SACRAMENTO—The California Armenian Legislative Caucus announced the winners of this year’s 2021 California Armenian Legislative Caucus’ Scholarship.
The California Armenian Legislative Caucus has worked hard this year to advocate and participate in educational and governmental efforts in California and awarded six scholarships to California high school students who entered essay and arts contests.
The Caucus continues to strive to educate Californians on Armenian American issues and celebrate the achievements of Armenian Americans in California.
Earlier this year the Armenian Caucus invited California high school students to participate in its Annual Essay Contest. Students were asked to write a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging that Facebook take the same course of action against denial and distorted posts regarding the 1915 Armenian Genocide as they have with the Holocaust.
Essay Contest Winners
First-prize, $1,000: Alex Santiago attending Walnut High School in Walnut, CA.
Second-prize, $750: Kyleen Lin attending Clovis North High School in Fresno, CA.
Third-prize, $500: Michael Karapetyan attending Castro Valley High School in Castro Valley, CA.
This year’s theme was “Human to Human Interaction.” Submission types were limited to drawings, paintings, photographs, digital illustrations, and graphic design.
Visual Arts Scholarship Winners
First-prize, $1,000: Lina Lee attending Milpitas High School in Milpitas, CA.
Second-prize, $750: Sophie Ludes attending Crescenta Valley High School in La Crescenta, CA.
Third-prize, $500: Daniella Brewer attending Tulare Western High School in Tulare, CA.
Asbarez is featuring the essays and visual arts submissions of the winners of this year’s contest below.
“Congratulations to the very deserving winners. Armenian Americans are a vital part of our state’s story and we all benefit when our leaders of tomorrow embrace and celebrate our diversity. We are proud that so many Armenians call California home,” said Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins
“Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 California Armenian Legislative Caucus’ Scholarship. Despite the ups and downs of high school during COVID, these high school students met the challenge and offered creative, heartfelt entries. Hats off to this year’s winners!,” added Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk
“As a proud member of the California Armenian Legislative Caucus, I am excited about the recognition and financial aid that our high school student scholarship winners will be receiving. They have earned our Caucus’ scholarship support for their essay and artistic excellence, and I look forward to their continued academic achievements in the future,” commented Senator Bob Archuleta
“Congratulations to each of this year’s California Armenian Legislative Caucus scholarship recipients,” said Senator Borgeas. “These bright, young leaders give me hope for the next generation of public servants in our state,” said Senator Andreas Borgeas
“Congratulations to the 2021 California Armenian Legislative Caucus essay and art scholarship winners. I am impressed with the winners for doing their part to share the culture and traditions of the Armenian people with all of California and the world,” said Senator Brian Dahle.
“Congratulations to this top-notch group of students throughout California for being this year’s Armenian Caucus scholarship recipients,” said Senator Mariá Elena Durazo. “We are proud to be investing in their education. The COVID-19 pandemic has created financial struggles for so many families, and we are proud to contribute toward the rising costs of their college education. On behalf of the Armenian Caucus, we cannot wait to see the great things this talented group of students will achieve. Make us proud!”
“Congratulations to these very talented young people. California has remarkable students and it’s wonderful to see scholarships helping them garner future academic opportunities,” offered Senator Anthony Portantino
“Congratulations to the recipients of the 2021 California Armenian Legislative Caucus Scholarship! I am pleased to join my colleagues in recognizing the brilliant efforts of these six students from across the state. Their entries are important reminders of the rich history, culture, and daily experiences of the Armenian community in California. It is also a reminder that some still seek to deny the shared memories of the atrocities inflicted upon the people of Armenia. That is why I will continue to work with my colleagues to elevate the voices of the Armenian communities these future leaders and scholars represent. I look forward to hearing of their future endeavors!,” Assemblymember Lisa Calderon said.
“Every year, we have the privilege to read poignant essays and view stunning visual arts from high school students throughout California,” said Assemblymember Laura Friedman. “Their works never cease to amaze me, but this year our submissions have been truly special. Each submission was crafted with so much passion, and displayed the incredible talent of its creator. I’d like to thank everyone for their participation during a very challenging year, and I want to congratulate this year’s winners for their truly inspiring work,” added Assemblymember Laura Friedman.
“Congratulations to Lina, Sophie, Daniella, Alex, Kyleen, and Michael for receiving the 2021 California Armenian Legislative Caucus Scholarships. Their dedication to finding meaningful ways to express themselves, educate others, and celebrate the extraordinary legacy of Armenian Americans in California is truly impressive and a powerful example of how we must all advocate for a more just and peaceful world,” Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel in wishing the winners well.
“Congratulations to this year’s Armenian Caucus Scholarship winners! These students’ essays and visual arts submissions showcase their skills and abilities to advocate for truth and justice for the Armenian Genocide. I hope they continue to use their talents to make a positive impact on the issues they care about,” offered Assemblymember Chris Holden.
“I offer my sincere congratulations to the scholarship recipients who recognized the historical significance of the Armenian Genocide in their entry. It is important to recognize the young talented students who understand the importance of human-to-human interaction,” said Assemblymember Tom Lackey.
“I want to thank the all the students who participated this year’s Armenian Genocide Scholarship Contest and their parents and teachers who supported their creative endeavors. Each year, I am amazed by the talent of California’s young artists and writers,” said Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, head of the California Armenian Legislative Caucus. “This annual contest presents a unique opportunity for our state to celebrate the talent of brilliant California high school students while granting them the opportunity to explore the history and culture of the Armenian people. Congratulations to our six winners!,” Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian said.
“As a member of the California Armenian Legislative Caucus, I want to congratulate all of the winners of this year’s caucus scholarship,” said Assemblywoman Luz Rivas. “These six high students showed incredible talent in their ability to raise awareness of the Armenian Genocide through the visual arts and essay writing. I commend our winners for their accomplishments and wish them the best as future leaders,” said Assemblymember Luz Rivas.
“I am so proud of all the winners of this year’s Armenian Legislative Caucus Scholarship Award and their ability to put words into action to advocate on behalf of the Armenian people. Congratulations students and I wish you much luck on your entrance into college,” Assemblymember Suzette Valladares offered.
Members of the California Armenian Legislative Caucus include: Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins; Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg; Senate Minority Leader Scott Wilk; and senators Bob Archuleta, Andreas Borgeas, Brian Dahle, María Elena Durazo, Anthony Portantino. Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes and Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Kevin Mullen are joined by members of the California Assembly Lisa Calderon, Vince Fong, Laura Friedman, Jesse Gabriel, Mike Gipson, Chris Holden, Tom Lackey, Adrin Nazarian, Assemblymember Luz Rivas, Blanca Rubio and Suzette Valladares as members of the Caucus.
The Winning Submissions:
Flying Messages
BY LINA LEE, 17
Milpitas High School, 12th Grade
My artwork, Flying Messages, is inspired by the 15 thousand Armenian supporters who flocked through Times Square to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 26, 2015. During this event, one hundred white doves glided in the air in honor of the Armenian martyrs, as people called for peace and brought awareness to the victims of hatred who suffered and gave their lives for their faith. People were united and encouraged to seek a future free of divisions as the light of the love that forgives and reconciles is upon them. That is why I painted a piece that incorporates the releasing of doves to represent the event where people connect and form human interactions regardless of their differences. In my painting, the doves carry letters with hearts surrounding them, symbolizing the spread of peace and unity as efforts were made to bring humanity and justice to the Armenian Genocide. The letters hold the hope and messages that lie within everyone’s heart, to end the Armenian Genocide and unite with one another. These messages also imply that everyone can help spread awareness of the Armenian Genocide, regardless of our differences in race, religion, or gender, as letters are a way to communicate worldwide. Letters allow connections with everyone, especially during the Armenian Genocide, where signals and technology are not accessible. Furthermore, the main focus of my painting is a girl participating in releasing the doves. Her red and white, vibrant dress symbolizes the lively and hopeful spirit of the Armenians affected by the genocide. The red on her dress embodies the life and fire that drives the determination for survival and independence, and the white underneath symbolizes the unwavering faith that remains in the Armenian’s hearts as they endure through the massacre. As she is releasing the doves, light is penetrating the horizon that is overshadowed by hate and terror depicted through the ruined buildings lit up by the fire. The people around her, blending into the background, represent the Armenian victims crying for help as they gather around desperately reaching for the letters and doves. I want to show in my painting that there is not only one way to show human-to-human interaction and lend support, we can all indirectly lend support and bring justice towards the Armenian Genocide by coming together and bringing awareness. Like the paper airplanes that soar through the sky, like the doves that spread their wings, bringing peace and hope across the world, we can spread awareness and peace by connecting with one another to deliver light beyond the horizon.
Human to Human Interaction
BY SOPHIE LUDES, 16
Crescenta Valley High School, 10th Grade
My drawing is meant to show human interaction in three forms. Although there are many different types of human interaction, I decided to choose the three most prominent ones that stood out to me when trying to learn deeper about what happened during the Armenian Genocide.
First; the aftermath of human interaction that left the dolls scattered and lost. Cruelty in the genocide left the Armenian people dissembed in the name of ethnic cleansing. I didn’t put anything that would identify the location of the drawing on purpose; hopefully conveying a feeling of alienation and confusion. I covered them in layers of different shadows to show how much was left in the dark.
Second; usual human interaction with people who aren’t affected by tragedy, as they walk past without looking back.This is unfortunately the most common human interaction. It needs to change. Never bothering to try to learn, or understand, or even acknowledge horrors in hopes of staying stupidly naive and oblivious. If one person had stopped, then a few others in the crowd might stop too to see what’s the matter. I hope a pattern like this might stir up until we all get the opportunity to educate ourselves on events like this that are swept under the rug.
Third and last of all, human interaction that kept the dolls clinging together for support. The dolls are meant to represent the Armenian people who were greatly swept away by the genocide, as they were objectified and not seen as human. Puppets are tools of amusement, and easily forgotten once they were played with too many times. However, the Armenian people are human, not dolls or puppets or any sort of tool. It’s simple, but again easily forgotten over too many times. This family helping each other kept them alive and together. This is the human interaction that gives out hope- and literally in this drawing, a stream of light. It highlights two of the members of the family- the mother and the sun- their puppet hands held together. I hope for the human interaction that saves lives, and pushes forward for a future while acknowledging tragedies instead of casting them in the dark.
World Torn Together
BY DANIELLA BREWER, 17
Tulare Western High School, 12th Grade
In the beginning of the piece I wanted it to highlight the destructive tendencies of humanity. When I first heard of “Human to Human Interaction” my mind went to all the horrible actions that we as humans have done to and on our planet. We take so much from the earth and give hardly anything back, ultimately taking a huge toll on our home. With these thoughts in mind I first thought of doing a piece where the hands destroyed and tore apart the world. Just as I feel it is happening today, but the more I thought about it the more nihilistic that seemed.
The piece transformed into something more hopeful, in the end. This piece is a multimedia drawing using black and white acrylic paint, gold marker, and a white gel pen. The piece uses the imagery of a Japanese art form called Kintsugi. Kintsugi, meaning “golden joinery”, is a form of mending broken pottery or statues with gold, silver, or platinum lacquer. Doing this to the pottery is meant not to hide but highlight the beauty of the imperfections. I used this in my piece to symbolize how broken the world is due to human interaction. Instead of tearing apart the world, like I originally envisioned, the hands are putting it back together. Highlighting its imperfections, not in pride but to remember what has happened and promise to do better.
I believe when we put our minds together we can do anything as a community of human beings. From this piece I learned how nihilism is a very easy thought process to come to. Believing that life is meaningless and nothing matters is an appealing thought but does more harm than good. If we as humans have given up before we try then life truly is meaningless, but we have to try first. We have to try to do better and make those everyday human interactions more meaningful. Its only then we can slowly rebuild our home
***
BY ALEX SANTIAGO, 16
Walnut High School, 10th Grade
Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,
I write to you today to strongly urge you to use your jurisdiction as CEO of Facebook to prevent the furthering of false information considering the 1915 Armenian Genocide to be spread across your platform. Under the premises of this pandemic, false information about the genocide has become widespread and is detrimental to the Armenian community.
Facebook already has set in place policies that prohibit the approbation of any hate crime or mass murder under Community Standards, Section III. Objectionable Content, Sub Section 12, Policy Rationale. More recently, this policy has been adapted to include prevention against falsifications about the Holocaust, under the principle “Hate Speech: Tier 1” explicitly, “denying or distorting information about the Holocaust”. It is only right, that the 1915 Armenian Genocide receives the same protections, please follow along with my explanation as to why.
The Armenian Genocide began in early 1915 when hostility grew against the Armenian community; a Christian religious minority suspected of not being loyal to the governing Ottoman Turks. This hostility was followed by a long trial of systematic attempts to remove the Armenian people and their history from Turkey, forming the first modern genocide.
Armenians were forced from their homes and sent on marches across mountainous regions to remote desert areas, during which they were denied food and water and consecutively put into concentration camps, if they ended up surviving the journey. Many women and children were kidnapped, sent to live with Turkish families, and forced to convert to Islam; often becoming subject to sexual and physical abuse. The list continues on which can be shortened by saying Armenians were stripped of their honor, livelihoods, and entities among the multiple atrocities. By the end of the First World War, the number of Armenians had been reduced by 90 percent―over 1.5 million people massacred.
Mr. Zuckerberg, there is and cannot be any “debate” about 1.5 million lives. When people spread false information and continuously deny the Armenian Genocide, it is your job to ensure this is ceased under Facebook’s guidelines and enforce resources to accurately inform, rather than encourage what you’ve previously labeled as ‘innocent’ and genuine misunderstandings. However, no such action has been taken. You wrote in your October 12th Facebook post, “with rising anti-Semitism, we’re expanding our policy to prohibit any content that denies or distorts the Holocaust at all,”. Essentially, I take this as the situation became so poorly for the Jewish population, that a distinct rise in hate crimes was necessary for a change to occur. Must these lengths be reached with the Armenian people as well, until the same criteria is enacted under Facebook’s policy? How is it logical for one to see what happens when this hate speech and falsifications spread for one genocide and cause serious violence, and to still not take the same precautions elsewhere; to allow that hate to still prevail because it is of a different breed? The repercussions will inevitably be the same, and the emotional tolls equally irreversible.
A sad repetition of history is what I see succeeding for the Armenian people, a lifestyle filled with increasing fear of retribution, retribution stemmed from lies. As a Facebook user myself, it only took one quick search for me to easily find a video claiming that “Armenians have consistently revised history to meet their own goals to produce the Armenian Dream… by causing the destruction of the 600-year-old Ottoman Empire.” A flagrant lie based in hatred. Despite extensively documented historical evidence of this genocide, your platform allows lies like these to ensue and continue to distort persons views about the actuality and gravity of the Armenian Genocide, as if 1.5 million deaths were not sufficient. This video had already accumulated 1.6 thousand views when I came across it, and from that point, it was easy pickings from a plethora of similar denials and mockeries of the genocide each accompanied with its own large subscribing.
To put it plainly, these lies cause pain. Widespread pain among these Armenian communities who have fairly already suffered enough. Please consider how it would feel to have 90 percent of your ancestry killed, and for the entire genocide, which has been documented and continuously proven to be blatantly rejected as false. Not only that but the hate speech and denials have consistently resurged during the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. A day purposed to commemorate these victims, a feeling reverberated throughout the entirety of the Armenian community. While the strength of the surviving Armenian people has been reclaimed, this genocide has undoubtedly caused generational trauma.
These lies misconstrue the true historical events of the Armenian Genocide and cause the reality to be forgotten. Hence, we begin the repetition of history. Adolf Hitler noted in his very own “The Obersalzberg Speech” in 1939 that invading Poland would not arise much of an issue because, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”. The Holocaust was a reverberation of the denial of the Armenian Genocide. An insufferable reminder that when genocide is forgotten, it is repeated.
Mr. Zuckerberg, as the CEO of the website with over 2.7 Billion users, but also just as a human being do you not feel for these people. Do you not recognize the pain this has cost them? Do you not feel the need to do what you can to prevent history from repeating itself? The continuing denial of the Armenian Genocide will have upscaling reverberations, paving the way for future atrocities as well as continuously discrediting the pain of those affected. One forgotten genocide leads to the next. These feeble lies gain strength through your system, and nameless lies can become widespread beliefs overnight as I’m sure you are aware.
Do your part, and list distortion of the Armenian Genocide under ‘hate speech’ and effectively condemn it from your platform. Provide a sense of healing and validation to those who have already suffered so much.
Sincerely,
Alex Santiago
***
BY KYLEEN LIN, 15
Clovis North, 10th Grade
Dear Mr. Zuckerburg,
Last October, Facebook announced it would no longer tolerate posts that distort or deny the Holocaust following an increase in anti-Semitic violence. This action showed the platform’s retraction of its prior stance wherein it maintained there would be no interference among such posts to avoid infringing on free speech. Yet, since Facebook has already taken steps to prevent violence against Jews, why does it not fight for other ethnicities as well?
It would be remiss to dismiss your hypocrisy in banning Holocaust deniers but not Armenian genocide deniers. Regardless of your personal stance on free speech, the underlying implication of the platform’s censorship remains. By selectively permitting the behavior of Facebook deniers, you are not abiding by your own community guidelines; section three, subsection twelve prohibits dehumanizing statements that target a group of people. This rule brings up several issues. For one, the prohibition of oppressive statements implies that Facebook must hide posts that disobey the guidelines, which could be considered an infringement on freedom of speech. Additionally, there is certainly no way to deem Armenian Genocide deniers as safe abiders of this sentiment, for their posts clearly target Armenians. To even so much as imply that these posts are not dehumanizing is dehumanizing in and of itself. Your justification for balancing free speech and hate intolerance has no solid basis when the priority scale is tilted unjustly to only one subset of victims.
Complying with the pleas to remove Holocaust deniers indicates Facebook acknowledges that denial of mass murder is a problem worth solving. So, then, what truly distinguishes the Holocaust from the Armenian Genocide? Armenian lives certainly do not matter less than Jewish lives, yet your actions seem to prioritize one over the other. There is no excuse to silence Holocaust deniers but disregard Armenian Genocide deniers; you must be cognizant of this clearly criminal contradiction. The Holocaust is widely known as an atrocity of humankind, but that should not diminish the detriment of other brutal events. If anything, there should be an emphasis on ridding the internet of false claims about the more easily misconstrued incidents, the lesser-known horrors. Death toll numbers themselves, moreover, can never reveal the seriousness of an issue. They mercilessly overlook the emotional strain families must endure–before, during, and after the battles. How do mere symbols or spellings acknowledge the trauma soldiers and civilians face in the crux of combat? Where in the numbers lay the ideas, lives, and nations people fight to protect? Facebook essentially condones ignorance to pierce those coping with the burdens of destruction–to cut bloody, emotional scars atop healing bullet wounds because the unsubstantial numbers are undeserving of acknowledgment. This negligence erases hardships and withholds notable events from ever existing in the minds of many. And on another note, allowing uneducated individuals to roam freely on the internet runs the risk of influencing others in a negative way, producing misinformed individuals that will lack the meaningful knowledge to benefit the community; in other words, society suffers as well. But overall, acting against the Holocaust but not the Armenian Genocide is deplorable. There is no valid reason to shield one demographic over another since neither the culture nor the number of people affected should determine which victims to spare.
Nonetheless, perhaps Facebook uses the number of hate crimes that have arisen to decide the issues worthy of its attention. Unfortunately, simply observing these statistics is an outrageous idea. It is repulsively foolish to believe these disturbances affect the Jewish community exclusively. So, then, there must have been a purposeful oversight on the increased hate against Armenian peoples. Facebook should not solely take action if the violence numbers increase past a certain quota. Intolerance for ignorance should extend further. Objectively, any hate crime increase should warrant recognition. Yet by narrowing the importance of an issue to a rise in the number of hate crimes, you blatantly overlook the millions of other people who must face disgusting accusations.
Mr. Zuckerburg, you relieved fires in one fraction of the forest, yet you are actively letting the rest perish in flames. You assert that Facebook banned holocaust denials because of the increasing rate of anti-semitism and ignorance among young people. However, you should not wait for Armenian hate crimes to skyrocket before you concede you should have taken precautionary measures, and that misrepresenting such crucial issues is an exceedingly abhorrent problem in any situation; a fire’s acrid smoke should not have to bruise and blacken the skies to indicate action must be taken. Facebook’s response to the Armenian genocide is imprudent. It is effortless for your users to rampantly spread inimical misinformation due entirely to your platform’s sickening apathy. Your hypocrisy is sickening. But you have the remedy that may protect those who are at risk of facing this wretched disease of denial. Therefore, on behalf of the neglected, please honor their history.
Sincerely,
Kyleen Lin
***
BY MICHAEL KARAPETYAN
Mr. Zuckerberg,
As a proud Armenian-American, I am deeply troubled by the lack of authority I see on your platform in restricting racist rhetoric, particularly against Armenians. Being a small group of people, Armenians are prone to some of the most intolerable acts of discrimination, from individual encounters with prejudiced people to systemic attempts to continue wiping away our race without regret. “We will continue to fulfill the mission our grandfathers have carried out for centuries in the Caucasus” (Recep Tayvip Erdoğan, 2020).
The Armenian Genocide in 1915 took the lives of 1.5 milion Armenians: children, mothers, fathers, and even the unborn. The Ottoman terror still holds an effect not only physically (with Armenian land control being decimated), but also mentally in the minds of the newer generations that have to endure the pain that comes with the knowledge of their ancestors being raped and murdered simply for their ethnicity. As a child growing up, I have heard countless stories of the massacres, and at times they were too much to handle. 106 years ago, Armenians were marched into the Syrian desert by the thousands, left to die from starvation and heat trauma. 106 years ago, Armenian women were raped and left to die, while pregnant women had their futures slashed from their stomachs to prevent the continuation of the bloodline of heroes. Armenians were left to die 106 years ago, Mr. Zuckerberg: are you the next to leave us?
Armenians are tired. Armenians are angry. Armenians are disheartened. Our emotions lead us into social media, where we believe we would have a safe space to express our pride in our nation, our struggles under Pan-Turkism, but even that proves difficult due to your inability to take action against the countless bots and racists plaguing the world with bigotry. Facebook has a policy in place now against the deniers of the Holocaust, but not for the Armenian Genocide, a starkly similar circumstance. Why is one historically oppressed race receiving more protection than another under your supervision? Does this not undermine your goals of a platform characterized by inclusion and anti-racism/hate speech? Little do you know that your failure to protect Armenians from evidently falsified news actually resonates with the ideals of Nazi Germany, further bringing hypocrisy to your inconsistent defense. “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” (Adolf Hitler, 1939). Your approach of inequal measures in protection of Armenians and Jews is reminiscent of the rational that the fascists used to justify the Holocaust: the ‘test subject’ being the Armenians. While Hitler aimed to justify the Holocaust with the Ottoman success in suppressing the voices seeking to recognize the attempted extermination of the Armenian people (which occurs to this day), you ironically adhere to those ideals on your very platform that conveys an approach of zero tolerance for anti-Semitic rhetoric.
I understand that taking uncompromising authority against Holocaust-deniers stemmed from anti-Semitic violence in the United States. I argue that Armenians all around the world are feeling similar effects to these due to current events in the Armenian homeland. Recently Armenia fought in a war against Azerbaijan, disadvantaged in all aspects- especially due to the inequality of manpower; Turkey providing its own soldiers, combined with Syrian mercenaries amounted to multiple of Armenia’s relatively tiny army. Even through Azerbaijan’s blatant disregard for human rights, as recorded by numerous trusted reporters, propaganda was able to make an influence on many impressionable minds around the world, mostly through your platform. This trend of misinformation was likely a deciding factor in the United States public being reluctant to raise Armenian voices in their pursuits of having Congress impose sanctions on the Turkish government. The funds used to terrorize Armenians were never challenged, evocative of the genocide. Moreover, the falsified news from Turkish or Azerbaijani-biased sources resulted in numerous attacks on Armenians worldwide, the most severe of them being in San Francisco, essentially the backyard of your company’s headquarters. This would justify an action path similar to yours concerning the denial of the Holocaust and other forms of Anti-Semitism in 2018.
Mr. Zuckerberg, I implore you to extend your Facebook policy (Community Standards, Section III) to Armenians and other marginalized groups around the world, and not limit it to only Anti-Semitism. Creating an unequal system of protection not only harms you and your company, but also the numerous groups of people that have been discriminated historically against on the basis of their ethnic or racial background. The true issue of racism comes when minorities are treated unequally. I understand that you hold the concept of the freedom of speech dearly, but it is absurd to hold one race at a higher status of shelter in the social media world than another. We must take a stand against all misinformation on your platform that makes it difficult for subdued peoples to take a stand for their survival and health.
Sincerely,
Michael Karapetyan
