Friday, May 10, 2013

nobody left

I've heard more generic versions of this, but this seems to be the original:

"When Hitler attacked the Jews, I was not a Jew, therefore I was not
concerned. And when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I was not a Catholic,
and therefore, I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the union
and the industrialists, I was not a member of the unions and I was not
concerned. Then Hitler attacked me and the Protestant church -- and
there was nobody left to be concerned."

- Martin Niemoller, 1968, from the US Congressional Record

How I'll rewrite it:
First, they came after the Jews. I was not a Jew, so it didn't bother
me. Then they came after the Sikhs and the Muslims. I wasn't either of
them, so why should I help? Then, they grabbed the homes of the
indigenous, the Adivasi. Now I'm no Adivasi, so why should I care? Then
they attacked the Dalits. I wasn't one so it didn't matter. They cleared
the forests but I don't live there. They attacked the gays, and of
course I didn't care. They made the city really unsafe for women, but
since I'm not a woman, I wasn't concerned. They evicted the roadside
sellers, and I just changed my markets. They hunted down all the
activists, thank God I wasn't one of them. They deported the artists,
and my life just went on normally. And then they came after me. Now I
asked for help, but there was no one left to care about me.

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