Niemoller’s poem is well known. He highlights how we can be silent to the injustices of the world when they don’t affect us, but that when the finger finally points our direction, there is no one left to speak for us.
However much we try not to be, we each have our prejudices, our own ways of discriminating against others. In a short period of silence, have a think about what discrimination you perhaps wouldn’t be strong enough to speak out against; the discrimination of appearances or professions or backgrounds or politics that you feel you perhaps wouldn’t speak out against.
Once you’ve had a think, you can download a card from the link below to allow you to take the opportunity to write your own version of Niemoller’s poem, highlighting the discriminations we are aware of in ourselves. The statements do not need to be profound, but should help you reflect on what ways we can be more open to those around us.
re-lite – HMD 2016 – They came for… cards (the card is in PDF format. Download Adobe Reader from here if you do not have it)
If you would like you can post your own version in the comments below. Comments are moderated and it may be a few hours before they appear.
When you are ready, click the link below to move to the next post.
Next: Reflect – First they came