Hate - Today the Jewish survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp gather for the 75th liberation anniversary

When I went to elementary school I learned about the concentrations camps and we watched documentary segments of the horrors. We learned about hate and how it was wrong. When I was older but still in elementary school, we read “Black Like Me” and again learned about hate and how it was wrong. When I went to Europe and visited some of the concentration camps which should always remain, as a reminder of what we are capable of, I felt the pain of our history. I am seeing a resurgence of hate which I didn’t see when I was younger. I live in a multi cultural city and so I am surrounded by the various cultures, religions, food etc…Recently on CP 24 news a host referred to “Brown power” referring to herself and her co host, which raised a concern for me. It was said in playful jest, but I pondered why one still has to think of themselves as a bit about, and that is what power is all about. One having power over another. I do believe we are equal. One may have a better job, a better career, a healthier perspective, better opportunities etc….but deep inside we suffer, we want, we need, we love, we experience joys and happiness etc……Many of us have a conscious and experience guilt unless we are psychopaths, criminal or not. Though we are different, we have similarities. What makes ordinary people become terrorists, Nazis, KKK etc……Where do we learn to hate? I do have a soft spot for the Jewish community. What other group of people did anyone ever try to extinct? How much of a loss did we as a nation suffer? How much potential for humanity was taken away because of hate. While watching a program last night one of the survivors was speaking about the children being gassed while the Nazis watched and laughed. I believe we should have a zero tolerance for hate. We are doing a very bad job at taking care of each other, of nature, and of our planet. It will all be our demise if we do not open our eyes and see that we have a responsibility to speak up when there is a wrong. I am thankful for the education I have had and for the wonderful mentors and positive influences. However, not everyone has the same exposure. Some are born into hateful families, abusive families, and their quality of education may be amiss. Why not take some time to reflect and think about what you love and what you hate and why. Why not say something next time you hear when one is putting another down just for spite or to make themselves look better or superior? I am going to write an excerpt from my second book to express my own feelings of when I went to visit a concentration camp as a tourist during my second career: “During one break I went to visit a concentration camp in France. The countryside was beautiful and wooden buildings neatly marked the rows of the hills. Everything was so manicured. I went into the buildings, saw the ovens, saw the showers where the people were killed and the contrast of the beauty of nature and the cruelty of humanity was too much to bear. In one of the buildings, after looking at the shrunken heads and souvenirs from the torture of Jews, tears flowed down my cheeks. I did not cry, but the tears kept coming, and I leaned against the wall horrified at what I was seeing. I would visit one more concentration camp in Germany, Dachau. I remember looking at a black and white photograph of a young beautiful man, a Jew, hanging dead by a rope. They had drained his body of oxygen. I stared at that beautiful face that death could not tarnish, and felt sadness for this man. He would have been so easy to love. I explored the grounds. I saw where people were tortured, where they slept, and the black and white pictures depicted their emaciated bodies. There was hopelessness on their faces. I stopped at a wall which still had blood stains from the people who had been shot against it. Another building had a shrine in honour of two women British Officers who had died bravely in the concentration camp. Why had I never heard about the women who served and died as soldiers? I did not cry or tear up this time. I had hardened, I suppose, during the time of my tour. One thing I was sure of: although I knew that I could kill, I would never, under any circumstances, torture. I was in the military because I believed in peace, because I believed that people and countries need to be protected by those who could do this. Anyone who had anything to do with this should pay the price with their own lives or spend[…]” Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “For love of country : military policewoman.” iBooks. www.silvaredigonda.com “Lest we Forget”