Anti-Semitism

[bellelass]

So I go to UT. We're huge. There's quite a large Jewish population. That's cool. So they've recently rebuilt their student center, its very nice, and open to everyone. Not just jews. I walk past it early every morning on my way to work. Its so inviting, with these tall plate glass windows looking into a warm cosy kitchen/dining/study area. So today I'm sauntering by and two of the windows have bullet holes in them, and they're completely shattered. I stop and talk to the kid standing out there, he says its the second time in a month this has happened. The cops pull up so I walk on and that's when I notice a huge sickly oozy red swastika on their front door.

I cant believe that. I mean, in this day and age, in a supposedly liberal, tolerant city there are still bigoted bastards who would shoot up a Student center and deface it, just because its called "Hillel." Sigh.

[bluepea]

I'm a naive country girl who didn't grow up with racism or prejudice really in any form. I thought that those things were a thing a the 40's and everything was cleared up and life was all good come the 60's. As I grew into my early teens I became aware that that wasn't the case. It wasn't until a few years ago I realized how bad it still is. I never even new what anti-semitism was until I was on some stupid quiz thing and one of the quizes was "are you an anti semite?" or something equally stupid. Well, I had to find out whether I was or not; I never finished the quiz. I was flabbergasted at the questions. It is horrible how prevalent how all forms of prejudice still exist against everyone.

[TheJake]

I am prejudice against non-travelers. I immediately judge someone based on their travel history. It's my barometer for whether I want to like someone or not.

I am shallow...

* I do not grade people on the color of their skin nor the history of their people.

[Joker]

Ugh.

Anti-Semitism is the most despicable act of racism there is. Mainly because its perpetrated by "Christians" that neglect to realize that Christianity is an off-shoot of Judaism. But then again, who expects morons like this to be able to think and act rationally.

But then again, I find all manner of racism despicable.

[mark-0]

One thing that really gets me going is when people who are against policies of the Israeli government are called anti-Semites. Tons of Jews don't approve of the actions of the Israeli government and I've heard tons on related arguments on my Uni campus. How is protesting government/military actions and policies equivalent to hatred and racism?

[chelseafc05]

yeah...i actually new some rascist pigs wernt friends with them or anythin....
when i asked them why they hated jews,asians etc they didnt even have a legitamte answer to why they did just some bullshit no brainer response's, just showed there ignorance, most of the answers they just repeated wat theyd seen on movies such as Amercican History X and Rompa Stompa to which i pointed out to them and they felt like quite the idiots they are.

[weirdbeard]

I don't have any personal experiences or stories dealing with anti-semitism but I hail from the dirty south. And for all of the supposed southern hospitality and open hearted warmth there's still rampant racism. Surprise. Welcome to the real world. Many of my southern relatives have racist beliefs. I can't tell you how many times I've done a spit take or wanted to punch one of them for their ignorant statments on Blacks and other races, cultures, etc. BUT this is exactly the problem. IGNORANCE. This, I believe, is exactly what this site is for. It's not unrealistic to believe that websites like this can destroy barriers and end preconcieved notions of different culures, races and such. That's why i continue to come here. I love hearing about stories from you guys around the globe. It's totally fucking awesome. This is a positive experience everytime I come here. I never feel let down. There's always some anecdote or dumb quiz, riddle, travel question that fascinates me in some way. I can honestly say I learn someting every time I come here. Just thinking that I have made friends with some people that live on the other side of the world makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So cheer up Belle. Prejudice in any form always sucks but it can always be overcome by wisdom, knowledge and the relentless spirit of people like you guys,The T-punks... Not kidding.

[juliagulia]

weird beird that was b-e-a-utiful!!

There were some anti-semetic remarks thrown around my school a few years back, and a huge class window was shattered with a barbeque gas tank with the huge spray-painted swastika on it.

And on the main street leading up to my house, every couple hunfred yards there was another spray painted swastika. It's so sad and depressing to see these things and was even more depressing for me because my best friend at the time was Jewish, and her parents wouldn't let her go to my house because they were afraid of what could happen (the kids doing this were probably from our area--the swastikas were only on that one street and my school is barely a block away)

We don't even know WHY these kids (who were probably my age at the time, so THIRTEEN-FOURTEEN year olds) would do this type of thing.

Weirdbeird right, there's a lot of racism out there, but there's even more love and respect for each and every person, regardless of race or heritage...

[bellelass]

I'm sure it was some drunk asshole fratboys who thought it would be funny. Still fuming. One of my good friends works for the newspaper, I told her about it last night.. She hadnt heard anything but is going to do everything she can to get it on the front page. I love having friends in the media. She gets front page coverage quite regularly... Anyway if nothing else it will make people aware. I dont really know what else to do, feel like I should do something.

[Somnambulation]

Problem is, publicising the act only makes people who do that type of thing feel like theyve made an impact which encourages them to do it again.

[worldwidemike]

Hi Belle!

I agree...anti-semiticism is all the more repugnant because of History, and the fact that only a generation or so ago, 6 million Jews were killed because of it. And still, with the results of it staring at us in books, newspapers and on TV, we still have low-brow idiots who think it's cool or funny.

Anyway, good luck getting it on the front page, although I think Vince Young and the Boyz will make that difficult...

worldwidemike

[bellelass]

fucking football.

[LostFarmboy]

People that do this shit need to go and visit a concentration camp. They need to go and see the barbed wire fences, and the rediculous sleeping qaurters of the prisoners, and the blood trenches where they used to bleed the prisoners after shooting them in the neck, and the gas chambers that the prisoners were fooled into thinking were showers, and the incineraters that were used to burn the bodies for fuck sake!!! They need to see photos of the piles and piles of dead bodies, they need to read the diary entries of the prisoners, they need to read about the torture the prisoners were put through just for shits and giggles, they need to see the sites of the experimental surgery buildings where the prisoners were used as guinea pigs. They need to see the reality of the nazi regime, and not the glorified hollywood version.


...and if they still think Hitler did a good thing...they need to be put in one.

[expatben]

It sucks majorally but I wouldn't call a paper because seeing it on the front page will discredit your community and give those morons a sence of achievment

[goyincognito]

The truth of the Nazi regime is known to disturbingly few of this generation, and the horrors they inflicted on the Jewish people in service to their psychotic, megalomaniacal belief system are considered something out of a fantasy; the charletons who painted that symbol know nothing of its history or what atrocities were committed under its gaze.

I've always had a special hatred for neo-Nazis and people who are just ignorant enough to find any humor in doing something such as defacing a Jewish center with nazi symbols. Such people should be shackled, have their eyelids taped open and forced to tour the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, just for starters.

The cancer of anti-semitism still infests Western society, and constant reminders of it are brought up in advertisements here--the orthodoxy continually cites case after case of anti-semitic and pro-Nazi behavior in the so-called "pluralistic" West as evidence as to why Jewish people should use their right of return and settle here. Sadly it's not just right-wing propaganda--they have a serious point.

As sad as it is, the current state of the world makes it so that Israel is the only true home the Jews have.

[goyincognito]

Originally posted by mark-0@Dec 3 2005, 09:25 AM
One thing that really gets me going is when people who are against policies of the Israeli government are called anti-Semites. Tons of Jews don't approve of the actions of the Israeli government and I've heard tons on related arguments on my Uni campus. How is protesting government/military actions and policies equivalent to hatred and racism?

[snapback]90879[/snapback]

It depends on the nature of the protests, I suppose...there's a definite line between protesting policies of Israel's government, and protesting the existence of Israel itself (not a fine line, but a line that's routinely crossed nevertheless), and plenty of people who protest Israel's policies don't have any understanding of the situation on the ground or any of the complexities of the culture or the internal politics.

And, on the other hand, there are plenty of people who are just stupid enough to believe everything Israel does is okay because Israel is the Holy Land and anything it does can't be wrong. Both ways of thinking are equally wrong.

[beergal]

Interesting comments...im glad no one here has taken the jp taylor stance! Im currently writing a 5000 word project on nazi genocide, very interesting to say the least. I have also visited a few concentration camps, watched the films, read the books etc and I cant believe that there are so many ignorant people out in this world. Half of my friends dont even know what Auscwitz concentration camp was let alone where it is! Sorry Belle to hear that your college site was defaced with this ignorance

[LiveFreeorDie]

What is little known is that the concepts of creating 'superior' human beings was very much alive and well in the U.S. and Europe prior to WWII. Eugenics, which is essentially the concept of breeding a 'better' class of people was widely supported by leading intellectuals in both the U.S. and Europe. Nazi Germany was actually just a sort of extreme application of these principals that evolved out of this movement. If you go back and look at what happened in the first half of the 20th century in the U.S., it is quite scary, actually. Certain states had the ability to sterilize those people that it deemed unfit...maybe they were deemed to be mentally inferior, but it could easily evolve into any class of people the local government wanted to crack down on. Wikipedia has a nice little synopsis:

Eugenics

So, it is awful, but the concepts of racism and racial superiority exist everywhere, and the Nazis, unfortunately, were not the first or the only nationstate/political party to have desires on creating a master race. It existed right here in the good ole US of A.

[Sijuki]

Originally posted by LostFarmboy@Dec 4 2005, 08:10 PM
People that do this shit need to go and visit a concentration camp. They need to go and see the barbed wire fences, and the rediculous sleeping qaurters of the prisoners, and the blood trenches where they used to bleed the prisoners after shooting them in the neck, and the gas chambers that the prisoners were fooled into thinking were showers, and the incineraters that were used to burn the bodies for fuck sake!!! They need to see photos of the piles and piles of dead bodies, they need to read the diary entries of the prisoners, they need to read about the torture the prisoners were put through just for shits and giggles, they need to see the sites of the experimental surgery buildings where the prisoners were used as guinea pigs. They need to see the reality of the nazi regime, and not the glorified hollywood version.
...and if they still think Hitler did a good thing...they need to be put in one.

[snapback]91062[/snapback]

As sure as visiting a concentration camp would be a moving experience.. I think they should watch "War and Rememberance" first.... all 28 hours of it, which is about WWII and quite a bit focuses on the jewish life. Parts were actually filmed on location in Aushchweitz... which just watching gives me the willys about whether I would even keep it together visiting the place. That movie just puts a lot of things in perspective and is very moving.

I find many aspects of racism and other discriminations so profound. While there are true, outright issues dealing with racial tensions in some areas it amazes me that so many people can't accept peaceful living with such things. This is reminiscent of the hatred towards Italians during their great immigration of the early 1900's, and the Irish in the mid to late 1800's. While it wasn't race, it was based on ethnicity or cultural background. But why the hate? I have never understood it. Especially in the U.S. in which people are granted freedoms from persecution for their beliefs, ethnicity, race, etc.

All I can ask, is what kind of good christian would do such things? As any good christian would accept their neighbors for who they were. To take such actions is not neighborly and is not civil, therefore is animal-like and such people should be ashamed of engaging in such cowardly, unproductive acts.