#There's a gut instinct to avoid using the term Jews that I have that I've been told is typical of activists

[pipiezexal]

us specific post incoming, but: in the wake of the inauguration I've seen a couple of versions floating around tumblr at this point, and they're all well-meaning so I don't want to put this on the posts themselves, but:

if you find yourself compelled to make or spread versions/interpretations of the "first they came for" poem, just take a second to double check whether or not Jews are included.

The original version is very culturally specific to Germany and to German guilt/reconciliation post-WWII, and while the sentiments (of standing up for others before atrocities occur) are important and universal, the original intention and message are still important, especially as antisemitism rises in spaces across the political spectrum.

If we do not include Jewish people in our advocacy, we will be repeating the exact same conditions the original poem criticizes. It would be ironic in a very serious and unfunny way to be silent on the suffering of Jews while quoting a poem reckoning with the suffering Jewish people endured because of bystanders' silence.