Stop Voting for Nazis

I shouldn’t have to say this.

We fought wars over this. We won.

I thought white supremacists only existed on the fringes of society: a group of thugs in the prison yard, small-time hoodlums who always ended up in jail, those school bullies who never amounted to anything until they opened their hearts and learned how to love their fellow man.

And then we elected one as President of the United States. Two of my siblings supported him. We had a discussion about black lives matter and the NFL over Thanksgiving last year that left me shaken to the core. Half my family wants my best friend dead or incarcerated. Sorry, Ro, I won’t be inviting you to Thanksgiving dinner at my house ever again. I’m not even sure I’m welcome.

I grew up in rural Iowa, not far from a German communal society. The white is strong here. I’ve said before, I was the blackest thing my classmates had ever seen with my easily-tanned skin, curly hair, and Tony Dorset jersey. Before my super-queer tendency (you know, not being attracted to every guy in my class), they hated me for being “Oreo,” and no, they did not care one bit about my two white (Irish American and German American) parents.

When we moved to the big city, I realized I could be mistaken for something else. This curly-haired, green-eyed white girl (me) was asked if she was Jewish, while wearing a Catholic cross necklace. The Catholic cross is full Jesus, for those of you who don’t know. I flashed the cross at the woman and she still didn’t get it. I had to say, “No, bitch, I’m not Jewish because I believe in this guy.” She did. not. get. it.

I taught at a Catholic school for two years and attended Catholic church every Sunday until I moved out of my parents’ house. I’ve studied Judaism a lot since then and I’ve written Jewish characters, but I’m Christian. That doesn’t matter, though. I LOOK Jewish. (When I don’t look black, apparently. Genes. What can I say?)

To the Nazis, religion doesn’t matter. They don’t care about religious beliefs. I don’t think they even know what Judaism is, or that it’s the precursor to Christianity. They only see Jewish stereotypes: money-hungry, rich, miserly, powerful, holier-than-thou (though I think Catholics have the market on that one.) Nazis believe in the systematic denial, subjugation, and murder of a people based on racial, religious, and queer stereotypes. When the Nazis come, they’re coming for triple-whammies like me. (“Is she black? Is she Jewish? Is she queer? Who cares. Kill her anyway.”) Nazis don’t care if they’re right – they only care that people who look like me (and anyone who disagrees with them) are dead.

Please stop voting for Nazis. No one is “safe” from Nazis.

Don’t know how to spot a Nazi? Anyone who Trump has stumped for would be a good place to start. Here in Iowa, it’s a little easier. We have Steve King – definitely a Nazi. He’s been hanging out with actual German neo-Nazis and saying they’d be Republican if they were in the US. Other Iowa races: Kim Reynolds had Ivanka stand up with her, and Pence has been here to support David Young. Trump has shown he can manipulate the GOP into doing whatever he wants in the name of fear, a Nazi propaganda technique.

In other words: vote Democrat.