Confronted with the potential that our opinions about Israel are clouded by bias, we come to the wrong conclusion because we do not understand the question.
“The bigger problem may be that the very people for whom confronting and unlearning racism is a sacred trust deny, in this case, that [antisemitism] even exists.”
Right here, in a single sentence, is what I’ve been patiently trying to explain to my progressive friends and former friends for the past ten years.
That patience is coming to its end. I’m finding it increasingly difficult to care what they believe. It’s hard to start over after half a lifetime in academia and progressive circles, but there it is.
“How — why — do the very people who have made self-reflection on race a key element of our ideology and identity get it so wrong on this one issue?” In my view it’s because it’s not one issue. It’s the framework of intersectionality that underpins current progressive thinking and reflection on race that blinds people to multiple bigotries, not just the one. Intersectionality redefines racism to exclude anyone perceived to have power or privilege from the possibility of being a victim of racism, only a perpetrator. Thus, no matter how much vitriol or actual discrimination is directed against white people, white men especially, it will always be denied by progressives that they are being bigoted in any way. Their bigotry is called justice. Now Jews too have been folded into the hierarchy as ‘white adjacent’ oppressors and therefore impervious to victimization. Whoopi Goldberg exemplified the mentality precisely when she claimed the Nazis were merely guilty of white on white crimes, not racism. All the antisemitic tropes, eg. Jews as greedy capitalists, fit right in.
Intersectionality is elemental to understanding where the evil ones are coming from, new discourses podcast has taught me a lot as well as Vlad Tepes blog
Vlad is also on sub stack but much more content coming daily from the blog, he's also associated with the r a i r foundation which researches a lot of the woke nonsense
You are right. But progressive values are also a threat to progress. Bo Winegard had an excellent article on the framers of the American Constitution today in Aproia Magazine. You might want to take a look at it.
Since the formation of the state of Israel, its destruction and the murder of Jews by its enemies has never ceased and never will, until all the Jews are murdered. The enemies of Israel have told them so. Plan accordingly.
It’s really only anti-nationalism. The European style nation state dismantled an Islamic and a Bolshevik Empire in the 20th century. Now the aggrieved - Islamists and Progressives (just cult Christians) - are out for revenge and a new strategy to attack their common enemy - the European style nation. But America and the strong states of Europe - have proven resilient in the face of attack. Israel, a relatively young nation that is small in expanse, is attracting attention because it looks vulnerable. Don’t be fooled - Jewish tropes are convenient, but Israel’s relative strength as a nation, and its adjacency to many tribal people who resent noticing that they can’t raid and take advantage of their neighbor - this is much closer to explaining the hatred than mere anti-semitism. Those with dysfunctional religious beliefs HATE having to see people with more functional religious beliefs - beliefs that birthed the European nation state - thriving right beside them. The Armenians were almost destroyed by a form of this envious hatred. Don’t let it happen to Israel.
The old anti-semitism is being washed away as ordinary westerners realize that elites of every kind betray their common countrymen. There is no special disloyalty in the Jews, especially since all can now see Jewish people standing up for themselves in their own nation. Non-Jews in the west see that, and if they’re patriots, they realize, “I understand Israelis”.
“The bigger problem may be that the very people for whom confronting and unlearning racism is a sacred trust deny, in this case, that [antisemitism] even exists.”
Right here, in a single sentence, is what I’ve been patiently trying to explain to my progressive friends and former friends for the past ten years.
That patience is coming to its end. I’m finding it increasingly difficult to care what they believe. It’s hard to start over after half a lifetime in academia and progressive circles, but there it is.
“How — why — do the very people who have made self-reflection on race a key element of our ideology and identity get it so wrong on this one issue?” In my view it’s because it’s not one issue. It’s the framework of intersectionality that underpins current progressive thinking and reflection on race that blinds people to multiple bigotries, not just the one. Intersectionality redefines racism to exclude anyone perceived to have power or privilege from the possibility of being a victim of racism, only a perpetrator. Thus, no matter how much vitriol or actual discrimination is directed against white people, white men especially, it will always be denied by progressives that they are being bigoted in any way. Their bigotry is called justice. Now Jews too have been folded into the hierarchy as ‘white adjacent’ oppressors and therefore impervious to victimization. Whoopi Goldberg exemplified the mentality precisely when she claimed the Nazis were merely guilty of white on white crimes, not racism. All the antisemitic tropes, eg. Jews as greedy capitalists, fit right in.
Intersectionality is elemental to understanding where the evil ones are coming from, new discourses podcast has taught me a lot as well as Vlad Tepes blog
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-new-discourses-99389410/?cmp=android_share&sc=android_social_share&pr=false
New Discourses, yes. Don’t know Vlad.
https://vladtepesblog.com/
Vlad is also on sub stack but much more content coming daily from the blog, he's also associated with the r a i r foundation which researches a lot of the woke nonsense
Thanks!
Wonderful clarity of thought. Thank you.
I appreciate that. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment!
I’m going to
Share it with a group I’m in that was formed to combat antisemitism.
“All antisemites are anti Zionist.” Christopher Hitchens
I am so grateful for your voice. It deserves to be widely heard.
Thank you!
You are right. But progressive values are also a threat to progress. Bo Winegard had an excellent article on the framers of the American Constitution today in Aproia Magazine. You might want to take a look at it.
Since the formation of the state of Israel, its destruction and the murder of Jews by its enemies has never ceased and never will, until all the Jews are murdered. The enemies of Israel have told them so. Plan accordingly.
It’s really only anti-nationalism. The European style nation state dismantled an Islamic and a Bolshevik Empire in the 20th century. Now the aggrieved - Islamists and Progressives (just cult Christians) - are out for revenge and a new strategy to attack their common enemy - the European style nation. But America and the strong states of Europe - have proven resilient in the face of attack. Israel, a relatively young nation that is small in expanse, is attracting attention because it looks vulnerable. Don’t be fooled - Jewish tropes are convenient, but Israel’s relative strength as a nation, and its adjacency to many tribal people who resent noticing that they can’t raid and take advantage of their neighbor - this is much closer to explaining the hatred than mere anti-semitism. Those with dysfunctional religious beliefs HATE having to see people with more functional religious beliefs - beliefs that birthed the European nation state - thriving right beside them. The Armenians were almost destroyed by a form of this envious hatred. Don’t let it happen to Israel.
The old anti-semitism is being washed away as ordinary westerners realize that elites of every kind betray their common countrymen. There is no special disloyalty in the Jews, especially since all can now see Jewish people standing up for themselves in their own nation. Non-Jews in the west see that, and if they’re patriots, they realize, “I understand Israelis”.