Laura Loomer’s post last week was a bridge too far for decent and middle of the road Americans. To celebrate the opening of a new maximum-security jail in the Florida Everglades, she wrote, “Alligator Lives Matter. The Good news is alligators are guaranteed at least 65 million meals if we get started now.” I have seen hate speech in my life. This is at the far end of the spectrum, a vicious and bigoted statement designed to destabilize America’s burgeoning Latino population.
I am married to a Latina who works 12 hours a day on her NGO We Are All Human to change the narrative of her community. Latinos are responsible for four of five new small businesses in the U.S. CPG companies are relying on the Latino consumer for as much as 75 percent of their growth in the next decade. Latinos are the hardest-working Americans; I went to a grocery store for last minute shopping on July 4 and the entire floor staff was Latino. This is evidence of Latinos embracing the opportunity agenda of President Trump.
As a proud Jewish American, my immediate thought on seeing Loomer’s foul post was to think about Nazi Germany and the famous quote of German theologian and pastor Martin Niemöller:
“First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.”
I am not making that mistake; I am speaking out. My wife Claudia and I are going to pursue an alliance between Latinos and Jews because we have a mutual set of values (Family, Hard Work, Religion, Charity) and interests (Tolerance, Diversity, Getting Ahead). The time for putting your head down and accepting bigotry as the price of being American is over.
Richard Edelman is CEO.
