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Hard Truths
"Next!"

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out-- because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I am not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I am not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.”

These troubling words were spoken by Martin Neimoller, a Lutheran pastor and avowed opponent of Adolf Hitler. Neimoller spent 7 years in a concentration camp for his views.

Fifty-two percent of LGBTs in the U.S. live in States that do not have laws prohibiting discrimination against them in the workplace. The Arizona Supreme Court in 2019 allowed a cake business to deny services to a same-sex couple.  (In Canada LGBTs have equal workplace protection under federal and provincial human rights laws). 

“It’s alright/I don’t care/Serves them right” one says. “Hey, I’m not gay. Won’t affect me! “

The Supreme Court of America refuses to consider an appeal against a company that fired a Black woman because of her locs, meaning other employers can feel free to do the same. “It’s alright/I don’t care/Serves them right” one says. “Hey, I’m not Black. My hair is naturally—or faux— Caucasian. I’m safe!”

Oh, No...Not Grandma!
So then, in the search for solutions, someone in power asks: "Should we expand the net of those we are building walls against to include those from countries that criticize us?" "Should we force everyone past 60 to hand their jobs over to a younger person?" Then it gets deadly: "Are we spending too much on the elderly sick?Aren't we better off using those funds for people who contribute to the economy?" 

“Wait a minute”, one says. “This is hitting close to home. You're talking about Grandma here…my Nana. And yes, I was born here, but I still have relatives over in Scotland/Denmark/Australia. They can’t do that!” Yes they can. Don't you remember, they did it to gays and Blacks and transgender people and, and, and...!

In the deadly conflation of religion and politics today it has become popular to believe that “if we just outlaw/eject/give permission to target them, our country will be great again. We will have a nice, God-blessed, peaceful state”. It’s such an appealing lie, many—including some Christians—have fallen for it and are voting accordingly.

But a question for the thoughtful: if all it takes to roll back or deny the human rights of people deemed objectionable, is to for example stack the High Courts with those prepared to roll back these rights, how long will it take for a Court to rule that given Grandma’s condition, to save money a hospital has the right to withhold further treatment from her? How long before our precious child or grandchild with a disability becomes a burden to the state?

 Many cheer when people they disapprove of are denied protections. Some even claim God too is cheering.

They'd best put away their pompoms. Why? Because the same legal processes that cut one way…could, on another day cut the other way. And when this happens, as Pastor Neimoller warned, no-one will speak out for the targeted former accusers.

Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes Reboot
Let’s borrow from Jane Elliott’s classic social experiment. What happens when decision-making bodies, eager to please their ‘base’, decide that the ‘Blue-eyed people’ deserve the right to the best jobs and opportunities while the ‘Brown-eyed people’ are entitled to the remnants? What happens then when things turn around...when Blue-eyed people now find themselves on the receiving end of Brown-eyed power?

What happens tomorrow when, according to processes put in place today, my belief system has overstayed its welcome? When inter-racial marriages are again deemed 'unnatural' so a marriage licence  can be denied? When the whispered suggestion about sterilizing people with certain disabilities or lifestyles makes its way in from the fringe ? Who will defend those now on the defensive?

Let's not think “It can’t happen here”. It can. Even Sinclair Lewis in his 1932 novel It Can't Happen Here saw more clearly than many of us facing it under our noses do.

I invite us to ponder: whose rights am I prepared to defend…and who do I feel deserves to be left vulnerable to the whims of employers, service providers and anyone who chooses to target them as undesirable?

Think about it.

   
                            

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