(109-111). It is indifference that can "reduce the other to an abstraction" (par 8). He has accompanied the old man I have become throughout these years of quest and struggle. The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled. Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. And the illustrious occupant of the White House then, who was a great leader -- and I say it with some anguish and pain, because, today is exactly 54 years marking his death -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt died on April the 12th, 1945. ), because they are criminals (and what combination of poor education, abuse, violent neighborhoods, economic hardships, contributed to their plight?). It is much simpler to prevent such obnoxious disruptions to our work, aspirations, and hopes. Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. I don't understand. A thousand people -- in America, the great country, the greatest democracy, the most generous of all new nations in modern history. Can one possibly view indifference as a virtue? There is emotional indifference, which means failing to care about someone's feelings. ", Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, Nobel Laureate, and author (most famously known for Night), gave this impassioned speech as part of the Millennium Lecture series, hosted, Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus, Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines. It can be inferred that what Elie Wiesel meant by the above statement is that", "being indifferent or showing no empathy or care towards another warps a person's view of others and the self-respect and care that is due to them.". 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. (62-63). These failures have cast a dark shadow over humanity: two World Wars, countless civil wars, the senseless chain of assassinations (Gandhi, the Kennedys, Martin Luther King, Sadat, Rabin), bloodbaths in Cambodia and Algeria, India and Pakistan, Ireland and Rwanda, Eritrea and Ethiopia, Sarajevo and Kosovo; the inhumanity in the gulag and the tragedy of Hiroshima. Which of the following best supports the claim that indifference is tempting? King didnt write his epic Letter from Birmingham Jail in 1963 in response to the hateful actions of White segregationists. Elie Wiesel called love the opposite of indifference. And just as there are different types of diseases, so too are there different kinds of indifference. 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. [I]ndifference 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. (81-85). It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. So he is very much present to me and to us. They would have spoken out with great outrage and conviction. Millions more were killed in World War I, World War II, and Vietnam, and still countries were using violence to solve their problems. It is so easy for one to simply take feeling out of all perspectives in life. They feared nothing. Never wonder if the disabled would be okay going to a movie or a dinner. He thought there never would be again. Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. It is a type of rationalization that we use to justify our inaction. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. A strange and unnatural state in which the lines blur between light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and evil. 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. Anger can at times be creative. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction. Do we feel their pain, their agony? Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. White indifference is why it's harder for Black and brown people to vote in some states than for White people. And he wasn't the only person who feels that way. Wiesel said indifference is more dangerous than hatred or anger because it "elicits no response . It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person\s pain and despair. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. People can't be blamed for being indifferent; it is a natural state of mind. If you are indifferent to many things that normally would bother you or affect you emotionally, then you should see a doctor to find out why. Is indifference, that state of being, Wiesel asks, necessary in order to cope with our rough world? What is the best way to stop the carnage in Syria? anguish (n.) great mental suffering, distress, or pain abstraction Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. Indifference is a conclusion, not a beginning. Aura Guerrero Natalia Acevedo Guerrero Natasha Lauletta. What is indifference? How will it be remembered in the new millennium? Of course, indifference can be tempting more than that, seductive. If you can afford a donation, it will help Speakola survive and prosper. God is wherever we are. It's neither pleasant nor enjoyable, but it's all part of being a good human, according to Elie Wiesel. But indifference is never creative. You fight it. What about the children? And yet, my friends, good things have also happened in this traumatic century []. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. 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. But indifference is never creative. In the place that I come from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Violent acts of White racism grab the headlines. Its like a cancer which attacks the soul. Is today's justified intervention in Kosovo, led by you, Mr. President, a lasting warning that never again will the deportation, the terrorization of children and their parents, be allowed anywhere in the world? Her expectationseems clear and, hopefully, will be realized. But then, there were human beings who were sensitive to our tragedy. But the question remainswhy did so few people step up to try to help? There is a peculiar pain to being ignored, to not even being seen. What does Elie mean? Even in suffering. Better an unjust God than an indifferent one. I sincerely hope that the Spirit inspires the people around you to become more attentive and caring toward your son. The snarling faces of White students who surrounded a young Black woman who tried to integrate an Arkansas high school. Derek Chauvin in court Tuesday as the guilty verdict was read. (Wiesel 1972). (50). And this is one of the most important lessons of this outgoing century's wide-ranging experiments in good and evil. For example, someone may be indifferent to your pain because they do not care whether you live or die. We need to make an effort to not feel this way about other people, or at least try to hide it if we do. Etymologically, the word means "no difference." 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. They would have spoken out with great outrage and conviction. Love this Phil!! Elie Wiesel is a big fan of rhetorical questions, but they always serve a purpose. He addressed it to a group of White moderates who he thought were indifferent to the suffering of Black people living under segregation, and who were more devoted to order than to justice.. The century saw peace treaties, the collapse of totalitarian governments and communist regimes, and major social progress. 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. 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. Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, Nobel Laureate, and author (most famously known for Night), gave this impassioned speech as part of the Millennium Lecture series, hosted by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. After World War II ended, Wiesel went back to Kaunas to find his family home destroyed. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own. But there is one heart-wrenching image that stands above the rest. 4:03 AM EDT, Sat April 24, 2021. Why is indifference tempting and seductive? Alicia also volunteers as an editor for her college newspaper, and has worked on various writing-related projects during her time there. Required fields are marked *. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own. Caring about people is hard. It can also be used as a verb and is used when someone is felling extremely distressed about something. Funny people are everywhere. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction. Have we really learned from our experiences? According to Elie Wiesel, being indifferent to another person, or another group of people, reduces them to nothingas if their problems or their suffering just doesn't matter. Surely it will be judged, and judged severely, in both moral and metaphysical terms. Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. answer choices "It is so much easier to avoid rude interruptions to our work". And now, I stand before you, Mr. President -- Commander-in-Chief of the army that freed me, and tens of thousands of others -- and I am filled with a profound and abiding gratitude to the American people. Its hard, though, to dramatize White indifference. That was as chilling as his knee on Floyds neck. 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. ". It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. Does Indifference reduce the other to an abstraction? What happened? nonobvious History suggests that this will be a huge challenge, because the resiliency of White indifference is often underestimated. Why are the perils of indifference important? If they knew, we thought, surely those leaders would have moved heaven and earth to intervene. History is going to judge us for our actions, so we better be sure the legacy we leave is the right one. Editor\s Note: This is a guest contribution from reader Philip A. Dzialo, and it accompanies Tammy Ruiz\s article, Be Not Afraid, Be Not Mean. To honor the humanity of others and of ourselves, to let the victim know that she is not forgotten, we could each develop our own plan of action against our ownindifference. As activists use momentum from the Floyd verdict to press for more police reforms, this wall of indifference may be their biggest challenge. Indifference is when solicitude is missing which indicates that there is a lack of awareness. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. The lynching postcards that some White Americans used to mail to one another. Use of anguish refers to stronger pain one might feel. While these reflections confront my feelings about life with Adam, the thoughts and feelings apply aptly to the plight of so many others. boise idaho mission president, is saying hey stranger flirting,