Waiting for Oskar Schindler

Nov 14, 2016

I was discussing with a friend on Facebook about the recent elections. He was actively dismissing concerns by a number of minorities about the anxiety and fear they are sensing. It made me curious as to how he as saw the election because he had felt that a number of stories were fabricated and blown out of proportion. Throughout this discussion he said "If I'm wrong, and crazy, racist lunatics start persecuting people like the Nazis did to the Jews, with the full force of government, I'll play Oskar Schindler."

Oskar Schindler was a benevolent Nazi sympathizer. He was credited with saving hundreds of Jews during world war 2. Although likely intended to be reassuring, this statement was incredibly terrifying. 

To his credit, there have been fake news on attacks involving bad actors on both sides. However that does not diminish the number of people using this election as an excuse to act out violently. As proof I pointed to the number of people who had voted for the KKK member David Duke running for senator. David Duke had garnered over 58,000 votes. The Southern Poverty Law Center had estimated the number of klan members to be at 8,000 in the country. In years past KKK membership was declining to the point of non existence, but now it had grown and they had gotten enough votes to get into a political ballot. If the number of KKK members in one state is 7 times more than what was predicted to be in the entire country, then the actual number in the country was likely to be in the hundreds of thousands. Again my friend was not worried and dismissed it, yes KKK was bad but unlikely to be that bad he said. It must be nice to be in a position where the number of klan members is multiple folds higher than predicted and not be concerned. Unfortunately many people that live in this country including Asians, blacks, Latinos, and homosexuals may not have that luxury. We do not have the luxury of wait and see because what we have seen it in the past and the results we devastating. Even if the risk is small the results can be extremely severe and therefore warrant attention. 

My friend thought he would be Oskar Schindler if all hell breaks lose. This tells me that there would have to be a near genocide for this guy to do anything, I sure hope people do something far sooner but that is not in my control. The statement also underlies another message: they will come for everyone but not me. Again this must be a comforting thought that many minorities do not get to enjoy.

Oskar Schindler was a benevolent Nazi sympathizer but that is like saying someone is kindly slave owner. At the end of the day he was still a Nazi member, and at the end of the day we do not need Nazis. We do not need more Oskar Schindlers in this world. I do not want to be on his coveted list. I will not wait for Oskar Schindler.