<p>@ Chedva: That was Billings, MT that you speak of. And there was a string of similar incidents at the time, including a Native American woman whose home and garage were sprayed-painted with graffiti. Ironically (or idiotically) enough, some of the messages told her to “go back to your own country.” With that woman, over 40 local painters heard about what happened that morning and by lunchtime her house was repainted.</p>
<p>When the ignoramuses get the message from a community response that they are the ones who are the weirdos and outcasts they don’t try to stand out so much. When people are silent or apathetic, the ignoramuses suffer under the delusion that what they are doing is a valid and normal and they persist…and others are bound to follow.</p>
<p>I know the then-mayor of Billings and the then-editor of the paper. The mayor let it be known that this was not going to be tolerated. The police chief, recently retired, also sent out that message loud and clear. And the newspaper printed paper menorahs for readers to post in their windows. These guys were great leaders. It took a few people, like them, to be extraordinarily brave and take a public stand against the wave of vandalism and violence. Soon enough some more will follow them and, over time, more and more people to step up when they decide it’s safe enough to take a stand. The King of Denmark made it safe for the rest of the people to follow along.</p>
<p>In the end, if you think about it, no matter when you jump in, you’re actually a leader because you’ve just made it easier for someone else to stand up for what they believe in.</p>
<p>(I’m sure I could tie this back in to the diploma discussion somehow, but instead I’ll just apologize for the off-topic detour.)</p>
<p>EDIT (Editorial that ran with the newsprint menorahs):</p>
<p>“On December 2, 1993, someone twisted by hate threw a brick through the window of the home of one of our neighbors: a Jewish family who chose to celebrate the holiday season by displaying a symbol of faith – a menorah – for all to see. Today, members of religious faiths throughout Billings are joining together to ask residents to display the menorah as a symbol of something else: our determination to live together in harmony, and our dedication to the principle of religious liberty embodied in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. We urge all citizens to share in this message by displaying this menorah on a door or a window from now until Christmas. Let all the world know that the national hatred of a few cannot destroy what all of us in Billings, and in America, have worked together so long to build.”
–Editorial, Billings Gazette, Dec. 1993</p>