I remember growing up and being just baffled at how violent racism was a thing. Obviously it was still a thing when I was growing up, but less so than in the Jim Crow era and before. I couldn’t comprehend how Naziism could take hold. I couldn’t understand imprisoning and killing people for supporting an unpopular political ideology (specifically thinking of communism in the US). I couldn’t understand people cheering on fascist, authoritarian leaders.

It’s been really depressing to see over these last few years just exactly how common those problems are and how easily something like Naziism can take hold, and how quickly.