Fourth night of Chanukah. I’m a little behind on things because my thoughts have been all over the place, and despite this being my favorite holiday, there’s an underlying sadness mixed in this year. If you follow me on social media, you may have read my thoughts on specific matters, or not.

Tonight, I’d like to offer up my prayers to Chabad of Bluegrass after last night’s assault on a congregation member in Lexington, Kentucky. I do NOT want to see anything else happen during a Menorah lighting or anything else involving synagogues. If you’re not Jewish, let us have our holiday in peace, the same way we let you have yours in peace. By the way, Chanukah is NOT “a Jewish Christmas”.

In the face of anti-Semitism, we must unite, regardless of faith, and fight back against hate. I wasn’t raised to be a hateful person, so my response mechanism is different than that of others. I was, however, always encouraged to fight back against anything I didn’t deem just.

I cannot, in good conscience, accept violence against people based on their faith, the color of their skin, their politics, or sexual preference. That’s not who I am. If you’re a good person with a good heart, I am not going to say anything to you. I will accept you as you are. However, I do get annoyed when people make incorrect assumptions about the kind of person I am and go behind my back with their opinions. If you have something you want to share, just say it to me personally because if a fifth party is repeating it, I am going to find out why you felt so comfortable talking shit. I am not afraid of confrontation. In fact, I encourage it.

Do not harm, but take no shit.