Comment

Scary Jew Shadow on Cover of Time Magazine

143
CuriousLurker8/08/2012 9:47:23 am PDT

I don’t get why everyone is ignoring the longstanding hostility towards Jews. There has been hostility towards Muslims since the Crusades, but anti-Semitism has been around…well, it seems like it’s been around as long as Jews have, if the history books are any indication.

Scots have faced regional hostility, but nothing like the widespread hostility towards Jews (or Muslims). Yes, observant Jews & Muslims dress distinctively, which makes them stand out, but even if a Scot was dressed in a kilt & holding bagpipes, he wouldn’t have a bunch of negative history attached to him (except, as I mentioned, maybe in a limited region), so I think it’s unlikely that anyone would perceive his silhouette/shadow as threatening.

Let’s just put it right out on the table—the thing no one wants to say, but that I feel just under the surface every time these spats start up, and what I’ve flat out heard people say in real life on numerous occasions:

Those Jews, they’re always whining. Yes, the Holocaust was horrific, but it was a long time ago and it was the Germans who did it, not the rest of us. We rescued them. How long are they going to keep trying to squeeze sympathy out of it and demanding special consideration?? It’s emotional blackmail. Anyone who’s even mildly critical of Jews or Israel get labeled an anti-Semite. That’s B.S. and it’s deeply resented.

Yeah, there it is. You can down-ding me to hell & back, swear no one actually feels that way, or tell me it’s just me projecting my supposed Muslim Jew-hate on others, and I will call B.S. I’ve heard it too may times from too many different kinds of people. It’s out there and it’s a sore spot.

Do some Jews hurl the anti-Semitism charge at people undeservedly? Absolutely. Do some of them do it as a way to shut down valid criticism? Yes. Is that harmful? Obliviously, as it is unfair and causes feelings of resentment. The same could be said for Muslims hurling charges of Islamophobia to shut down valid criticism. It’s not helpful and it’s intellectually dishonest. Ditto for African Americans “playing the race card” or Hispanics claiming bigotry to deflect discussion of real problems within their respective communities.

All that said, everyone knows for a fact that anti-Semitism & Islamophobia (and racism and bigotry) exist, both in mild & highly virulent forms. Most of the people here are intelligent & well educated, but we’re also imperfect humans with lots of baggage & shortcomings. Like I said in my #103, I get where Alouette is coming from. Is she being hypersensitive or paranoid? Maybe sometimes, but surely not all the time. She’s human, after all. Me too—on more than one occasion I’ve interpreted something as Islamophobic when it was actually lack of understanding or a poorly expressed question or statement. Who hasn’t made the same mistake WRT something they’re sensitive about?

Is it a pattern with some people? Yeah, it seems that way sometimes, but I’ve never seen a case where bashing people over the head or ridiculing them for their faults makes them rethink their position or change. In fact, it does the opposite—they just double down.

I guess my whole point is that despite how smart some many of the people here are, we too often come into a conversation with a hyper-critical eye and armed to do battle, to defend our positions to the bitter end. That might work okay for politics, though it seems to be mostly frustrating based on the slap-and-ding-fights I’ve been seeing in the main threads recently, heh.

Maybe we should cut each other a little more slack once in a while, since we’re all so far from perfect. Or maybe not. Like I said previously, I can’t force anyone—it’s just a suggestion.

Okay, that was longer than I intended. Time to get back to work now. O_o