First they came for the immigrants
And I did not speak up
Because I was not an Immigrant
Then they came for the teenaged mother
And I did not speak up
Because I was not one of them
Then they came for the gays and lesbians
And I did not speak up
Because I was not lesbian or gay
Then they came for the people of color
But as they left me alone
I did not speak up
Then they came for the Jews,
The elderly, the radicals, the farmers,
The “disabled”, the trade unionists,
The poor, the artists …
But I believed they were doing it for me
And I did not speak up
Then they came for me
And by then
There was no one left to speak up
(Ricardo L Morales)