STRONGSVILLE, Ohio -- On Aug. 11, Aditi Juneja tweeted: "If you've wondered what you would've done during slavery, the Holocaust, or Civil Rights movement...you're doing it now."

I was blown away.

I had always assumed I would have been an ardent abolitionist, perhaps a Schindler-esque hero, or marched in the streets with Martin Luther King Jr. Ms. Juneja's tweet broke right through my personal comfort and revealed a hard truth.

My answer to that question of "What would I have done?" -- in this moment -- is I would have done nothing.

Like many of us, I have been sitting by, quietly outraged as forces of evil rise up in my country.

If you've wondered what you would've done during slavery, the Holocaust, or Civil Rights movement...you're doing it now. #Charlottesville — Aditi Juneja (@AditiJuneja3) August 12, 2017

Over the weekend, white supremacists left shadowy corners of the Internet and took to the streets in force. Chanting slogans like "White lives matter" and "Jews will not replace us," they spewed hatred and vitriol all over Charlottesville, Virginia. They threatened and intimidated counterprotesters through Friday night and into Saturday.

Their violence escalated until one of their own drove a car through a crowd of nonviolent protesters merely expressing their intense rejection of the Nazis who had gathered. One of them, named Heather Heyer, was killed by this man, and many others were injured.

This didn't just happen. Centuries of racism and bigotry in America have created an environment where something like what happened in Charlottesville can occur. It is the legacy of slavery, of violent relocation of Native American tribes, of other horrific parts of American history.

But do not for a moment think only the people of history deserve blame for what happened last weekend. It is the responsibility of every one of us to fight the ideals of the white supremacists, and we have clearly not been doing enough.

When was the last time someone you know told a racist, homophobic, or anti-Semitic joke?

Probably not too long ago, if I had to guess.

What did you say? If you're anything like me, probably nothing. Even if it wasn't particularly funny, it's easier to laugh along than to confront someone who was probably a friend or family member.

We tell ourselves these jokes don't matter; we're not racist, and our relative just has a penchant for off-color jokes. I've caught myself excusing racist jokes and comments of others by saying things like, "That's just how he/she is."

Last weekend proved this is no longer tenable. The hatred on display was strong; listening to those people speak, it became clear they truly, beyond all rationality, hate others.

It will require a similar strength to combat, and it starts with us individually. We have to be better about calling out racism, homophobia, and religious bigotry whenever we see it, no matter how casual or harmless it might seem. Every time one of these jokes slips through or a comment goes unaddressed, it makes what was said that much more "OK" in the minds of those who hear it.

The last thing the Nazis in Charlottesville and elsewhere in America need is reinforcement that their white supremacy and racism and bigotry are OK.

Our president has reiterated his belief that both sides, white supremacists and counterprotestors, were to blame for the violence and death.

He believes that the ideals and actions of hate espoused openly by the KKK and the Daily Stormer website are comparable to the ideals and actions of love and acceptance of all people shown by the counterprotestors. Only one side of this conflict drove a car into the other, and it was not the latter group.

If we cannot find leadership from the top to combat the resurgence of Nazism, then we have to stand against it in whatever way we can. Don't just accept your racist uncle. Don't accept your friends making homophobic jokes or calling something they find objectionable "gay."

It's going to take all of us trying every day to change the way society thinks about minorities, but we can do it. Those with such hatred in their hearts are few and small compared to those who want to stand against them. All we have to do is match and exceed the hellish fire of their hate with our own infinitely more powerful acceptance and love for all Americans, and prove to ourselves that when history asks what we did during the rise of American Nazism, the answer can't be "nothing."

Sam Blankenship is a graduate of Ohio University and an incorrigible political junkie.

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