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For example, almost everything I’ve ever heard about white privilege is also true for Jewish people but it would be a career ending mistake to talk about the ov
by 3qz 5y ago
For example, almost everything I’ve ever heard about white privilege is also true for Jewish people but it would be a career ending mistake to talk about the over representation of Jewish people in positions of power.
- beaconstudios 5y agoJewish people are white though - and "white privilege" as a concept is primarily about how white people don't have to overcome racism or adapt their behaviour to the dominant culture to get ahead. It does connect with issues of diversity but it's not a direct explanation.
- tomrod 5y ago> Jewish people are white though No, this isn't true. Jewish is an ethnicity that crosses multiple "race" backgrounds.
- beaconstudios 5y agoI agree, but if we're talking about the Jewish people who OP was talking about (in relation to overrepresentation), that's white Jewish people.
- 3qz 5y ago“In positions of power” is the important thing here. I’m not talking about diversity, I mean statements like “a small number of extremely wealthy white men have a disproportionate influence in the media, government, financial system, some specific company, etc” is a common left wing opinion for why systems work against the interests of racialized people. It’s even more accurate if you add “Jewish” after the word white, but that’s not something we’re allowed to talk about.
- beaconstudios 5y agoIt's also more true if you put "Irish" in there, but people wouldn't object so much to that (probably just be confused). In politics, people are typically arguing for their positions, and thus you can't take simple statements of fact apart from what the speaker is trying to achieve. Basically: why is the speaker talking about Jewish people on power so much? Why do alt-right people love to talk about black crime statistics? Both of these things can be true, but they're not just making random statements, they're trying to imply their arguments. It's dogwhistling, basically.
- leephillips 5y ago“Jewish people are white though” Say what now?
- woodruffw 5y agoI'm not 100% sure what GP meant, but it's true that there are Jews who are white (I'm one.)
- beaconstudios 5y agoI meant that most people would say that most Jewish Americans are white. Given the US racial categories, it's the one that most Jewish people in the US fit into. Of course, racial categories are made up anyway, but some people seem to care about these things.
- woodruffw 5y agoYeah, I'd agree with that. There are lots of non-white Jews out there, but average American interaction with Judaism has probably been through Ashkenazi Jews. Ironically, the Sephardic and North African Jews that I know are more likely to self-identify as nonwhite, but are probably still counted as white by the US Census. Goes to your point about made-up categories!
- leephillips 5y ago“A are B” is not usually taken to mean “some As can be Bs”.
- beaconstudios 5y agoI was assuming the context that we're talking about the US. Did you immediately think of Ethiopian Jews when I said Jewish people?
- woodruffw 5y agoIt's remarkable that this needs saying: nobody gets fired for mentioning that Jews are over-represented in whatever industry you choose. It's a plainly verifiable fact. What they get fired for is claiming that said over-representation is the result of a conspiracy in which Jews, by virtue of a mostly amorphous cultural identity, are the conspirators and main villains. Confusing these two fundamentally different statements is one of the oldest moves in the reactionary playbook.