The Wake

It all used to seem so simple. We were all taught some of the most valuable life lessons in kindergarten: if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all, play well with others, and treat others as you wish to be treated. But where along the way do people forget these and start hating others?

While tolerance may be the word of choice for most people, Dr. Stephen Feinstein, director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the “U,” much prefers the term coexistence. ”Tolerance,” says Feinstein “can really mean intolerance at the same time. Coexistence, means live and let live.”

For this reason, he was intrigued by an outdoor art exhibit he saw in Berlin in 2002. Giant posters filled the Platz der Republik in front of the German Reichstag, each with an artist’s work exploring the “art of living together.”

The exhibition, “Coexistence,” began at the Museum on the Seam in Jerusalem, and has since traveled around the world to such locations as Sarajevo, Prague, and Miami, and with the help of Dr. Feinstein, was brought to Minneapolis and St. Paul last spring. By bringing the exhibit here, he was trying to reconfirm the university’s involvement in the community.

Through this exhibition, says curator Raphie Etgar on the museum’s Web site, “We see art as a language with no boundaries. It is…universal and it speaks to all ages, religions and nationalities.” Feinstein also emphasizes the way art can speak to such an important issue, saying the exhibit was “not trying to hammer anything into anyone’s head ideologically,” but was to encourage discourse.

The beauty of these images, says Feinstein, is that they “did not have a final conclusion, they were interpretive.” By simply presenting people with an issue and not telling them how to feel or think about it, hopefully a discussion was initiated.

But will presenting ideas of coexistence actually lead to any change in the current climate of hate? It’s impossible to tell. However, Feinstein urges that creating an arena for discourse is essential. The amount of hate and subsequent hate crimes cannot be lowered with a slap on the wrist or a condescending tone. “It takes education and a personal relationship. It takes people seeing each other and knowing each other.”

So why do hate crimes remain so prominent today? It’s often a “territorial thing,” remarks Feinstein. People who are born in a certain place tend to feel that it is their own and they do not want competition for they fear the unknown.

Even in states like Minnesota, hate crimes are not unheard of. In fact, for many years around 1946, Minneapolis was known as the “Capital of Anti-Semitism.” Feinstein even challenges the myth of ‘Minnesota Nice,’ saying “it really means smiling and staying to yourself mostly.”

No state is completely free from hate. This art exhibit was intended to acknowledge that and to lead to discussions about the dangers and effects of hate. In a world where too many people are killing others simply for their differences, it is essential for us to learn to coexist. “Meaning,” sums up Feinstein that “we exist together, interact together when necessary,” and are “presumably not indifferent to each other’s fate.” We “Don’t have to love each other,” but we do need to learn to live side by side.

For more information on the Coexistence Exhibition or to view some of the billboards check out the website at http://www.chgs.umn.edu/coexistence/.

Sara Schweid is a staff writer at The Wake. She welcomes comments at office@wakenews.org.