I was pleased to see that the Town of Greenwich officially commemorates the Armenian Genocide. Although Americans are more familiar with the genocide committed against Jews in Nazi Germany, the Town’s recent commemoration should remind us that any community can be targeted when hatred becomes rampant. Today, America faces a unique political climate that some are comparing to the Nazi’s rise. Its primary targets are not Jews, however, but immigrants — mostly Hispanics and Arabs.
Remember that the Nazi’s did not originally advocate for the death of all Jews. Instead they preached their expulsion. And their concentration camps were not originally death camps. They started as harsh prisons for Jews and other disfavored people.
Today, America is pursuing increasingly aggressive measures to expel immigrants and is shipping some to inhumane prisons in El Salvador. The Armenian and Jewish genocides did not happen spontaneously. They were the product of societies where ordinary people either spewed hatred or tolerated by their silence those who did. This hatred and vitriol was allowed to swell until it burst into flames and took millions of lives.
Only time will tell if America is on the same path. But it is unacceptable to just stand by and “wait and see.” We cannot just assume we’re different. We can only prove we’re not on the same path if individuals, including those reading this paper, take steps to push our country off the road to greater destruction.
Andrew Pizor
