An Open Letter to Ann Coulter In the Name of Sophie Scholl
According to a news report, you Ann Coulter, have referred to the women (and I also assume the men) who participated in this past weekend’s public demonstrations on behalf of the rights of women and other as “brown blouses”. You were apparently referencing the Nazi “Brown Shirt” movement of the1920/1930s. Really. How good of you to practice the time-honored practices of deliberately mislabeling your opponents with the name of hated enemies when it is your conduct that is more consistent with the aforementioned despised and hated label.
A few things: First, the demonstrations of Saturday, January 21, 2017 were peaceful, inclusive, amazingly family friendly and decidedly diverse among ages, races, genders, physical capacity and ability and just about everything else. People seemed really happy as well as concerned and determined. I expect that some identified as Jewish, Moslem, Christian, Catholic, agnostic and pretty much everything in between and around some type of spiritual practice. There were probably even a few atheists in the crowd.
Second, when I read your comments, knowing that there were many members of religious minorities who helped organized and participated in the event, my mind went back to the kind middle aged lady who worked at Famous-Barr Department Store where my family shopped. On her forearm were a series of thin blue ink tatooed numbers. There was no question that what was etched in her flesh was the mark of torturers and murderers. I did not see anyone who would fit that bill in the crowds on Saturday.
Third, and this is my main point: almost all of the people who were gathered in the United States and other places, were the great grandchildren, grandchildren and even children of veterans of WWII. Some I suspect were even WWII veterans themselves. You commit grave calumny when you accuse any soldier who fought against the Nazi and Axis forces or his or her descendants of being one with the most hated foe.
You insulted me. You insulted my father and his fellow soldiers, young Negro men who were denied full rights of citizenship yet compelled to fight in a racially segregated military. I could go on in this vein but I won’t.
Instead I question whether you understand anything of the historic era that you invoked. My sense is that you understand nothing so let me school you: The White Rose was a small movement that emerged toward the end of WWII within Nazi Germany itself. The members of the White Rose were moved to action by reports made by eye-witnesses, some of whom were medical students, who had witnessed the horrors and atrocities visited on civilian and military populations on the Eastern (Russian) front. The White Rose advocated passive resistance to the Nazi war machine. And they chose to act knowing that their commitment could, would and did in most instances cost them their lives.
The people who took to the streets peacefully, joyfully and openly on Saturday, January 21, 2017 acted in the way that the committed members of the White Rose chose to act even within the very violent, lawless, immoral center of the madness that was the German National Socialist party during the last years of WWII.
I don’t expect you, Ms. Coulter, to get your historical facts right. I am going to use your words to direct the attention of others to the sacrifice of the White Rose.
