racism and antisemitism
Sep. 9th, 2007 06:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vaznettiI was going to post about my response to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ibarw (International Blog Against Racism Week; visit the comm for links and discussion), and kept putting it off, because I get the sense that people's feelings are still rather raw, and goodness knows we don't need another round of "those Italians/Hungarians/Russians/Protestants/whatevers beat up my grandparents!" I think that IBARW is a good and useful thing, irrespective of how it makes me feel.
Now I'm in the situation where I think I ought to speak up about that. This is in response to a chain of posts which have something to do with that thing about bands playing gay on stage which (a) I do not know anything about and (b) I do not care anything about. As far as I'm concerned, what I'm talking about starts here, with a comment which I am going to come out and say is anti-semitic.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chopchica, who I do not know at all, responds here. And finally technosage examined her own discomfort with discussions of antisemitism here.
One of the weirder things about being a member of what we call an invisible minority is the sense that you really are invisible: that honestly, the world would be a simpler and happier place if you simply didn't exist to mess up other people's world view, and that, if you insist on your existence, you're doing something rude. I didn't post this duringibarw because I didn't want to be rude. A lot of people I like and respect are involved in ibarw, and I think it is a good and important thing, and I didn't want to mess it up by insisting on imposing my perspective on it. But I feel silenced by IBARW, not because I don't usually talk about racism in my off-line life, but because I do; but when I talk about racism in these contexts, my experiences and understanding of antisemitism are considered relevant to the discussion, whereas in IBARW I'm not sure they would be welcome.
I think there are a couple reasons for this. The biggest, probably, is that a lot of the IBARW discussions are about white privilege, and American Jews are usually able to take advantage of this. I don't mean to belittle the importance of this: it's a very significant advantage. I would point out that being white and being Christian are not the same things; I don't think I can pass for Christian, although I've never tried. I don't know how relevant that is to most IBARW discussions, honestly, so I understand why the issue gets sidelined; being Jewish -- which includes not being Christian -- is pretty central to my own identity.
The second, and more insidious reason, is that I don't think antisemitism lives in the same places as other forms of racism (or, "as racism," if you want to draw a distinction between the two), which is to say that in my experience you never really know who's going to come out with an anti-semitic comment, and it often seems to me that antisemitism is a bit more acceptable on the left wing than the right wing, at least in the countries I've lived in. The anti-racist "we" may hold a variety of different attitudes toward antisemitism, and bringing the subject up might well end up fracturing that anti-racist "we." I sometimes get the sense that there is a certain amount of denial about this on the left.
I rather feel like I have taken my life into my hands writing that last bit.
And honestly, right now I also want to add that I am not going to discuss Israel in the comments to this post.
I should also make the point that the urge to pass is a strong one: why draw attention to your differences from the majority if you don't have to? And the answer is right there: because eventually, the majority will point them out to you anyway.
We used to joke about a family friend who thought there was an anti-semite hiding under every bed; more and more, the joke seems to be that there usually is.
I'm not sure where else to take this, except that I don't think that it's right that I feel silenced on this issue. And therefore, I am speaking. And that is probably why I will not lock this post.
My perspective may be a little odd. I grew up in San Francisco, which is not a very Jewish city, but which is a pretty tolerant place, and I went to an Ivy League college which was probably 20% Jewish, if not more. Most of my experiences with antisemitism have come while I lived outside the US, either in the UK or in Canada; some of it is just "Oh, aren't you exotic," some of it is the more disturbing habit of taking stereotype for fact. I usually blame anti-semitic comments made to my face on ignorance rather than ill-will. One of the reasons I would like to move back to the US is that Jewishness feeds into my feeling of being alien in both Canada and the UK; visiting New York this summer, a city I have lived in for about ten months total, was like having a weight lifted from my shoulders. I have a lot of issues about Judaism, and my Jewish identity, but they're my issues: my identity isn't going anywhere, while I work them out.
ibarw (International Blog Against Racism Week; visit the comm for links and discussion), and kept putting it off, because I get the sense that people's feelings are still rather raw, and goodness knows we don't need another round of "those Italians/Hungarians/Russians/Protestants/whatevers beat up my grandparents!" I think that IBARW is a good and useful thing, irrespective of how it makes me feel. Now I'm in the situation where I think I ought to speak up about that. This is in response to a chain of posts which have something to do with that thing about bands playing gay on stage which (a) I do not know anything about and (b) I do not care anything about. As far as I'm concerned, what I'm talking about starts here, with a comment which I am going to come out and say is anti-semitic.
chopchica, who I do not know at all, responds here. And finally technosage examined her own discomfort with discussions of antisemitism here.One of the weirder things about being a member of what we call an invisible minority is the sense that you really are invisible: that honestly, the world would be a simpler and happier place if you simply didn't exist to mess up other people's world view, and that, if you insist on your existence, you're doing something rude. I didn't post this during
ibarw because I didn't want to be rude. A lot of people I like and respect are involved in ibarw, and I think it is a good and important thing, and I didn't want to mess it up by insisting on imposing my perspective on it. But I feel silenced by IBARW, not because I don't usually talk about racism in my off-line life, but because I do; but when I talk about racism in these contexts, my experiences and understanding of antisemitism are considered relevant to the discussion, whereas in IBARW I'm not sure they would be welcome.I think there are a couple reasons for this. The biggest, probably, is that a lot of the IBARW discussions are about white privilege, and American Jews are usually able to take advantage of this. I don't mean to belittle the importance of this: it's a very significant advantage. I would point out that being white and being Christian are not the same things; I don't think I can pass for Christian, although I've never tried. I don't know how relevant that is to most IBARW discussions, honestly, so I understand why the issue gets sidelined; being Jewish -- which includes not being Christian -- is pretty central to my own identity.
The second, and more insidious reason, is that I don't think antisemitism lives in the same places as other forms of racism (or, "as racism," if you want to draw a distinction between the two), which is to say that in my experience you never really know who's going to come out with an anti-semitic comment, and it often seems to me that antisemitism is a bit more acceptable on the left wing than the right wing, at least in the countries I've lived in. The anti-racist "we" may hold a variety of different attitudes toward antisemitism, and bringing the subject up might well end up fracturing that anti-racist "we." I sometimes get the sense that there is a certain amount of denial about this on the left.
I rather feel like I have taken my life into my hands writing that last bit.
And honestly, right now I also want to add that I am not going to discuss Israel in the comments to this post.
I should also make the point that the urge to pass is a strong one: why draw attention to your differences from the majority if you don't have to? And the answer is right there: because eventually, the majority will point them out to you anyway.
We used to joke about a family friend who thought there was an anti-semite hiding under every bed; more and more, the joke seems to be that there usually is.
I'm not sure where else to take this, except that I don't think that it's right that I feel silenced on this issue. And therefore, I am speaking. And that is probably why I will not lock this post.
My perspective may be a little odd. I grew up in San Francisco, which is not a very Jewish city, but which is a pretty tolerant place, and I went to an Ivy League college which was probably 20% Jewish, if not more. Most of my experiences with antisemitism have come while I lived outside the US, either in the UK or in Canada; some of it is just "Oh, aren't you exotic," some of it is the more disturbing habit of taking stereotype for fact. I usually blame anti-semitic comments made to my face on ignorance rather than ill-will. One of the reasons I would like to move back to the US is that Jewishness feeds into my feeling of being alien in both Canada and the UK; visiting New York this summer, a city I have lived in for about ten months total, was like having a weight lifted from my shoulders. I have a lot of issues about Judaism, and my Jewish identity, but they're my issues: my identity isn't going anywhere, while I work them out.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-09-12 07:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-12 01:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-17 02:49 pm (UTC)However while I would usually wish people a happy new year about now and other holidays as they happen. I did so at a party the other nighht and there was a pause while people thought about that and then they remembered and there was a round of 'yes - Happy new year!' although I don't know that anyone there was jewish, I do know several weren't christian. I would also wish people a merry christmas - meaning nothing more than 'happy holidays'. I had not considered how repetition of this would be like water on a stone - each one is nothing much in itself but over time I can see it could become a sore point.
Are there other issues where you feel that we could think before speaking? I hate the idea that people feel they couldn't go down the street wearing a t that said "Super jew" or that they/you feel excluded from feeling like this is your world too...
In the US I feel scared by and excluded by the extreme christianity there. I don't want the Jews (or people from any other religion) in my neighbourhood to have that feeling. Ireland has a few oddities (see tarshaan's entry on the survey for example) and I may not be able to do anything about them but at least I can ensure I am not doing anything to make it worse and perhaps I can make it a little better.
Followed a link here, wish I'd read this earlier
Date: 2007-10-10 02:39 pm (UTC)My first reaction to this post was "AUGH, this is among other things why I left Christianity, I didn't want to be part of making people feel this way." The proselytization that was supposed to be part of my religion --- I *hated* inflicting that on other people. I saw that it *was* an infliction.
I'm a Black girl from NYC, and I've seen some of what you described, people around me saying anti-Semitic things, learning myself that attitudes I had and things I've said were wrong, and what I learned I have learned because people like you were brave enough to say something to me and point me to knowledge I've needed to gain. I'm immensely grateful for everyone who's helped educate me, and you're included in that.
And part of me is dismayed to see people say "this is why IBARW made me feel excluded" because I worry about backlash, I worry about people using this as a reason to dismiss discussions of racism, my first impulse is to defend something that has made me personally feel empowered. But I'm also dismayed at the idea that IBARW can't grow without being diluted, that it can't be a week against bigotry in all its forms, and I wonder if it *can* be made to grow, if anti-Semitism can be discussed and battled under that umbrella. At least it's being discussed and fought at all!
As a Black woman, and as a human being, I want the racism and sexism I've experienced to inspire me to fight all forms of bigotry, including within myself; I don't want anyone to feel that stomach-sick fear and pain because they've been maltreated because of who they are. And because one thing isn't the same as another doesn't mean they must be ranked, or that they can't both be fought. So, this entire long winded comment really boils down to my thanking you for having made this post, for having informed and inspired me.
Re: Followed a link here, wish I'd read this earlier
Date: 2007-10-12 11:33 pm (UTC)And part of me is dismayed to see people say "this is why IBARW made me feel excluded" because I worry about backlash, I worry about people using this as a reason to dismiss discussions of racism, my first impulse is to defend something that has made me personally feel empowered.
And I completely agree about this, and don't want to see IBARW lessened, or anyone using my concerns as a reason to undercut it. I thought back and forth a lot about whether or not to post anything at all, precisely because IBARW is so important, and it is heartening to see progress being made there, however slow. And I have to say that I feel very reassured that I am included in IBARW -- both as a Jew and as someone who is concerned about racism.
As a Black woman, and as a human being, I want the racism and sexism I've experienced to inspire me to fight all forms of bigotry, including within myself; I don't want anyone to feel that stomach-sick fear and pain because they've been maltreated because of who they are. And because one thing isn't the same as another doesn't mean they must be ranked, or that they can't both be fought.
Thank you for saying this. I feel the same -- that my consciousness of anti-semitism should inspire me to fight all kinds of religious persecution and racism, and that my feminism should make me more eager to fight racism whenever I see it, and not to tolerate the exclusion or marginalization of Black women, in particular, in feminist circles -- that no one should have to feel that moment of panic when you wonder if other people will turn on you for saying what you feel.