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Words of Resistance. That is what is written on one side of a postcard on my refrigerator, under which is a snippet about Pastor Martin Niemöller who was “an early Nazi supporter who was later imprisoned for more than seven years for opposing Hitler’s regime. After liberation, he was one of the earliest Germans to talk publicly about broader complicity in the Holocaust and express guilt for what happened to the Jews.”
Even if you don’t know him by name, you likely know his poem “First They Came.”
Niemoller’s poem came to mind recently when a friend sent a link to a Facebook reel that drove home the point: “If you don’t help to bring about justice, then one day you too may experience injustice, and there will be nobody left to stand before you,” or speak for you.
At the same time that this video was being shared thousands of times on social media, too many other messages were created and propagated that dehumanize and divide people.
Even if we don’t always know the senders by name, unfortunately they live in all of our communities, “even” in Massachusetts, “even” in Winchester.
That's why I felt the need to move my message from my refrigerator to my front lawn: Hate Has No Home Here.
This is not a performative gesture, but one effort of many more that are needed to make our town’s values, expressed in our Human Rights Statement, visible and meaningful. Each of us can consider our role and whether and how we are helping move closer to a world where we respect all people, engage across differences, and prioritize equity and justice.
If you are someone who is not feeling safe enough at this moment to put out a sign or hang a flag, let’s brainstorm together about how we can speak up and proactively show that we care about our neighbors and we will not tolerate hate.
October is National Hispanic Heritage Month. The theme for 2026 is “Together, We are More.”
The Network for Social Justice is co-sponsoring a community dinner celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with the Winchester Unitarian Society and Parish of the Epiphany on Oct. 13 and holding an open meeting on Oct. 14. If you are interested in meeting others, finding connections, and having genuine, face-to-face dialogue, please join us.
For more information, go to https://nfsj.org/get-involved/events/ or email director@nfsj.org.
Submitted by Rebecca Slisz, executive director, Network for Social Justice
