Arnold Schwarzenegger Denounces 'Easy Path of Hate' and Anti-Semitism in Heartfelt Speech
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Arnold Schwarzenegger is using his platform to denounce a rise in anti-semitism and other forms of hate across the United States.
Following a recent visit to Auschwitz, the former governor of California, 75, pondered how "we stop this from ever happening again" in a 12-minute speech he shared Monday on YouTube, noting he doesn't "want to preach to the choir here."
"Today, I want to talk to the people out there who might have already stumbled into the wrong direction, into the wrong path," he explained.
"I want to talk to you if you've heard some conspiracies about Jewish people or people of any race, gender or orientation and thought, 'That makes sense to me.' I want to talk to you if you've found yourself thinking anyone is inferior or out to get you because of their religion or the color of their skin or their gender.
"I don't know the road that's brought you here, but I've seen enough people throw away their futures for hateful beliefs, so I want to speak to you before you find your regrets at the end of that path," continued Schwarzenegger.
He referenced his father, who reportedly belonged to the Nazi party, and "the broken men that I grew up surrounded by" in his home country of Austria after World War II, who "felt like losers" because they "fell for a horrible loser ideology."
"They were lied to and misled, into a path that ended in misery," he said.
Schwarzenegger added: "Throughout history, hate has always been the easy path, the path of least resistance. I get it, it's easier to find a scapegoat for a problem than to try to make things better ourselves. But let me be clear, you will not find success at the end of that road.
Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty
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"You will not find fulfillment or happiness because hate burns fast and bright. It might make you feel empowered for a while but eventually consumes whatever vessel it fuels. It breaks you, it's the path of the weak," he said. "That's why there has never been a successful movement based on hate."
An audit conducted by the Anti-Defamation League and published last year found that anti-semitic incidents reached an all-time high in 2021, with the ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt saying in a release, "Jews are experiencing more antisemitic incidents than we have in this country in at least 40 years, and that's a deeply troubling indicator of larger societal fissures."
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President Joe Biden denounced the rise in anti-semitism during the White House's Hanukkah celebration in December.
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"Today, we must all say clearly and forcefully: Anti-semitism and all forms of hate and violence in this country can have no safe harbor in America. Period," said Biden. "And evil — this is not hyperbole — evil will not win. Hate will not prevail."
