On My Heart This Week | Charlottesville.

Guys, I know you're trying to stay caught up with your friends' babies and funny puppy videos, and everyone is invading your social feeds with opinions about this past weekend's events in Charlottesville. But I'm not here to talk politics, because truthfully, I don't believe this to be a political issue at all: I'm here to talk about right and wrong. I'm going to be so honest here and I truly mean it with the utmost respect: if you aren't deeply disturbed by the events that took place in Charlottesville this weekend, you aren't paying attention. 

If you haven't yet, I urge you to watch Monday's episode of HBO's Vice. It's difficult to watch, but so necessary. My jaw dropped. I cried. Then Ryan watched it and forced me into a hug at the end of the episode.

"Jews will not replace us."

"This city is run by Jewish communists and criminal n*****s!"

"We're not nonviolent. We'll fucking kill these people if we have to."

"Fuck you f*****s!"

Actual quotes from white supremacists. Horrific, isn't it?

Guys, that's me they're talking about. I was born to a Jewish father. I have Jewish family. I have a Bulgarian brother-in-law. I have black friends and a black "uncle." I have gay friends. And if it were up to these disgusting individuals, we'd all be exterminated. Literally. 

What did you think about when you first learned about the Holocaust? The Warsaw Ghetto? Auschwitz? That it could never happen again? That we wouldn't allow it? That someone, somewhere would speak up, do something, anything?

I saw a great quote on my friend Chelsea's blog this past week: "If you are wondering how you would've acted during Nazi Germany or during the Civil Rights Movement, look at how you're acting now." It's so true. It's easy to think that we've evolved as a society, as a country, as humans. But if this weekend proves anything, it's the exact opposite.

So speak up, friends. Say it's not okay. Call it what it is. Say it in your out loud voice to the people you care about, to people you don't know, to people who need to hear it. This kind of deep-rooted hatred is unacceptable. And know that if I get "too political" for your liking on Twitter or on my blog, it's because I'm actually terrified. Because it affects me. Because it affects people I love. 

It's bigger than Trump versus Hillary, Republican versus Democrat, conservatives versus liberals. Above all else, this is about human life. Be a spokesperson for love and acceptance.