...else, I remember. I heard her story through the generations and learned the lesson she was giving.

"Never Again" means Never Again for anyone. And I will fight like hell to protect those who are being targeted.

...my father was 3 months old. I wonder if my father would still hold these views today if his father had been around for more of his life. Then again, he met and actual camp survivor, heard her stories and saw her tattoo, and the lesson clearly didn't stick the way she intended.

But if nothing...

...think that way.

I've been at odds with my father for years over his views, but I have never been so truly, deeply disgusted and disappointed. That the man who taught me about the Holocaust is gleefully laughing about similar events today.

His father was a veteran of WWII, but he died when...

...that I truly saw the depths of his hatred.

Maybe he truly doesn't see the connection between the two events. After all, the Holocaust was mainly directed at Jewish people, and this isn't directed at Jewish people so it's not the same, right?

But I know that's not an excuse, even if he does...

..."shipped off to a camp." And my father, my father who taught me about the horrors of the holocaust, laughed. He fucking LAUGHED. At a man who was talking about his CHILD WITH CANCER.

I've known my father had had negative views on non-white immigrants for years. But it wasn't until this moment..

...was clearly an immigrant, with more melanin than us and a thick accent. He was talking about his child's journey with cancer.

My brother (who is a hateful black hole himself and another story entirely), made a joke about how it wouldn't matter for that parent anyway because he'd soon be...

...stupidity. but it wasn't until a recent exchange that I realized how low he's fallen.

My entire family (mom, dad, sis, bro, + me) were watching TV one night recently. A St. Jude Hospital commercial came on, with its tragic yet hopeful stories of children and their parents. One of the parents...

...He has always voted republican, and he was not immune to the propaganda of hate spread over the last decade+ by right wing politicians and news outlets. I know he voted for DT the last 3 elections, and I've grown more and more angry with him over the years at his willful ignorance, hatred, and...

...adult that I started to see the flaws in his logic; his self centered-ness which he used to justify his views, his failure to fact check, his lack of critical thinking. Still, this was one lesson he taught me that I know was based in truth, no matter how fallible his other ideas and values are...

...and having nightmares of Nazis; I was so horrified that anyone could do this to other human beings. I took his message to heart, and I've never forgotten about Tio and her story. All my life, I saw my father as this intelligent person who knew so much about the world. It wasn't until I was an...

...her experience. She showed him her tattoo, explained its significance. She was angry and determined to share her truth with the next generation, knowing survivors wouldn't be around forever to tell their stories. My father told me the story, then we watched Schindler's List. I remember crying...

In 6th grade, students in my town began the Holocaust unit in class. A week or so before we began it my dad sat me down and told me a story of a woman he met when he was a kid, a friend of my grandmother's named Tio (iirc). Tio had been in a concentration camp during WWII and told my father about...

...a "terrorist." They were identified by a fake rubber thumb they wore over their real one because "that's what the real terrorists did." I remember feeling really weird that this was a game we were playing, but it took me decades to remember and realize how fucked up it really was.

I started third grade in September 2001. In the spring, after months and months of the country grieving, our first PE class outside after winter was a modified game of capture the flag. I don't remember what they called it, but I DO remember that there was one player on each team called...

I have so many favorites, but I think Heartstopper holds my heart the most 💕