Every time I try to put into words how angry, sad, and heartbroken I feel about what happened in Charlottesville this weekend, I find myself in tears. How, in 2017, is it OK for neo-Nazis, white supremacists and KKK members to take to the streets of a Virginia city to spew hate and injure and kill people in the name of “free speech”? These bigots aren’t cloaked behind white sheets anymore — their hate was on full display in street clothes. But ordinary Americans, they are not. David Duke and his ilk are a disgrace and a stain on mankind.

As I surfed the web looking for uplifting quotes, I saw this meme and it gave me hope. Maybe we can’t “stare it away” like the CareBears — but maybe this is what we need to come together as a nation against hate.

Hate will not win. We cannot let it. The alternative is just too awful to bear. Our children are watching and silence is deafening. Silence is a sign of acceptance.

I will not be silent.