based violence is a news event.
Jeffrey Marsh has some gentle suggestions for being supportive:
I love you very much. Please check in with your POC LGBTQ loved ones. Don’t expect or demand an answer but be around. Be available. 💛a lot of folks live with the threat of violence hanging over everything, and could use your heart today
Checking in and validating–without pressuring someone to talk or to help you to process–can be helpful, especially if you are willing to simply allow your friend or loved one to have the space to manage their feelings.
Publicly speaking out to or among other majority group members can also be helpful: for example, share a supportive post. But consider sharing a post that does NOT include graphic images or footage of violence. People who live with the threat of violence daily don’t need further exposure and may feel even more vulnerable.
It is common for PTSD symptoms to spike during times of social upheaval, especially for those who are in marginalized groups or who have abuse histories.
Nicole Sanchez, a lecturer at UC UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, has some useful insights about how we can support marginalized friends and coworkers during critical events. She’s talking about race, but much of the dynamics also apply to events affecting LGBTQ folks (and other marginalized groups).
In the past few years, I've been in the position to lead inside companies while major events, all with racism at their core, have unfolded in the news
  