It Is Time To Reinvigorate Silence Equals Death

When the AIDS virus was discovered in the late 80s, a group known as Act Up had a great educational campaign titled, "Silence = Death." The idea behind this movement was simple. When those not impacted as of yet by intolerance choose to be silent, people will die. The power behind this movement came from the gay and lesbian community. It challenged people, gay or straight to speak out against intolerance. This movement was incorporated into curriculum in our schools and very successful towards gains for the LGBT community.
If we can learn anything from the early advent of Act Up, it is that their campaign is more important now, than ever. Mass shootings, religious intolerance, and the overall globalization of hate has taken many forms. Many people are not speaking up against groups or individuals that impact the spread of hate. People are choosing to be silent, and this leads to death.
Whether it is political leanings, or pressures from our community, many still choose to be silent for all the wrong reasons. Social media is a great example of our silence. Friends and relatives post about hate so often, and we often give them a pass. It is never direct, yet subtle. For example, they post that a soldier wounded from war is a "real" hero in comparison to Caitlyn Jenner. They both can be seen as heroes, without the slam on the LGBT community. It happens all the time. Whether it is related to gun control, religious intolerance, or far right fringe postings, we seldom speak up and challenge the intolerance of others. We give it a pass far too often without realizing that this kind of thinking  leads to violence in our communities.
When we are silent, those on the far right promote extremists thoughts without realizing the impact it can have on those individuals that suffer from mental health issues. Too often, an individual with mental health issues has plenty of time on their hands. They watch mass amounts of television and surf the internet. Whether it is the far right screaming on TV or the posts on social media, it is a fact that they play in role in violence. Predisposition has been proven to be a catalyst to future violence when people immerse themselves into a negative thought pattern towards another group or individual.
The research should strengthen our resolve to realize that it is time for silence to take a back seat to activism. People need to challenge their friends and relatives and impact change on a local level. In the future, do not just examine events like Orlando on  a national level. Look at your own community. For example, did your community have a remembrance for the victims of Orlando or did your community stay silent. It speaks volumes when a community fails to react to such an event. It is led by community leaders that were silent due to political leanings. What a community chooses to respond to is directly correlated to the leanings of hate. The most important learning opportunities for our Children are teachable moments. Missing them dictates where our priorities are as a society regarding how to respond to hate.
Another problem is staying silent online. It is those that promote memes for patriotism that often fail to give remembrance to people who died in Orlando. They cry and rally over a soldier not getting a proper funeral, however stay silent when our citizens of Orlando die in a hateful attack. People who take umbrage to President Obama going to Japan to visit the survivors of Hiroshima on Memorial Day lack the respect and empathy for such actions. These kind of responses ttruly speaks volumes to our own lack of empathy as a society.

Too often political leanings are never challenged, however a person's attack on a President that is biased deserves a conversation. There is a reason why many people challenge President Obama every time he misses a funeral or remembrance. It is due to intolerance, whether overt of subtle. The truth is there is no difference when someone dies from the hands of gun overseas or here at home. The attacks on our president are rooted in hatred towards another individual or group, and  is very sophisticated. We need to find that same passion in to challenge another persons lack of empathy towards any human being that has suffered from violence.

What should one do? If you have a friend or relative with a viewpoint that can lead to hate, it is time to challenge them. Intolerant people like to challenge others with different ideas all the time to accept their viewpoint. Challenging people also use measures of getting their viewpoint to be generally accepted. However, it is those with far right thinking that are the most dangerous in our communities. For example, far right people are recruiting our children right from under our noses by inviting them into their homes and community gathering places to recruit a child to their point of view. This has to stop across our nation. People have to speak up against groups that sponsor hate. It is also inporatand that conservative churches and faith communities should not be given a pass moving forward. They also play a role in hate crimes, and no one wants to address their actions. Again, silence = death. 

It is important to watch, look and pay attention to the subtle posts online or actions in your community. We need to challenge any group that tries to spread intolerance in our schools. It should be a goal for every community to restore balance and keep those that sponsor hate to themselves. The more they gain ground, the more hate that is spread. It is time to speak out and stand up to intolerance. It is time to remember that Silence = Death.