The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled. Its strength is in its anonymity it doesnt typically call attention to itself, and its perpetrators are often unaware that they see certain people as the Other. And I thank all of you for being here. What is the best description of originality? (28-35). Never ask, \Can I get you something?\ Just get it. No doubt, he was a great leader. Finally, indifference can hurt society by keeping suffering hidden. 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. For us to be ignored by God was a harsher punishment than to be a victim of His anger. And just as there are different types of diseases, so too are there different kinds of indifference. In the place that I come from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders. They were dead and did not know it. 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. I just wouldn't give him/her any attention at all. Indifference is a betrayal of life and those who live it. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. 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. Indifference or apathy is a state in which we don't care and/or don't take action on something happening around us. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. 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. Are peopleafraid ofa very challengedfriend and don\t know what to say or do? A thousand peoplein America, the great country, the greatest democracy, the most generous of all new nations in modern history. 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. I especially like that you quoted Elie Weisel, as he is one of my favorite people. 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. White indifference to police brutality is why so many Black men continue to die like Floyd. (13-16). We can be more conscious of the how the food we eat, clothes we wear, and electronics we purchase are produced. 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 then, of course, the joint decision of the United States and NATO to intervene in Kosovo and save those victims, those refugees, those who were uprooted by a man, whom I believe that because of his crimes, should be charged with crimes against humanity. 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. What happened? Indifference elicits no response. All Rights Reserved. It can spread quickly, affecting many people until no one trusts or cares about anyone else again. So, if the young Jewish boy from the Carpathian Mountains could still believe in the very best, anything is possible. Indifference in the book Night by Elie Weisel - StudyMode This time, the world was not silent. Copyright A.D. 2018 Catholic Stand | Powered by Astra, Like a Rock: Pope Francis Takes the Kepha Approach. Indifference can also harm society as a whole because people stop trying to improve themselves and their situation. Phil, I am so sorry that your family had to experience this tragedy. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. When it is our turn, were surprised that were weak. indifference: [noun] the quality, state, or fact of being indifferent. Indifference not hate may be the biggest obstacle to police reform. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction" (Perils 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. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction." . Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction means. In paragraph 6, Elie Wiesel states, "Indifference reduces the Other to Does it mean that we have learned from the past? And he wasn't the only person who feels that way. I suppose its safe therefore, comfortable eh? 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. He concludes by saying that indifference is the most powerful weapon against humanity. One does something special for the sake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. 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. 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. Even anger, according to Wiesel, is a more positive action than indifference. Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. This time, we intervene. Indifference Flashcards | Quizlet The Perils of Indifference Flashcards | Quizlet However, due to the rise of Nazism in Europe, many Jews were arrested and held without trial or charge. "Even hatred at times may elicit a response. The devotion and care that you and your wife give to your son is beyond admirable. And throughout it all, they believed the rest of the world had no idea what was going on. 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. Allow a caretaker to go out to supper once every so often. Much of the progress on police reform, though, will boil down to this: Will enough lawmakers and judges see Black and brown people who are being brutalized by the justice system as fellow human beings? Indifference is forgetting about others because they are unimportant to you or you do not give a damn about them. 2. The only thing that everyone forms of indifference has in common is that they all involve some type of neglect. So he is very much present to me and to us. Indifference is both individual and societal. Perhaps Exhibit 17 of the Chauvin trial will change that. I expect that is why other great advocates for human rights have emphasized the danger of indifference. Indifference can be positive or negative; it can help or hurt those who are indifferent to our feelings. Roosevelt was a good man, with a heart. Though he did not understand their language, their eyes told him what he needed to know -- that they, too, would remember, and bear witness. Manage Settings Which of the following best supports the claim that indifference is tempting? The Perils of Indifference | Havurah Shir Hadash Do we hear their pleas? The Perils of Indifference - LinkedIn What will the legacy of this vanishing century be? 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 impairs one's perspective of others as well as one's own dignity. 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. Perhaps thats why one of the best novels about racism by a Black author is titled Invisible Man.. It's neither comfortable nor fun, but, according to Elie Wiesel, it's part of being a good human. (107-108). Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Did you encounter any technical issues? Racism needs indifference like a plant needs water and sunlight. According to Elie Wiesel, when you make the choice to stop relating to other people, to stop understanding them and what they're going through, you lose the part of you that makes you human. Learn how your comment data is processed. Ralph Abernathy, left, and the Rev. "Even hatred at times may elicit a response. Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction. Indifference. Elie Wiesel is talking about FDR's response to the St. Louis (which we discuss in the "Timeline" section). Even if you believe something bad about them, keep these feelings hidden from them too. The Righteous Gentiles were a bit of a light in the darkness. You disarm it. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. abstract existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence. To not be seen is another, more insidious variant of racism that can be infuriating. convergent Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. Never just remember someone. In particular, indifference is "more dangerous than anger and hatred." It is "not a beginning, it is an end." It is "not only a sin, it is a punishment" (par 11-13). "Gratitude" is a word that I cherish. But in at least posing, struggling with these questions, we will no longer be a society of indifference. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Global Health Justice Scholar, Elie Wiesel speaks at a UN General Assembly special session in 2005 commemorating the Holocaust. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. 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. On the surface, the definition is pretty straightforward, but as you dive in and peel back some of the layers, it becomes easy to see how tempting it is to exist in between good and evilwhich, according to Wiesel, is where indifference lives. I don't understand. It is also ignoring others' sufferings and putting yourself first. Is there a philosophy of indifference conceivable? It is far simpler to turn away from victims. In this case, with an audience on the verge of a new century, he wants them to seriously think about their answers, and part of that means thinking about humanity and the responsibilities of being human. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Whereas, 'pain' refers to a feeling of suffering caused by a damage. Required fields are marked *. Anger can at times be creative. I don't understand. They widened in disbelief. Learn to changea diaper, connect a g-tube, suction a trach. Indifference is not a response. So many of our severelychallenged children and adults are pure and richhuman beings whose lives are often re-defined by the stares, the avoidance, the pity, the indifference of their fellow human beings. In "The Perils of Indifference," Elie Wiesel talks about how indifference is seductive because it's the easy choice. 'Anguish' means 'severe pain' or anxiety. Thank you. We will not be hiding from suffering, but confronting it. On Human Indifference - Catholic Stand It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. Elie Wiesel: First Person Singular . Resources | PBS Privacy Policy, 1999 White House address raising the perils of indifference, read on the front pages of our newspapers, The Stigmatization of Substance Use, Recovery, and Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Higher Education: A Call to Action for Schools of Social Work Education, The Implications of HHS Proposed Rule for Confidentiality Protections of Patients with Substance Use Disorder, An Overview of Medical Secrecy Guidelines and Regulations in Latin America: The Case of Brazilian Superior Court of Justice. The author describes what indifference means to him as well. And so, once again, I think of the young Jewish boy from the Carpathian Mountains. ". It becomes clear throughout his speech that Elie Wiesel sees the folks who stood idly by as being part of the problem. Indifference is when you don't care about someone or something. But some live their entire lives that way and I cant for the life of me understand the appeal.
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