'I support my Jewish friends' meme is not enough to stop hate speech: Opinion

There is a well-meaning social media post that was, and maybe still is, circulating “I support my Jewish friends and the Jewish people.”

While intended to be a nice gesture to counter the recent stunts of Ye (Kayne West), this is not a Jewish problem, but part of an escalating societal crisis that is affecting all races, all religions, all genders, all creeds.

Assaults on Asian, Black, Latino, Muslim people, has each act becoming more horrific. We shake our heads, saying what a shame as we go about our lives.

The solution is a simple remedy; all of our voices together can indeed stop every hateful action of racism, homophobia, sexism as well as antisemitism.

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We all need to publicly and loudly support any and all groups that are being smeared by hate speech and violence, no matter how insignificant the slight might seem to be. We must call out our friends, our relatives, our elected officials, business, large and small, for their indifference to discriminatory actions.

And since words can be brushed off as meaningless without actual actions, our voices and behaviors need to be genuine, ongoing and honest. Because left unanswered those words of hate become acts of terror.

Our commitment to stop hate speech and violence is not a “one and done” resolution that will put an end to these escalating outbursts in our world.

Each one of us, 100% of the time, can put a lid on this Pandora’s Box of growing hate and carnage.

And while most of us means well, let’s do a reckoning on our own actions.

To declare that you are not a bigot when you say things against a group of people, no matter how minor to you, you are still a bigot.

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To proclaim yourself not a racist, while you are a part of racist actions, like excluding Blacks or Hispanics from your organizations and events, you are a racist.

To say you are not homophobic, while you still belong to a religion that condemns LGBTQ+, yep, you are encouraging anti-homophobic behaviors.

And to declare you will end violence when you live in an area that has no violence, to refuse to allow low-income housing in your area while supporting homelessness initiatives, to say you advocate for women while voting against her right to control her own body, to say you are for equal rights while casting your vote for a misogynist, you are worse than a hypocritic. You are indeed promoting more hate speech and violence.

It is not our government and civic leaders that will put an end to our hatred of others, it is us who will stop this worsening mindset that is dividing us.

We must question the motives of all those photos of clergy smiling with elected officials. Are they engaging in meaningful dialogue to exchange ideas or are they just showing what “good” person are?

We must ask our elected officials exactly what they are doing to stop crime and homelessness, and all the troubles of our world. And we must never accept their platitudes.

When one of our elected or civic leaders degrades another group, we must call them out and we must refuse to be, and convince others not to be, lured into their indoctrination trap.

When a company sides with bigots and racists, we write them and their Boards and urge others to stop buying their products.

As one woman wrote “Any speech that devalues and disrespects others should be considered a serious blot on our society.”

Your power is your voice, your vote and your wallet.

Hate speech and violence will only stop when we all stop — 100% of the time.

Louisville native Honi Marleen Goldman is a community activist, who has spearheaded numerous grassroots movements on women's rights. She often writes on Jewish holidays, social issues, and cooking.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 'I support my Jewish friends' meme is not enough to stop hate speech