The generation today has the ability to construct tomorrow. But have we really stopped to think about what we want tomorrow to look like? We need to ask ourselves do we want to be the generation that pushes the bounds of history, or works to recreate it? Are we going to be the generation that partakes in “Holocaust Pong” or are we going to be the generation that works towards breaking the barriers of oppression, finally curing cancer, and even eradicating climate change? And yes, Holocaust Pong…
Recently, Princeton High School students uploaded Snapchats of their “Nazis vs. Jews” drinking game. Unlike Beer Pong, one team assumes the role of the Nazis by placing their cups in the design of a Swastika while the Jewish team uses their cups to create a Star of David. With each team comes a specific set of rules. The Nazis have the right to shoot the pong ball at the Jewish team until they miss a cup and then get to “Auschwitz,” (which you likely recognize as the largest concentration camp) by choosing a Jewish teammate to sit out until the Jewish team gets a ball into the Nazis’ cup. For the Jewish team, they can “Anne Frank” which allows the team to hide a cup anywhere off the table away from the Nazis.
While “Holocaust Pong” might have originated as an innocent drinking game, its implications speak volumes. The game demonstrates how sometimes we are desensitized to our morality by engaging in fads based on the fact that they are deemed cool or funny. To that end, the information within social media can carry an enormous amount of weight, which much of the time is unfathomable from behind glass screens. Behind screens, we ultimately have a hard time connecting with certain realities and are blinded to the impact of our contributions.
The Princeton High School students, like most of us are susceptible to doing, failed to recognize the meaning behind their drinking game and the consequences that the game has. By putting their actions up on social media, they facilitated in spreading Holocaust Pong to social groups much further than their own sphere. This is due to that fact that social acceptance and appraisal can spark new behaviors – likes and comments quickly emerge into social trends. Thus, although we are single individuals, our voices in the media are much louder than that.
We as a society must take a lesson from these students and recognize that our seemingly innocent acts have the potential to spread all across different medias and social realms. With the recognition of the magnitude of our power, we cannot let our actions behind a screen cloud our ability to make sound judgments even if they are (seemingly) in good fun.