"Kick a Jew" Day- WHAT???

The other day, in Naples, Florida, ten students were "reprimanded" for "allegedly" (I hate that word!) kicking other students, simply because they were Jewish.

According to the news stories, the "reprimand" was a one day "in-school" suspension.

A WHAT??

They kicked other students simply because they were Jewish, and they received a one day in-school suspension?

What does "one day in-school suspension" mean??
They weren't expelled.
They weren't even SENT HOME for the day!

What DID they do- sit in the principal's office and laugh about the whole thing?

FLASHBACK: Germany, 1938

On the night of November 9, 1938, Nazi SA Stormtroopers conducted a systematic destruction of Jewish shops, synagogues, and institutions throughout Germany. In all, 200 synagogues were burned and hundreds of Jewish homes were destroyed. Jews were thrown from windows into the street, beaten, stabbed, shot and killed. About 100 people died that night, and thousands of Jews were rounded up for detention in concentration camps.

The event became known as "Krystalnacht"- "Crystal Night" in English- or "The Night of Broken Glass".

During "Krystalnacht", fire brigades and police watched as the storm troopers burned, pillaged, and murdered, and carted people away- AND DID NOTHING!

What was their punishment for doing nothing? NOTHING!

Don't get me wrong! I'm NOT equating what happened in Germany in 1938 with what happened in Naples last week!.
What I AM comparing is the PUNISHMENT meted out in both cases.

Krystalnacht was the result of CONTEMPT. Contempt for a race of people who, in the Nazi mind, were inferior. Contempt led to hatred. Hatred led to Krystalnacht, and the systematic attempt to eradicate an entire race.

"Kick A Jew" day demonstrates that same type of contempt for Jews is alive in America today.

Even worse, the meaningless punishment these students received demonstrates that contempt may be held by the faculty as well. Because the punishment meted out amounts to stand by and watch, and, basically, do nothing about it!

Where could such an event as "Kick A Jew" Day lead, in light of the "punishment" the perpetrators received?

The answer is blatantly obvious: More of the same!

If there is nothing to fear from such actions except a one day in-school suspension, which doesn't even amount to a slap on the fingers, won't that embolden others to follow suit?

Maybe next time it will be "Beat Up a Jew" - or worse- maybe even "Kill a Jew"?

And what's to stop it from escalating to other races whom the people who instigate this type of behavior also hold in contempt?

Once upon a time in America, there would have been outrage over this incident.

Now, that's all it is- an incident!
A two minute sound bite on the news, then on to the next item.
A minor bit of bad behavior on the part of a few kids in Naples, Florida.
No big deal. Maybe a little bit of anti-semitism there, but so what? Kids will be kids.

Seventy years ago, anti-semitism reared its ugly head in Germany.

History shows a great many people, in America and elsewhere, were well aware of what was happening at that time, but simply turned a blind eye, and let it happen.

The result? Six million people exterminated simply because they were Jews. And fifty million dead worldwide before the Nazi criminals who perpetrated it were finally defeated.

The fact is, it might have been stopped before it came to all out war, if anyone had cared enough to do something when they still could.

So what about this "incident" in Naples?
Are we going to just let it pass?

I don't hear too many people raising their voices in alarm!

BUT:
If we do turn a blind eye to what happened in Naples last week. . .
If we just let this pass. . .
Say nothing, do nothing . . .

Does anyone honestly believe what happened in Germany seventy years ago couldn't happen all over again, right here in America?