Do you ever notice.... anti-Semitism and reactions to it
In General Discussion, another poster, CreekDog, wrote a piece about racism and how it is viewed, especially by white people. It is a really good piece and I recommend reading it. His original post focuses on racism, but it resonated with me on another level; even his title was striking.
Do you ever notice that often white folks who are most skeptical of minority accounts of racism
Are often very willing to assert the way the person giving the account should feel or react to the situation?
Alter those statements to reflect attitudes toward "anti-Semitism" and it also rings very true. I can't express the number of times I have seen articles/posts on anti-Semitism eviscerated by those who think it is "false flag", "making a mountain out of a molehill," or my personal favorite, "drumming up sympathy by playing the anti-Semitism/Holocaust card." Jews/Jewish posters are mocked for writing about/posting articles on anti-Semitism. Like racism, even the very definition of anti-Semitism is attacked and used as a distraction to the actual situation.
He goes on to discuss the idea that some in the majority, in this case white people, seem to try and dictate what is or constitutes racism, as well as what it isn't. This holds very true for anti-Semitism. It ranges from mockery to the passive-aggressive "I am the real victim just trying to understand" type of nonsense. This also includes the patronizing 'pats on the head' of 'not knowing what anti-Semitism really is.' Of course, I would remiss if I didn't mention the "change the subject" persons who delight in reminding Jews we have it better than "X, Y, and Z" people and we sometimes, bring it on ourselves (or some Jews do).
Just as some try to minimize, mock, dismiss the experiences of African-American people in regards to racism, the same happens to Jews. Our experiences, knowledge, and understanding are dismissed, even ridiculed with accusations of "playing the anti-Semitism" card. This happens in articles/posts about Israel or Zionism, but it also happens when the topic is solely about anti-Semitism.
Normally, I put this at the top of my posts "THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP!" not because I want to discourage people from posting, but rather to remind them this is a place, a safe one, to discuss Jewish issues without having to deal with the crap we may experience in other places.
Anti-Semitism is a real thing. It happens all the time, and while it may not be at "Holocaust levels" it doesn't mean it isn't problematic, nor not a part of our experience. It certainly has been a part of my life experience.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Which is pretty funny, given that you could have someone standing on a street corner screaming "I hate Jews" and it would be, like, "but is that really anti-semitism"
Of course, there's the perennial strawman anout "people who claim all criticism of Israel = anti-Semitism", an argument which no one ever actually makes.
It's particularly funny, to me at least, in light of the gymnastic controtions some people sometimes twist themsleves into, to argue that things which don't actually have a lot (or anything) to do with "hate", are prime examples of hate against this, that or the other group.
But "I hate jews".... Well, is it really.....?
...
It is interesting how stories about anti-Semitism are often mocked as "unimportant" or "overreaction". We should just ignore anti-Semitism because certain acts aren't leading to another Holocaust. Of course, one can always count on someone coming along, who is Jewish, claiming it isn't a big deal. Then there are the one-hit wonder trolls who spew anti-Semitism that would make Hitler blush.
