opinion
The Quiet, Potentially Deadly
Discrimination We Need to Talk About
Lindsay Karp
T 12
FEBRUARY 9, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
It doesn’t begin with a holocaust. It begins with
hateful words. And it begins with the forced removal
of countering words.

acts of discrimination. But we often don’t hear of the
warning signs — the quiet, potentially deadly, discrim-
ination like the forced removal of Wiesel’s words from
a school wall.

But it doesn’t begin with a holocaust. It begins with
hateful words. And it begins with the forced removal of
countering words — those that express opposition of
hatred. It proceeds by inducing fear to follow the path
we know to be right. It continues toward the unimag-
inable mistreatment of humanity, and it simmers without
the capability to ever resolve fully — families are forever
scarred, minority groups are left in the dust and trauma
is transmitted from one generation to the next.

The right to speak up against bullying — to display
words that promote acceptance for all — is the right to
say never again. We cannot prevent another Holocaust
by ignoring the warning signs such as this one.

As a Jew, as a woman who acknowledges the family
I never knew — those who perished in the darkness
of the Holocaust and their descendants, my cousins
— who never had a chance to exist, I will do exactly
what Wiesel urged.

I will follow the words that no longer remain on the
walls of a library in my community: “Neutrality helps the
oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the
tormentor, never the tormented.”
The forced removal of a Holocaust survivor’s words
from a library wall may seem benign, just as a banner
over the busy 405 freeway in Los Angeles and a tweet
on social media do. But antisemitic incidents, just like
this one, reached an all-time high as of 2021.

If we don’t speak of these quiet, potentially deadly,
acts of discrimination, we will find ourselves wishing
we had. Because this is not where hatred stops. This is
simply where it begins. ■
Lindsay Karp of Ambler is a freelance writer with
a background in speech-language pathology. She
writes about parenting, life with multiple sclerosis
and other issues.

Lin / AdobeStock
his is where it begins — a
peaceful reminder to resist
oppression ceased by authority.

Words aligning with the notion to
stomp out bullying, exactly what we
teach in schools, is now unaccept-
able in the Central Bucks School
District, as it is said to violate a new advocacy policy.

The principal ordered the librarian to remove a quote
from the library’s wall, noting that there would be
consequences for not following through.

Holocaust survivor, professor, writer and political
activist Elie Wiesel said the words removed: “I swore
never to be silent whenever and wherever human
beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must
always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor,
never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor,
never the tormented.”
Wiesel’s words are a direct reaction to the horrors he
endured in Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration
camps. These words reminded students to stand up
for those being bullied — in a district that has outwardly
threatened the basic human rights of minorities, includ-
ing those in the LGBTQ community, in recent months.

The implementation of this new policy was meant
to ensure balance in the classrooms — to maintain the
notion that students learn best when they learn how to
think, not what to think. But indirectly, this policy has
told students what to think; it sends the message that
the oppression of minorities is not only unworthy of
discussion but a reminder of its existence is blatantly
not allowed.

The confusing terms have teachers worried over
what is or isn’t tolerated under the new policy, but any
policy preventing anti-bullying language is harmful and
places the vulnerable at risk.

Consistency of school-wide values helps to sustain
a culture appreciated by everyone. When a school
counselor relays anti-bullying curriculum within the
classroom and the reminder to resist oppression is
against an advocacy policy in the library down the
hall, we are sending students mixed messages: We
are damaging the learning environment and eroding
students’ sense of safety and respect.

By forbidding Wiesel’s words, the school district is
giving students the right to ignore bullying as they
witness it in the school bathroom. More so, they are
giving students the go-ahead to be the oppressor
themselves. We hear about the colossal, the violent, the brutal