In the current oppressive political climate, we infrequently engage in constructive dialogue across bubbles, with people who disagree with us sharply. I had just such an experience last week in conversation with a friend about guns.
She said (paraphrasing) that liberals perceive that guns are for killing people and conservatives perceive guns are for protection. She cited Germany’s 1933 involuntary disarmament of Jewish people followed by raids in Berlin to confiscate weapons, and the 1936 prohibition of new firearms licenses by the Gestapo.
Kristalnacht was next. Gestapo, Hitler Youth and German citizens rampaged with sledgehammers against Jewish homes, 7,000 businesses and 1,400 synagogues, smashing windows, destroying interiors as police stood by without intervening. The same month, a Gestapo decree forbade possession of firearms and bladed weapons by Jews. Point taken.
As the regime collapses, (we are watching it happen in real time), let’s consider what we do when the smoke clears and we contemplate the mess, losses and damage from Trumpism. We won’t be returning to Obama or Biden or even Bush II policies. We will be finding a way forward to a mutually supported multiracial society that protects all people, and guards against the removal of protections.
It will be a multiracial New Civil Rights Movement. We will be looking for a way for all to thrive. It won’t be incremental. It will come from those of us watching the chaos, crying out “Enough!” Let’s get ready for that moment. Let’s go for the win-win.
Peter W. Tregillus
Durango
