We are living in a pretty unpredictable and scary time. After the tragic event in Squirrel Hill, PA at the Tree of Life Synagogue, we need to reassess how we can actually fulfill the promise of not letting history repeat itself.
We teach history to educate younger generations of what happened in the past. We also teach history so we can help the future to be better. While it is fair to say that mental health plays a factor in events such mass shootings, there is also a factor of history involved when it is revealed that shooters have ulterior motives that are connected to hate groups.
What happened on Saturday was a hate crime. A hate crime is a crime motivated by racial, sexual or other prejudice, typically one involving violence. The most closely-related hate crime that is now being attached to the recent events is the Holocaust, due to the fact that it was an anti-Semitic attack.
It’s hard to understand how something so horrific against a group of people just for the way they believe could happen in 2018, but unfortunately, it did. We must learn from this event and promote diversity and understanding of one another. Also, we must stress the importance of learning about events in history so that we can create a better world for tomorrow.
Hate is never acceptable. Instead of finding hate in others, try to understand how their differences make them unique and learn from one another. We all have something to learn, so why not listen?