In response to the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in February, student survivors like Emma Gonzales, David Hogg, and Cameron Kasky founded a group called Never Again MSD to fight for gun control. While I may disagree with their initiative, such as not focusing on the failure of law enforcement and other factors that enabled the mass shooting, the biggest issue I take with their movement is their use of a rallying cry that stems from one of, if not, the worst genocides in history: the Holocaust.
This rallying cry has a unique purpose. Especially as someone who is a grandson of Holocaust survivors, I believe the Parkland students and those behind them need to stop using the phrase “Never again.”
Using “Never again” dilutes its meaning, which is typically reserved to remember those, especially the Jews like my family members, who perished in the Holocaust. Its message rose out of a greater massacre, stemming from centuries of anti-Semitism, which unfortunately continues to this day. While any murder, like what transpired in Parkland, is beyond reprehensible, history cannot be misconstrued and conflated.
Of course, there were genocides after the Holocaust, though not to Jews, hence, why the motto is exclusive to Jews. But gun violence, on the other hand, has sadly continued since the Parkland shooting. There have been nonstop homicides in Chicago, Baltimore, Los Angeles, New York City, and many other places, which have both the highest annual homicide rates and strictest gun laws nationwide.
Noting this all the more so makes using “Never Again” invalid in reference to gun violence. If we’re going to say “Never again,” let’s start by saying “No more.” No more gun violence. No more false equivalences. No more hate.
Conversing, not ostracizing, is the solution to bridge divisions between people. If you want me, and countless others impacted by the Holocaust on your side, let’s instead say “No more” and respect the rally cry of “Never again.”
