3 ms·
As a Jewish person I’d say that none of this political polarization is beneficial for us. It’s not that one side has intrinsically safer qualities for Jews. Wi
by flyinglizard 6y ago
As a Jewish person I’d say that none of this political polarization is beneficial for us. It’s not that one side has intrinsically safer qualities for Jews.
With the work of ADL and many prominent Jewish figures in the past century, anti-semitism had kind of a special status where it’s taboo even when it’s very nuanced, on both the left and right sides of the aisle.
It’s drowning in the cultural discourse now. When 70 million voters are labeled “racist” - or at least supporting “racist policies” - the word loses its deterrence altogether.
- pjc50 6y agoAmerica used to be an explicitly racist county where the majority of voters supported bans on interracial marriage and segregation in schools as recently as the 1960s. There's nothing absurd or unlikely about racist voters being a large fraction of the country.
- odessacubbage 6y agothe aclu was pretty much built out of support from the jewish community and jewish lawyers who understood that free expression is the strongest protection any minority has against the state and will of the of the majority. the rights i enjoy today exist in a large part because of their tireless work and they have my eternal gratitude. bad ideas never go away, though the words and the arguments for them may change. we cannot censor away the problem, the only defense is a vigorous and open forum of debate where everything can be challenged.