"Am I My Brother's Keeper?": Indifference & Human Dignity The devotion and care that you and your wife give to your son is beyond admirable. One does something special for the sake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. There are plenty of complicated proposals to reform policing: a federal ban on chokeholds and no-knock warrants, challenging authorities immunity from civil suits and stopping the militarization of local police. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. We will not be hiding from suffering, but confronting it. And together we walk towards the new millennium, carried by profound fear and extraordinary hope. Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. Elie Wiesel Indifference - 739 Words | Bartleby It's White indifference that allows so many Black and brown students to go to. Indifferent people might be perceived as cold, distant, disinterested, uninspired, and lacking in enthusiasm. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own. Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. According to Wiesel, our very humanity depends on doing whatever we can to help people suffering around the world, to protect them from governments and groups of people intent on erasing their existences simply because they are different. One does something special for the sake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. Given the promotion of the book, articles and photos in our hometown media (where Adam spent his first 21 years), announcementsthrough social networking, I expect a resurgence of humans into Adam\s life. They told jurors Chauvin showed indifference to Floyds pleas for help. We may not be able to acknowledge every homeless person, but we can acknowledge that homeless person whom we pass by on the sidewalk, at the very least giving a nod, a recognition of their existence and humanity, and if possible, do more. How will it be remembered in the new millennium? Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. convergent What is indifference? nonobvious Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction. The Psychology of Indifference - Gratia Plena 'The Perils Of Indifference' Eric A. Friedman However, due to the rise of Nazism in Europe, many Jews were arrested and held without trial or charge. Published Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction.. Liberated a day earlier by American soldiers, he remembers their rage at what they saw. Allow a caretaker to go out to supper once every so often. Are we less insensitive to the plight of victims of ethnic cleansing and other forms of injustices in places near and far? How would the meaning of the following passage change if Wiesel used the word pain instead of anguish? The depth of the harm of indifference comes from how easy, and thus how pervasive, it is. (64-65). This site is using cookies under cookie policy . It can spread quickly, affecting many people until no one trusts or cares about anyone else again. Her expectationseems clear and, hopefully, will be realized. Maybe it's because he wants people to think about the answers themselves, or maybe it's because he simply doesn't know what those answers are. He has accompanied the old man I have become throughout these years of quest and struggle. And throughout it all, they believed the rest of the world had no idea what was going on. Why were they so few? Sixty years ago, its human cargo -- nearly 1,000 Jews -- was turned back to Nazi Germany. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own. . It is for us to build. Will they make up \justification stories\ to themselves? (100, 104-106). "Even hatred at times may elicit a response. Every minute one of them dies of disease, violence, famine. It is also ignoring others' sufferings and putting yourself first. This time, we intervene. Man can live far from God -- not outside God. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. "Indifference," as Elie Wiesel defines it, is nuanced and complicatedand not at all innocent. Caring for others is difficult. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. B) "Anguish" implies a more manageable type of suffering. Those non-Jews, those Christians, that we call the "Righteous Gentiles," whose selfless acts of heroism saved the honor of their faith. "The Perils of Indifference," Vocabulary from the speech White indifference to police brutality is why so many Black men continue to die like Floyd. It is so much easier to look away from victims. . People who are indifferent can be seen as cold, aloof, disinterested, unmotivated, and lacking in passion. Does it mean society has changed? I don't understand. Elie Wiesel - The Perils of Indifference | Genius C) "Anguish" carries more intense connotations, so using that word instead of "pain" raises the intensity of the passage. In the place that I come from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. D. Only Do we hear their pleas? In fact, after the Americans liberated Buchenwald in 1945, they forced locals to march through the camp to see what had happened there and what they'd ignored. And our only miserable consolation was that we believed that Auschwitz and Treblinka were closely guarded secrets; that the leaders of the free world did not know what was going on behind those black gates and barbed wire; that they had no knowledge of the war against the Jews that Hitler's armies and their accomplices waged as part of the war against the Allies. In the place that I come from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders. This time, we do respond. elicit Am I wrong to have expectation? He believes that ignoring a person's misery makes it easier to look at that person as something less than human. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor -- never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. I was here and I will never forget it. King later spent days in solitary confinement writing his "Letter From Birmingham Jail," which stirred the world by explaining why Black people couldn't keep waiting for fair treatment. And the prosecutors at his trial recognized that it was his indifference, not just his cruelty, that was a big part of why Floyd died. Can one possibly view indifference as a virtue? In a 1965 speech, Martin Luther King, Jr., called the greatest tragedy of this periodnot the vitriolic words and other violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good people.. It has been suggested, and it was documented, that the Wehrmacht could not have conducted its invasion of France without oil obtained from American sources. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. One of the most profound things about Elie Wiesel's speech is that he asks a lot of questionsand doesn't provide any solutions. You've undoubtedly seen the images from various concentration camps throughout Europe. abstract existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence. Indifference can be positive or negative; it can help or hurt those who are indifferent to our feelings. It is indifference that can "reduce the other to an abstraction" (par 8). In a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. But when the Americans liberated Buchenwald in 1945, Wiesel could see their horror as they realized the rumors were true, as they realized just how many millions of people had suffered and died. You fight it. Some of them -- so many of them -- could be saved. Do theyreject our path and did theyhope that we wouldusher him into an institution? He feels that neglecting a person's suffering makes it easy to dismiss that person as less than human. "The Perils of Indifference" Speech Summary, Text, & Analysis The Perils of Indifference - LinkedIn Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. elicit Even hatred at times may elicit a response. Perhaps thats why one of the best novels about racism by a Black author is titled Invisible Man.. He had almost been lost to history until his story was told again in 1986 by Lawrence Weschler in his book "A Miracle for Breakfast.". Enjoyed this speech? If they knew, we thought, surely those leaders would have moved heaven and earth to intervene. And thats why its no accident that it was White indifference not hatred that seemed to anger the Rev. Indifference produces no response. Elie Wiesel: 'And now we knew, we learned, we discovered that the answer choices . Indifference is another story though. He was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart. Indifference reduces the other to a concept. Indifference can also harm society as a whole because people stop trying to improve themselves and their situation. Wrapped in their torn blankets, they would sit or lie on the ground, staring vacantly into space, unaware of who or where they werestrangers to their surroundings. Does Indifference reduce the other to an abstraction? Indifference elicits no response. Multiple factors contributed to the Holocaustincluding mass indifference to the suffering and the killing simply because it was easier to feign ignorance than to fight against atrocity. So he is very much present to me and to us. What will the legacy of this vanishing century be? But the look of disinterest in Chauvins eyes is a reminder that indifference not just hate is a critical part of how racism works. (28-35). But FDR and his government didn't help, and while the passengers were eventually granted refuge in various countries in Europe, some 200 were murdered at the hands of the Nazis. The late Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel once said, The opposite of love is not hate, its indifference., Wiesel said that to the indifferent person, his or her neighbor are of no consequence Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. Elie Wiesel claps as President Barack Obama speaks at the Holocaust Museum in 2012 in Washington. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. It is knowing that thousands of people die every day of easily avoidable causes, but living your life as though oblivious to that reality, except perhaps an occasional gift to charity. The only flicker of emotion on his face is his annoyance at the crowd that has gathered to plead for Floyds life. (7). special or interesting Indifference has the power to make entire populations "less than," which is what happened to him and millions of others during the Holocaust. having a low probab Why the indifference, on the highest level, to the suffering of the victims? Can you give 3 things about what to write in each paragraph? We need to make an effort to not feel this way about other people, or at least try to hide it if we do. The pastor that night discussed what it means to be a community, and what it means to love. to refer to anything or anyone originating in Africa? It's a static feeling because nothing changes. Wiesel believes that indifference is on par with what the Nazis didsure, the bystanders might not have killed anyone, but they also didn't try and stop it. One day, when he refused to bow down to a Nazi dictator, he was arrested and imprisoned for three months. I know that I could. So at an individual level, we cannot do it all, though most of us could do more. Of course, indifference can be tempting more than that, seductive. Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. Martin Luther King Jr. the most. ABSTRACT. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. It is doing something that denies or removes their importance or value. In a memorable 2005 editorial,the New York Times reported, Yesterday, more than 20,000 people perished of extreme poverty.. And that happened after the Kristallnacht, after the first state-sponsored pogrom, with hundreds of Jewish shops destroyed, synagogues burned, thousands of people put in concentration camps. Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction. I just wouldn't give him/her any attention at all. Gun violence, with more than 30,000 Americans per yearlost to gun homicide and suicide, fails to stir Congressto act. Elie Wiesel was a Holocaust survivor and writer who fought against indifference. On Human Indifference - Catholic Stand Explain. Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. You disarm it. Indifference. It originally appeared on Phil\s website, and he offers this in the hope that it helps others. Discuss these conflicts wi A. The prosecutors built a case where they forced the jury to see Floyd as a human being and not as an abstraction. Indifference elicits no response. But plenty of people saw that image of Chauvin looking bored as a Black mans life ebbed away beneath him. What happened? At its root, indifference is failing to show concern for others. Never, ever make a promise because it\s momentarily appropriate and then run from the promise. If we spend the maximum of available resources towards fulfilling peoples human rights, if we infuse equity throughout our policies, if we ensure people the opportunity to be part of the processes of crafting the policies that will affect their lives, if we ensure that none of our policies undercut peoples rights, if we provide avenues to people to challenge policies that people believe are tilted towards indifference to their plight rather than an abiding concern for their humanity if we do all this, then we will be beginning a grand new chapter in the book of humanity. It can also be used as a verb and is used when someone is felling extremely distressed about something. I expect that is why other great advocates for human rights have emphasized the danger of indifference. All of us did. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. (20-22). The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugeesnot to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Thank you. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction. Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. Perhaps no other feature of White attitudes is as cumulatively responsible for the pain and privation experienced by our nations Black minority at this point in our history as is indifference, he wrote. And that answer, I believe, is human rights. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. O sacristy Learn more about Elie Wiesel at:brainly.com/question/15099354, This site is using cookies under cookie policy . Our team has experience in preserving and safeguarding the . Does it mean that society has changed? As activists use momentum from the Floyd verdict to press for more police reforms, this wall of indifference may be their biggest challenge. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. The History Place - Great Speeches Collection: Elie Wiesel Speech The But indifference is never creative. Why were they so few? And that happened after the Kristallnacht, after the first state sponsored pogrom, with hundreds of Jewish shops destroyed, synagogues burned, thousands of people put in concentration camps. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. Even hatred at times may elicit a response. But indifference is never creative. which statement best describes and explain the characters' actions in the excerpt black day 1935. All Rights Reserved. The same is true for hatred, since people will rise up and combat it. And I thank all of you for being here. Indifference reduces the other to a concept. We can be more conscious of the how the food we eat, clothes we wear, and electronics we purchase are produced. The meaning of the following passage changed if Wiesel used the word pain instead of anguish as C: Anguish carries more intense connotations, so using that word instead of pain raises the intensity of the passage.
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indifference reduces the other to an abstraction