Expectations drive our lives. Elie believes indifference is worse than hate because it implies that someone's suffering isn't worth rumination and consideration. Is it necessary at times to practice it simply to keep one's sanity, live normally, enjoy a fine meal and a glass of wine, as the world around us experiences harrowing upheavals? 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. (Wiesel 1972). Copyright A.D. 2018 Catholic Stand | Powered by Astra, Like a Rock: Pope Francis Takes the Kepha Approach. Is it becauseAdam is non-verbal and non-ambulatory? Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, members of Congress, Ambassador Holbrooke, Excellencies, friends: Fifty-four years ago to the day, a young Jewish boy from a small town in the Carpathian Mountains woke up, not far from Goethe's beloved Weimar, in a place of eternal infamy called Buchenwald. History suggests that this will be a huge challenge, because the resiliency of White indifference is often underestimated. Indifference is using another person as a way to escape your own problems. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. In the place that I come from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders. Subscribe to get the latest global health and law news. They devote their lives to Adam\s maximum possible recovery and comfort in his body. Perhaps Exhibit 17 of the Chauvin trial will change that. And, nevertheless, his image in Jewish history -- I must say it -- his image in Jewish history is flawed. 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. Of course, indifference can be tempting -- more than that, seductive. But both France and Belgium eventually fell to the Nazis, and some 254 refugees from the St. Louis ended up being murderedwhich means the U.S. government's choice to turn their backs on the passengers, to be indifferent to their experiences, led to the loss of innocent lives. The only thing that everyone forms of indifference has in common is that they all involve some type of neglect. (28-35). When we talk about racism, we often focus on spectacular acts of cruelty. What will the legacy of this vanishing century be? It's neither pleasant nor enjoyable, but it's all part of being a good human, according to Elie Wiesel. Just take them. What is the speaker referring to in lines 21 and 24 of the poem "If? Thus, its use raises the intensity of the language used by the author. In fact, it exacerbates the problem because by ignoring the victims and what they're experiencing, you're making their suffering worse. Yet while acknowledging the humanity of people who are homeless is important, that will not in itself secure them roofs over their head. (62-63). elicit It is so much easier to look away from victims. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Discuss these conflicts wi Caring for others is difficult. Does it mean that we have learned from the past? Learn to changea diaper, connect a g-tube, suction a trach. He mobilized the American people and the world, going into battle, bringing hundreds and thousands of valiant and brave soldiers in America to fight fascism, to fight dictatorship, to fight Hitler. What will the legacy of this vanishing century be? Elie Wiesel claps as President Barack Obama speaks at the Holocaust Museum in 2012 in Washington. Its White indifference that allows so many Black and brown students to go to racially segregated public schools with fewer resources. 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. (81-85). . At its root, indifference is failing to show concern for others. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. Besides our own need to understand when this is given to us to handle, it is a challenge to communicate without anger its importance to those who dont have the actual experience. Keep writing, you and his mom are Adams voice to the world and I have a feeling that his impact on the world is far from complete. Indifference distorts a person's perception of others and the dignity that each person possesses. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Is there a philosophy of indifference conceivable? But Wiesel does give a shout-out to the Righteous Gentiles, non-Jews who saw what was happening around them and took a stand against it. Studies on historical episodes of intergroup violence and conflicts have underlined the complicit role of bystanders in extreme intergroup dynamics. (109-111). But they were real, and Elie Wiesel understood better than anyone the consequences of underestimating those images. omen, in the final paragraph wallace writes that there is a fine line between smart and selfish and that sometimes theres no line at all what does she mean Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction. It's a static feeling because nothing changes. Though he did not understand their language, their eyes told him what he needed to know -- that they, too, would remember, and bear witness. They said Chauvin and other officers at the scene talked about the smell of Floyds feet and idly picked stones from a vehicles tire while Floyd died in front of them. th a focus on the Essential Question for this unit: What does our response to the conflict say about us? Use evidence from the text to support your response. He thought there never would be again. According to Wiesel, the selflessness and heroism of the Righteous Gentiles is the kind of behavior the rest of the world needs to emulate going into the next century. 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. Its like a cancer which attacks the soul. It is indifference that can "reduce the other to an abstraction" (par 8). special or interesting B. Have we really learned from our experiences? In the present manuscript, the reasons why an indifferent position towards minorities may imply . Chauvins eyes darted about in panic. (86-91). You can be indifferent to someone or something without actually hating them. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. Many people cant muster the strength to watch the entire Floyd video. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction." . In paragraph 6, Elie Wiesel states, Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction. What do you think he means by this? Most Black people have experienced this. And so, once again, I think of the young Jewish boy from the Carpathian Mountains. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. Does Indifference reduce the other to an abstraction? And that ship, which was already in the shores of the United States, was sent back. Its White indifference that allows so many people in the medical profession to believe that Black people dont feel pain like others. Of course, indifference can be tempting more than that, seductive. 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. It is doing something that denies or removes their importance or value. Indifference or apathy is a state in which we don't care and/or don't take action on something happening around us. They focused relentlessly on Chauvins casual body language during his arrest of Floyd and the lack of concern on his face as he pinned Floyd to the ground. Gun violence, with more than 30,000 Americans per yearlost to gun homicide and suicide, fails to stir Congressto act. What is indifference? (50). And no one deserves to feel they're without hope. Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. When he was six years old, his family moved to Kaunas, Lithuania where he lived until he was 16. Perhaps the greatest cause of indifference in todays world, the normalization of terror whether the terror of another terrorist attack, another mass casualty bombing, or the terror of a mother and her family as she hemorrhages uncontrollably after childbirth, soon to become one of a quarter million-plus women who die from pregnancy- or childbirth-related complications every year, with almost all such deaths preventable. \Elie Wiesel, 1999 (speech in Washington, D.C.). Our purchasing decisions will not in themselves change how corporations produce their products. (104-106). You denounce it. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Georgetown University Law Center In a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. Even anger, according to Wiesel, is a more positive action than indifference. There is emotional indifference, which means failing to care about someone's feelings. Wrapped in their torn blankets, they would sit or lie on the ground, staring vacantly into space, unaware of who or where they were, strangers to their surroundings. I and my friends Sixty years ago, its human cargo -- nearly 1,000 Jews -- was turned back to Nazi Germany. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Will it discourage other dictators in other lands to do the same? And in denying their humanity, we betray our own. 4. Elie also believes that indifference causes others pain and suffering. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction. Oneold frienddid immediately visitand it was so good for Adam. Your article challenges me on many frontsmy initial gut reaction was to think back at promises I may have made that I didnt follow through with. Indifference is when you don't care about someone or something. Do we hear their pleas? For 35 points: It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. A grown man, crying out for his mother.. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another persons pain and despair. Never wonder if the disabled would be okay going to a movie or a dinner. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction means. You fight it. The Psychology of Ignorance What causes "indifference" as a psychological condition? Blessings and prayers for you and your entire family. Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc. If we acknowledged each of those mothers, each of those victims of terror, of guns,each of these victims of indifference, we would have no emotional energy or time left for anything else, and still our task would be very much incomplete. (20-22). How is one to explain their indifference? Why the indifference, on the highest level, to the suffering of the victims? Anguish can also be used to refer to intense mental distress, but that does not necessarily imply confusion. He was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart. And what it represents could pose the biggest challenge to broader police reforms ahead. 2023 Cable News Network. One writes a great poem, a great symphony. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Indifference is like a disease: it can be passed from one person to another. But this time, the world was not silent. My friends and I. All of us did. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction. D. Only We are on the threshold of a new century, a new millennium. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Indifference is not a response. Why did some of America's largest corporations continue to do business with Hitler's Germany until 1942? humans are treated as humans. He understood those who needed help. They would have bombed the railways leading to Birkenau, just the railways, just once. There are people in all of our lives to whom we should be offering more of our attention and compassion. Why is it so hard to ask for forgiveness? Manage Settings O Moorish Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. But when he finishes, Wiesel returns to the same scene to remind his audience that despite everything, part of being human means being innately hopeful. Can one possibly view indifference as a virtue? Your email address will not be published. But indifference is never creative. His many classmates and a plethora of teammates, his teachers and therapists, our friends and many family members I expect them to rush here, to call, to send a card to celebrate the life of a thriving, joyful friend and relative. Racism needs indifference like a plant needs water and sunlight. None of the people who now suffer in silence will be forgotten, will have their humanity effectively dismissed by the rest of us. And, for thosewho promised to be with the disabled and their caregivers for the \however long it takes\ and either passively andindifferently disappear or actively \make up a story\ about why they cannot or will not, well,it is not about getting over it, or moving on, for me it is about confronting their indifference. But that doesn't mean we have to let it get away with doing damage to others. When we ignore someone's anguish, we send them a message that they are not important to us. And that ship, which was already in the shores of the United States, was sent back. And at the same time, perhaps no feature is as misunderstood or overlooked.. It is allowing millions of children and adults with mental and physical disabilities to languish in mental institutions around the world, hidden away and forgotten, dying prematurely and living directionless lives, when love, attention, and proper care could transform and extend their lives,infuse them with purpose, and enable people with disabilities to be full members of society. This is why indifference is such a dangerous trait. "The Perils of Indifference" is a call to action, to remind everyone that they have a duty to respond to indifference and intolerance because their legacyas well as their humanitydepends on it. "Gratitude" is a word that I cherish. Why didn't he allow these refugees to disembark? Wrapped in their torn blankets, they would sit or lie on the ground, staring vacantly into space, unaware of who or where they were, strangers to their surroundings. So he is very much present to me and to us. And just as there are different types of diseases, so too are there different kinds of indifference. 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. King didnt write his epic Letter from Birmingham Jail in 1963 in response to the hateful actions of White segregationists. Photos of indifference dont go viral. infidel During that time, he went to public school and then worked after school as a clerk in a clothing store. Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction." At the beginning of this fall semester, I went to Alliance Bible Fellowship's College Connection. But in at least posing, struggling with these questions, we will no longer be a society of indifference. She has a degree in English Literature and Writing, and spends her days writing about everything from fashion to feminism. Does it mean society has changed? Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. Thats why if you talk about racism to some in unguarded moments, youll hear something strange. Never wonder if it\s permissible to visit. However, it does allow the evil to flourish by simply doing nothing. They would have spoken out with great outrage and conviction. They felt nothing. Use of anguish brings out deep emotions of the character. It isn't always easy, but empathy is part of being human. What happened? Do we, should we, allow ourselves to be. Has there ever been two better speeches delivered in the same 24 hours? Has the human being become less indifferent and more human? Elie Wiesel paints a vivid and disturbing picture of the suffering and tragedy that occurred throughout the 20th century, and he repeatedly mentions how very few people stepped in to try and stop it.