A Degenerate Elite

vulgarweed: wickedjr89: allahfroo: somehideitbetter: fu...

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:16:03 -0400

wickedjr89:

allahfroo:

somehideitbetter:

fuckyeahsexyatheists:

velma-dear:

iconicmonsters:

I’m not satanic but these are some damn good rules.

satan does not support rape, animal cruelty, or child abuse

when walking in open territory, bother no one. if someone bothers you, ask them to stop. if they do not stop, destroy them.

*Today on I Didn’t Know I was a Satanist*

I agree with all of these rules…I’m really uncomfortable now

You shouldn’t be uncomfortable, because (this version) of Satanisim Is not in any way shape or form about worshiping Satan. It’s about worshiping yourself. You should really read about it. It is the only religion I have ever agreed or identified with.

I am not satanic but I have no problem with that version at least of satanism. I have read about it and frankly I see no problem with it. It’s kind of sad that the word Satanism makes people think evil things and the exact opposite of what it really is.

The only ones I agree with without reservation are #9 and #10. All the others are problematic because in most cases, they rely on assumptions of others’ motives and thoughts, which is something that you can never truly know, no matter how astute you think you are.

Don’t ever put words in others’ mouths or thoughts in their minds.

Rules of hospitality are important, but they are not without wiggle room.

What the hell is “the mating signal”? If you’re interested in sex with someone, ASK. If they say no it means no, and if they say yes it means yes. Period.

Re: #7: Under what circumstances would anyone legitimately ask this question? Ever? It would only have to be from one practitioner to another, so if you’re not a practitioner, step the fuck off. No, no one is required to disclose this across the board, but there are circumstances where one really should. There is no universal rule on this, because different traditions handle it very differently, and I’m not away of ANY where you actually “lose all you have obtained” if you deny it. Many magical traditions arose in circumstances where one could be highly persecuted if it was openly known (and I don’t mean “never again the burning times” pseudo-medieval witch-burning bullshit, I mean laws against indigenous cultural religions and certain flavors of “spiritualism” and “backwoods religion” that have historically been used against Black and Latin@ and Romani and poor-white flavors of spiritual/magic practice well within living memory, and the resulting prejudices against them that still exist even now.) There is a reason why discretion is a THING in magical communities. A very big thing.

I have nothing against Satanism just because it’s SATAN OMG. The non-theist version is mostly post-Randian individualist philosophy, which I find thoroughly odious from a socioeconomic POV—but no worse than the US Republican Party’s open embrace of oligarchy (and a lot more honest). Anyone who takes Grover Fucking Norquist seriously is a Satanist, from that POV. (Amazing how many people who do consider themselves “good Christians.” HAHAHAH, OK. If your Judgment Day turns out to be real, good fucking luck!)

The theist version is just a schismatic cult from Christianity that decided to worship a minor deity that they think got a bad rap in the official version. I’m not a Christian, so I have no dog in that fight, but I’m kind of drawn to it because I always want to hear the untold story. It’s like Paradise Lost. Or that legendary Russian novel-length fanfic of the Silmarillion from Melkor’s POV. It’s compelling from a literary POV but the rules of how to treat other people are pretty shit.

For the record, I’m Pagan, by inclination, initiation (Wiccan coven, Beltane 1990), choice, and commitment. This I believe: you CAN judge a religion by how its followers treat other people. Period. Full stop.

This is not a good roadmap for how to treat other people.

Useful and instructive prose.

I AM NOT AN ARAB JEW. I AM A MIZRACHI JEW.

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:07:58 -0400

djudia:

inflammatorystatements:

Please.

“Arab” is a member of a Semitic people, originally from the Arabian peninsula and neighboring territories, inhabiting much of the Middle East and North Africa.

I am Jewish. That means that I originate from the ancient land called ISRAEL (yes it is a part of the Middle East, but not considered Arabic). My family lived in an Arab country for many generations. I am proud of my culture, but it is a JEWISH culture with ARABIC influences. There’s a difference.

When you say I’m an Arab Jew, you are telling me that I am first from an Arab country, and then I am a Jew. This is not true. The Arabic world was not very nice to my people in the past century.

When you say that I am a Mizrachi Jew, you are describing my Judaism. I am a JEW of the East.

I’m not Mizrahi, but hear the term “Arab Jew” way too often and thought it’d be appropriate to reblog.

terrasigillata: “Muslims are denying the attack! Muslims are...

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:23:08 -0400

terrasigillata:

“Muslims are denying the attack! Muslims are justifying it! I’m a big fat racist!”

Clearly people who are saying that aren’t actually reading anything of worth rn.

Sir Nick Beard's Locquacious Rumitisms on Life...

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:17:05 -0400

Sir Nick Beard's Locquacious Rumitisms on Life...:

sirnickbeard:

Roma g*psies …

Shorter Sir Nick Beard: Nick Beard is a disgusting racist wasting perfectly good carbon. No one should be least bit confused why Nick Beard can’t get a date, can’t find a scholarship, and gets people nervous any time he’s sighted talking to children. Specifically, the common element to all these things is Nick Beard, who literally does nothing to improve the human condition through his existence.

George Bridgetower (1779 - 1860) and Beethoven: a troubled...

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:57:00 -0400

George Bridgetower (1779 - 1860) and Beethoven: a troubled relationship

George Bridgetower, the celebrated English violin virtuoso, came to Vienna in 1803 and met Beethoven. They played together and Beethoven was impressed.

At Bridgetower’s urging, Beethoven agreed to compose a new Violin Sonata, to be performed by the two of them at one of the celebrated morning concerts in the Augarten pavilion, run by Ignaz Schuppanzigh.

Bridgetower was tall and good-looking, with an eye for the ladies. He was a mulatto - his mother Polish, his father West Indian.

Recognised as being of exceptional talent, he had performed for King George III at Windsor Castle, the Prince Regent at the newly built Brighton Pavilion, the Pump Rooms at Bath and across southern England.

For the new sonata, Beethoven took the final movement from an earlier sonata (which he replaced) and composed a new first and second movement. The first movement was huge, opening with solo double-stopping across all four strings for the violinist. He delivered the new movements to Bridgetower only the day before the performance!

A glittering audience assembled for the premiere of the new piece - including the British ambassador, Archduke Rudolph, Prince Lichnowsky, Prince Lobkowitz , and other patrons of the arts.

The performance began. In bar 35 of the first movement Beethoven had written a huge run just for piano, spanning several octaves. It comes in a passage marked ‘to be repeated’. In the repeat, after Beethoven executed the run, Bridgetower imitated it on the violin.

Beethoven looked up from the piano in astonishment, ran across the stage, embraced Bridgetower, ran back to the piano and continued playing.

The performance was a triumph. At celebrations afterwards, Beethoven announced he was dedicating the new Violin Sonata to Bridgetower. He wrote on the top of the title page of the manuscript: Sonata per uno mulaticco lunattico.

Later, the two men were drinking, when Bridgetower made an off-colour remark about a lady Beethoven knew. Beethoven was outraged. He demanded that Bridgetower return the manuscript of the sonata, and informed him he was withdrawing the dedication. He would dedicate it instead, he told Bridgetower, to Europe’s greatest violin virtuoso, who was resident in Paris.

Bridgetower pleaded with Beethoven to change his mind, but Beethoven was adamant. The rift between the two men was not healed, before Bridgetower left Vienna a week later to visit relatives of his mother in Poland.

Beethoven and Bridgetower never met again. Long after Beethoven’s death, Bridgetower - an old man - was living in poverty in a home for the destitute in Peckham, south London. A Beethoven researcher went to see him and asked him if it was true he had once met Beethoven.

Bridgetower related the story of the first performance of the Violin Sonata, how he had copied the piano run, and how Beethoven had dedicated the sonata to him. And how one stupid remark about a lady had made Beethoven withdraw the dedication.

It should be the Bridgetower Sonata, he told the young researcher, his name that should be known across Europe, his name that would live for ever.

Instead he was unknown to history, and destined to remain that way. Bridgetower died in poverty, the woman who witnessed his death signing her name on his death certificate with a cross. He is buried today in Kensal Green cemetery, just off the A40 flyover west of London - his name forgotten.

And the violin virtuoso in Paris to whom Beethoven sent the sonata? Rudolphe Kreutzer, whose name adorns the greatest Violin Sonata Beethoven ever composed: the Kreutzer Sonata.

So next time you hear a performance of the Kreutzer Sonata, spare a thought for the man who gave it its first performance and after whom it should really be named. George Bridgetower.

One final point. When Kreutzer received the manuscript in Paris, he looked at it and declared it impossible to play. Beethoven does not understand the violin, he said, and he never once performed it in public - the sonata that today bears his name.

Don’t only think of Bridgetower when you hear the Kreutzer Sonata, people. Think of Bridgetower every time you find yourself tempted to make an misogynist statement.

ETA: One correction — Bridgetower didn’t die in poverty. He left an estate of 1,000 Pounds, which in 1860 was roughly equivalent to $95,00

museswell: gothiccharmschool: I HAVE HAD THESE EXACT THOUGHTS....

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:57:35 -0400

museswell:

gothiccharmschool:

I HAVE HAD THESE EXACT THOUGHTS. FREQUENTLY.

Going through a bit of a phase of this myself.

Gotta admit: Having minions is kind of awesome.

Kaffee und Liebe Sind Am Besten.: kuklarusskaya: Kaffee und Liebe Sind Am Besten.: kuklarusskaya: Kaffee...

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:24:36 -0400

Kaffee und Liebe Sind Am Besten.: kuklarusskaya: Kaffee und Liebe Sind Am Besten.: kuklarusskaya: Kaffee...:

kuklarusskaya:

cthulhu-with-a-fire-extinguisher:

kuklarusskaya:

kuklarusskaya:

Kaffee und Liebe Sind Am Besten.: kuklarusskaya: Kaffee und Liebe Sind Am Besten.: saltyseababies:…

kuklarusskaya:

Kaffee und Liebe Sind Am Besten.: saltyseababies: kuklarusskaya: cthulhu-with-a-fire-extinguisher: You…

saltyseababies:

kuklarusskaya:

“IT JUST SO HAPPENS THAT EVERY JEW (THAT I’VE SEEN OR HEARD ABOUT) ARE VERY SNOOTY, ARROGANT, AND SELF-CENTRED KNOW-IT-ALLS THAT VALUE MONEY MORE THAN HUMAN LIFE. “

HOW IS THIS NOT ANTISEMITIC.

I’m sorry, just because you didn’t say “I hate Jews” doesn’t mean you’re not an antisemite.

Please, I don’t like being yelled at. You misread what I wrote. I never said I believed it. I said that’s what I heard or have seen them portrayed as. I know a couple of Jews. I’m actually friends with one. But the other talks about his material goods as much as he can, whenever he can. I didn’t mean to make it sound like all Jewish people do that. There are many more non-Jews that brag about how great their lives are and how amazing their new gaming system is or whatever. I’m sorry for inconveniencing you with a rant about a show that paid no attention to the fact that someone commited suicide and worried about a car more than a person.

You’re still defending your very, very antisemitic rants (plural), and then attempting to justify them because…you have a Jewish friend or two?

Really?

If cthulhu-with-a-fire-extinguisher jumps in a lake, I promise to be more worried about it than a car.

Microbitching: I Need to Clear Something Up

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:38:19 -0400

Microbitching: I Need to Clear Something Up:

kuklarusskaya:

zaatarwitholives:

big-gadje-world:

I’m not getting involved in this whole mess & not commenting on who said what & things of that nature, nor am I taking sides, whatsoever..
I do, however, feel like something should be cleared up regarding who runs Holocaust memorials.

Government…

Both this ^ and this ^^.

I’m proud to be of both Roma and Jewish heritage, and proud to be forging a strong alliance between both of my people here on Tumblr. And I’m proud to have been able to speak about issues like this with people on both sides—because that’s how it should be. Roma and Jews speaking with each other—not white people speaking for both.

I Need to Clear Something Up

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:37:30 -0400

big-gadje-world:

I’m not getting involved in this whole mess & not commenting on who said what & things of that nature, nor am I taking sides, whatsoever..
I do, however, feel like something should be cleared up regarding who runs Holocaust memorials.

Government programs that have resulted in Holocaust memorials or museums are run by the American government.

The U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. is not an independent institution. It is a government institution. The chair persons of the museum are appointed by the sitting president.

Yes, I am full well aware that much of the focus of the Holocaust Museum is centered around the Jewish Holocaust. However, there is extensive research being done at this institution that provides evidence for & documents the suffering of other Holocaust victims.

I am also well aware that the original chair, Elie Wiesel,who was appointed by president Carter, has said some problematic things in terms of victim inclusion.

Most, if not all, of such institutions and memorials throughout the world have chair-persons appointed by the government of their respective nations. Yes, it does fall on the shoulders of these appointees, who are largely Jewish or White, to be inclusive of all Holocaust victims. However, the fact that these persons are chosen by governments comprised largely of White people, it could be the possibility that certain chairs are appointed because they have exclusionist views.

That does not make exclusion acceptable, nor does the fact that these people are government appointees justify any exclusion. It also does not justify the use of slurs on any such memorials.

The individual who was appointed to chair the memorial in New York was Jewish. There was no consultation with Rromani about the memorial. It is inexcusable that the memorial contains a slur, but blaming an entire group of people for the mistake of one such individual, who was commissioned by the city, is also unacceptable.

In Europe, quite a few Rromani memorials, the few we have, were designed or created by Jewish artists. These artists are commissioned by the government in which the memorial exists. Yes, Jewish artists could decline the work, or could consult Rromani persons while creating the memorials, but these are individual grievances & not a systematic oppression at the hands of European Jews..

It is likely that these artists are also given certain criteria and plans to which they must adhere & do not have free artistic jurisdiction over memorial projects.

These governments, in both America & Europe, could appoint or commission Rromani persons for the design of Rromani Holocaust memorials, but more often than not, the persons given the responsibility for creating these sacred sites are White or Jewish.

These are in public spaces. Private memorials can be private, but public ones should be inclusive. These public projects are the responsibility of the government, which is largely White & non-Jewish.

I am not excusing the people who are given these responsibilities, but it is by no means appropriate or acceptable to blame a group of people for the fuck ups of individuals.

It must also be noted that White people write & publish our textbooks, the very textbooks that exclude many Holocaust victims & contain slurs.

It is not the responsibility of Jewish persons to stick their necks out for European Rromani, though many do. It is, however, the responsibility of anyone commissioned to make a Holocaust memorial or chair a Holocaust institution to be as inclusive & respectful as possible, White, Jewish or otherwise.

We can be angry & we have a right to feel anger and pain over these things, but we cannot allow our anger to become hate. The only way we can solve these issues are by inter-racial dialogue & recognizing that it is White supremacy that continues too exploit our pain, on both ends of the spectrum. We need to fight the system that has created this divisiveness instead of succumbing to it.

Useful and instructive prose.

White Privilege is a dead theory

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:26:39 -0400

theracismcard:

Too many people cite the theory of “white privilege” as a reason to endorse anti-white racism. But “white skin privilege” was a concept from 1965 based on research that spanned back to the 1920’s. In 2013, white privilege is irrelevant and has been replaced by class privilege. You may be treated poorly if you lack an education, good character, or poor management of debt. But not because you aren’t white. If White Privilege existed, there wouldn’t be non-white CEOs, non-white politicians, etc. In my lifetime, I’ve never received preferential treatment for being white, and I’ve been in plenty of situations where that could have happened. I have been treated differently than those who are not in my same class though (lesser education, lesser income, bad credit, etc), but never based on race. So for all you fuck-tards telling me I need to better educate myself; fuck you, because YOU are the hypocritical asshole who needs to be educated.

1) While there have been shifts over the last century around how white supremacy enacts itself, white privilege has not gone away.

2) Class privilege has not replaced white privilege, class privilege has always existed and interacted with white privilege. The non-white CEOs, etc. you tout as evidence of the demise of white privilege face racism.

3) You are a liar when you say you have never received preferential treatment for being white. The only question is if you are lying to yourself as well as to everyone else. If you wish to defend your assertion, here’s two easy ones: tell us how you get police to stop you for “driving while white,” or how many taxi cabs pass you by on the street because you’re white.

Never mind needing to better educate yourself. Education’s for people who are being honest. You need to stop bullshitting.

"Not every white person is a racist, but the genius of racism is that you don’t have to participate..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:26:40 -0400

“Not every white person is a racist, but the genius of racism is that you don’t have to participate to enjoy the spoils. If you’re white, you can be completely oblivious, passively accepting the status quo, and reap the rewards.”

- —Mychal Denzel Smith, “White People Have to Give Up Racism” (via thenationmagazine)

A very good definition of privilege.

(via blueandbluer)

I’m not sure what definition of racism Mr. Smith is using.

I’m under the impression that if one is white, completely oblivious, passively accepting the status quo, and reaping the rewards of racism, one is racist.

iamababs: A Count Named Slick Brass at #SPWF #rfe...

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:04:14 -0400

iamababs:

A Count Named Slick Brass at #SPWF #rfe #RedForkEmpire #Steampunk

Adventures of a Girl Janitor: Why aren't more people freaking out about the new Venezuelan labor law?

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:23:08 -0400

Adventures of a Girl Janitor: Why aren't more people freaking out about the new Venezuelan labor law?:

girljanitor:

bluandorange:

monetizeyourcat:

dancepunksnotdead:

You know, the one that gives housewives/full-time mothers a pension— wages for housework?

It’s ONLY A HUGE VICTORY FOR FEMINISM, SOCIALISM, AND WOMEN OF COLOR. Not a big deal or anything. Tumblr is mysteriously silent about this.

http://rabble.ca/columnists/2013/05/venezuelas-new-labour-law-best-mothers-day-gift

holy shit!

fucking COOL

I never once in my life thought I would live to see this day in any country on earth. So much of my life has been spent doing unpaid work-cleaning, cooking, organizing, and household-running….whether or not I had a “real job”, no matter what other obligations I have had. I STILL do the majority of housework. There is more than one reason my url is what it is.

Never in all my days would I have imagined I would see the day that women of color are paid for this amazing contribution to the running of the world, in any country, at any time.

Now if you will excuse me, I’m going to go cry tears of amazement that this has happened for any of us, anywhere, until there’s snot.

Maybe we can get some of that here sometime soon…

Yes, yes, I know. But why hope low?

this-is-not-jewish: thearcanetheory: mildrose: simpliss: i-s...

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:22:33 -0400

this-is-not-jewish:

thearcanetheory:

mildrose:

simpliss:

i-said-adventure:

as-adorable-derps-do:

j-wolf-harding:

demons:

The immediate reaction of German POWs upon watching uncensored footage of the concentration camps shot by the US Signal Corps.

People often forget that most of the German troops had no idea about what was going on, they weren’t all fanatic Nazis bent on genocide, they were just regular soldiers who answered the call when their country went to war.

^ This

THANK YOU SO MUCH OMG

wow

im speechless

NO NO NO NO

FUCK THIS SHIT

THE GERMAN CITIZENS KNEW

THEY KNEW

The ghettos happened in cities, the apartheid laws happened under their noses, Jews were rounded up under their noses THEY FUCKING KNEW

Death camps and concentration camps were built WITHIN CITY LIMITS. Auschwitz, for example, is well within the city, and people take fucking strolls under its walls. I was fucking THERE, don’t even. The Polish knew, the Germans knew, it was LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE not to know. It’s even in the historical record, it’s even in fucking civilian diaries, THEY KNEW.

I AM SO FUCKING SICK OF THIS REVISIONIST BULLSHIT.

^This.

Sorry not sorry, German apologists, but what you’re seeing in this photo isn’t shock, it’s guilt. Richly deserved, completely merited GUILT. So take your, “Aw, those innocent little German soldiers, poor babies,” revisionist shit and shove it back up your collective ass.

Also, German apologists, learn to count. Your takeaway should not be the six German soldiers who look guilty, it should be the 30 or so sitting there not looking the least bit guilty, shocked, or even surprised

German apologists, you suck at propaganda.

A Degenerate Elite: sisoula: holzmantweed: djudia: thearcanetheory: Alright, I am gonna...

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:17:56 -0400

A Degenerate Elite: sisoula: holzmantweed: djudia: thearcanetheory: Alright, I am gonna...:

thearcanetheory:

sisoula:

holzmantweed:

djudia:

thearcanetheory:

Alright, I am gonna break this down as simply as I can, and then that’s it.

Here are some issues with “shit white Jews make” as a sentence, and the various things that tiny little sentence taps into. This is generally true…

in terms of the origonal conversation, the entire problem was messy and manifold, and included someone mis-racializing a PoC as white, bringing in his Jewishness where it was not relevant at all (which is anti-Semitic), relying on a nasty Jewish stereotype, and forcing a US-contextual view on someone not American, and then afterwards, exporting it to mean all Jews ever, which is also not fair, because US contexts don’t operate outside the USA. and then tokenizing black jews/dragging their existence in there as some sort of rhetorical prop which was urgh

The conversation very quickly became a “all Jews” thing, and it is absolutely fair to criticize individuals (NOT groups of people, merely a few individuals and I must stress this, for I myself only ever spoke to the mod of casual-isms, and never anyone else at all) for relying over-much on a US-centric framework when that happens.

I do not live in the USA, as a point of fact.

white-skinned Jews do NOT have the same privileges as white gentiles. White gentiles do not accept Jews as white.

For the sake of clarity and precision, I think it’s important to unpack this statement to specify that white-skinned Jews have white privilege (or skin privilege, depending) and are oppressed by anti-semitism.

There is a limit to the ability to assimilate into whiteness. No one is trying to deny the INCREDIBLE privileges that even partial assimilation brings, or that it came at the expense of other PoC, ESPECIALLY blacks and Natives (when talking about the USA, that is) — and myself and other bloggers have consistently pointed this out in the past — but when white goyim oppress even white-passing Jews on the axis of race or ethnicity, then yes, that’s a form of racism, and it is indeed less privilege than white gentiles. Something like that cannot happen today to Irish, Polish, Germans, English, etc. It CAN’T. But to Jews it DOES, even in America. Especially in the Bible Belt. Jews have the right to talk about their oppression and define it. Gentiles need to recognize that anti-Semitism is complex and complicated, and often does not conform to neat little boxes.

I think it’s important to distinguish between anti-semitism arising from a limit to how much assimilation we are permitted and racism. Jews of Color face both anti-semitism and racism and I think conflating the two terms muddies our ability to clearly discuss that. It also risks disclarity in discussing what white/white-passing Jews face as Jews and what non-passing People of Color face as non-passing People of Color.

(white folks who convert to judaism DO have white privilege however. when jews say white-skinned or white-passing, we are referring to ethnic jews. white jews would be white converts)

I think it’s more complicated than this. I cannot claim to be white-passing: Society in the U.S. affords me the full set of white privilege, antisemitism notwithstanding. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I have to acknowledge I am classed as white.

I think this speaks to how whiteness operates — my mother has published about growing up during the transition into whiteness, and her parents told her not to believe it because we’d had lots of cousins who were told they were German not ten years ago and look at how that changed literally overnight. Yet their belief or acceptance didn’t change the fact that they became white, even though they weren’t born white.

Stated differently, I can claim to be white-passing only to the extent that there’s no such thing as a person classed as white who isn’t passing as white because it’s something assigned rather than something inherent.

Conversely, I strongly suspect that a white gentile who converts to Judaism will find themselves without a path “back” to whiteness should the day come that it is decided we’re not white anymore.

As for the issues re: Egypt: 1. I didn’t bring it up, the casual-isms mod did, and for the life of me, I will never understand why. 2. I defended the Black Egyptian theory. 3. I also made sure that non-black immigrants int Egypt who lived in Egypt, and were therefore part of its social fabric weren’t erased.

Regarding ancient Hebrews/Jews: no non-Jew has the right to speak over me about my ancestors in any way, shape or form. This is my history, these are my people. Discussions of Jewish identity are intra-discussions.

I cannot speak for firefly, that is not my place.

sisoula: holzmantweed: djudia: thearcanetheory: Alright, I am gonna break this down as simply as...

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:02:07 -0400

sisoula:

holzmantweed:

djudia:

thearcanetheory:

Alright, I am gonna break this down as simply as I can, and then that’s it.

Here are some issues with “shit white Jews make” as a sentence, and the various things that tiny little sentence taps into. This is generally true across the board, though of course, context can and does make a difference.

1) it does imply the “Jews are all white, all Jews are white” stereotype, which is the most inaccurate stereotype of all time. It totally engages in erasure, for one thing, of a great many Jewish people.

2) For another, a great many times that it’s used, it is holding white-skinned Jews, who are NOT considered or treated as white on MUCH of the planet, more responsible for white supremacy than actual white people. Which is not cool. And it is deeply, deeply problemmatic. (Not to mention that “white Jews” is a US-centric term that simply does not hold water anywhere outside North America. The world is not the USA.)

3) If the context is issues in media, it does tap into the old trope of “Jews run the media” and “Jews run Hollywood,” which are itself branches of the old ZOG root. In this case, sticking the word “white” in front of it does not limit the fall-out to only white-passing Jews. The anti-Semitic stereotype hurts all Jews, of all colours and backgrounds; that’s the point of any stereotype that’s invoked, whether you shove the word “white” in there or not. The anti-Semitic fall-out will not stop at the doors of any subset of Jews of Colour just because the word “white” was put in there as some sort of fig leaf. (There is no privilege involved in being a Jew of Colour!) By contrast, if the phrase is something like “shit that Jews come up with,” in this context at least, it still taps into that same stereotype, and therefore is still wrong to do, but it does so WITHOUT the additional baggage of the above two issues.

4) bringing up someone’s Jewish ethnicity and/or religious practice (yes, it is both) into the mix when it is not relevant to the person’s misdeeds is holding their Jewish identity responsible, and therefore implicates the Jewish people as a whole. That is not ok. It is never ok.

Sometimes, one’s Jewish-ness does matter and is relevant to the subject at hand, such as in the context of inter-culture exchange, or the nature of some of the shit that’s going down in Israel-Palestine. When calling out someone for perpetuating -isms however, it’s much more problemmatic. It’d be similar to calling out someone and then saying “well what do you expect from this Egyptian Muslim” or “of course, it’s a Rromani who did this.”

Wow. Such an awful lot that goes into just a mere four words, isn’t it? And yet, that is exactly what happens when gentiles whip that line out. “Shit that white Jews do.” “Oh man, Jews always do this.” This is why Jews - of all colours - get so upset, this is why it touches a nerve. Such phrases tap into layers of oppression and oppressive history, and perpetuate dangers that face my people. Please try to be mindful of this.

I’d like to comment and add a bit:

“(Not to mention that “white Jews” is a US-centric term that simply does not hold water anywhere outside North America. The world is not the USA.)”

I’m not originally from North America, but South America. In my original community Jews are mostly Maghrebim who immigrated in the 19th century; Sephardim who were in northern Morocco for centuries, descendants of Iberian Jews running away after the expulsion in the Iberian Peninsula and as a group they never mixed with the local Maghrebi population, they also immigrated to my city in the 19th century along with the Maghrebim (between those two groups, there were a thousand families immigrating over there around the same time); there are some Sephardim who came straight from the Iberian Peninsula in the 16th century and lived for the most part as Anusim (long story about those folks, goes beyond my point for now); there are many from Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia; a few from France, England, Germany and Lithuania — these latter groups ended up marrying into the larger population and are now mixed.

That means that at the esnogas (shuls, synagogues) we’re all shades of brown, with few white-passing folks. Despite all of that, I had to deal with “but you don’t look Jewish” and “Jews are supposed to be white and blonde”(*) even in a community in Brazil which is mostly Maghrebi and Sephardi.

The fact that there is a large Ashkenazi community going further south in the country doesn’t help. Gentiles use their existence to delegitimize our existence. Sadly the obsession with “white Jews” isn’t exclusive of North America.

(*) First, even I have never seen this disproportionate amount of blonde Jews. White passing, yes. Some blond, but mostly not. Second, even though this happened more than one time, with more than one person, in one situation the person justified that her friend was blonde and her friend’s mom was too, therefore this should be the normative look in the Jewish community. She also ignored the fact that the mother’s friend was a white-blonde-blue eyed gentile from northern Europe with no Jewish ancestry at all (not that there aren’t Jews who look like that, I personally know some, but to this specific context it was just… *sigh*).

Reblogging for three reasons:

1) To co-sign thearcanetheory’s breakdown of why “shit white Jews make” is problematic, period, paragraph, end of discussion.

2) To support and signal boostdjudia, who is in fact a Jew of Color and validates thearcanetheory’s explanation and noting that it’s even more fucked up when someone says “shite white Jews make” regarding a Jew who is in fact not white, period, paragraph, end of discussion.

3) To note something that may have been lost in all the back-and forth regarding the antisemitic phrase “shit white Jews make:” Pretty much everyone who’s participated in said back and forth has gone on record to agree on one point: Fritz the Cat is racist and Ralph Bakshi should be held accountable for that.

I. really, Really. Should Not even get into the convo again but…

*1. First of all, I want to thank you two for explaining the problem with calling Anti-Black Jewish people White. Because as someone else said this seemed a cultural standpoint ( at least with Non-Black Jewish people). As we, ( Black Americans) definitely have a long history ( and for good reason) of labeling Poc who act White as White. Because acting White is oppressive to Black people regardless if person is POC or White. Acting white always involving trying to raise up through stepping on Blacks. But, now, I understand finally what you mean and the difference between Jewish POC. Because everyone assumes Jewish people are White which would not be the same with other Poc.

I appreciate you bringing this up. It’s definitely part of what I’ve been missing in the conversation.

2: I still have a problem with arcanetheory and firefly consistently saying ” White skinned” Jewish people do not have the same White privileges as White gentiles. I also take issue with them calling ( mostly Black Americans) Us-centric. From their background on their posts, is sounds like they are either American, lived in America or currently do.

**Any White or POC who comes to US benefits from Black and Native American oppression. Period. Any White skin person benefits from colorism. And both arcanetheory and firefly made colorist comments whether they see it or not. By doing so, they assert power over the Black Americans talking to them.

Also, did I miss the memo where colorism do not exists outside of the US.

You still benefit from being White skin regardless,something that Brown/Black Americans can not accomplish anywhere we go.

***Plus, as so many ppl have already say. Black Americans have had many experiences of White skin Jewish ppl assert White supremacy, assimilating into Whiteness at the cost of others and then turning around and saying but… I not White when called out. Or telling us what happen/s in other countries, while oppressing us in America.

So, long story short, why would we not be Us-centric. We are telling you what happens to us ( speaking from our experiences). And why we want this anti-Blackness to stop.

Plus, arcanetheory/firefly said some pretty Us-centric bullshit about Blackness, so don’t expect ppl not to talk about it.

I definitely agree that white Jews in the US get white privilege and white-passing Jews in the US get skin privilege. I’m not qualified to speak about outside the US. I don’t know firefly from adam, but I’m pretty sure arcanetheory agrees with us on this point.

3: No one spent enough time talking about the film. And that makes me MAD.

I saw the film in 1985, by which point the racism of the film was unsubtle and talked about. I haven’t said more about it for the same reason I haven’t said more about the racism in Birth of a Nation: Beyond “Yeah, that’s pretty fucking racist” I literally don’t know what I could possibly say about it that someone didn’t say better than I can long ago.

* I know this post was not directed at me . But let’s be clear anyway, I never called the filmmaker white. I called firefly White based on the little background on their blog and the basic ass White shit they were saying.

**There also seems to be confusion between people who are talking about the filmmaker and people who are actually calling out tumbloggers for saying Anti-Black things.

*** There are also many examples of conflicts between Black people and White skin Jewish ppl outside of America, but I do not like speaking on shit outside of experiences and expertise.

Ashkenazi != white

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:56:49 -0400

oakttree:

holzmantweed:

I’m Ashkenazi. I have a cousin who married a Mexican man and had children with him. They are identifiably Latino, have a Latino surname, are treated as Latino by society. They’re Ashkenazim, just like their mother. Simultaneously Latino and Ashkenazi.

I have two other cousins who met and married Chinese women, both having children with their respective wives. Those children are identifiably Chinese, German/Jewish surname notwithstanding, are treated accordingly by society. They’re also Ashkenazim, just like their fathers. Simultaneously Chinese and Ashkenazi.

Every single time someone asserts that Ashkenazi are white, my four cousins are erased. That’s why it’s antisemitic to assert it, and why people need to stop asserting it.

this.

one of my cousins married a korean convert, and his children with her are both ashkenazi and korean.

and 100% jewish.

This as well.

We don’t get heated up about this as an intellectual exercise, it is literally about our blood kin.

crackerhell: holzmantweed: crackerhell: so-treu: and since there is just all kinds of stupid on...

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:26:02 -0400

crackerhell:

holzmantweed:

crackerhell:

so-treu:

and since there is just all kinds of stupid on my dash today

someone splain how the term “white jews” erases non-white jews

like, that’s what the qualifier “white” is there for

it’s an implicit acknowledgement that there are jews of more than one race

otherwise you’d just say “jews”

so you say “white jews” to specify that you are talking about jew who are or pass as white

esp in the U.S. because everyone wants to be like “JEWS AREN’T CONSIDERED WHITE IN EUROPE AND IN MANY OTHER PLACES”

that is true and that does not erase the fact that many of them ARE read as white in the u.s. so why can’t we ever talk about that, esp when we’re talking about a piece of media that was produced and is set in the u.s.???

i mean for all these white jews howling about being called “white” they sure are acting like white people in that way how white ppl can’t stand being seen

“omg why are you saying ‘white people’ when what you’re saying applies to ALL people”

honestly the “saying white jews erases other jews” is the best part of the white ppl bullshit

because saying white jews implicitly says that there are jews of more than one color

because why would you say “white” if you thought all jews were white

if i say “carrots taste good”, that’s not pretending that no other vegetable exists. i’m naming ONE thing that is relevant. it doesn’t mean i think all vegetables taste good. it doesn’t even mean i think all other non-carrot vegetables taste bad. i am talking about ONE specific thing because it is the only thing RELEVANT to what i am talking about

in this case: WHITE JEWS ARE SPECIFIED BECAUSE WHITE JEWS ARE THE JEWS DOING THE OPPRESSIVE THINGS

Saying “white Jews” when referring to Jews who are in fact white doesn’t erase anyone, and I don’t think anyone has suggested it does.

Saying “white Jews” when discussing a Jew who is in fact not white erases the fact that they are not white and reinforces the stereotype of all Jews being white, thereby erasing all Jews who are not white.

i think you might be referencing the wrong thing and also there are several white jews right here on tumblr who do in fact claim that discussing how white jews have fucked over Black people erases jews of color

It’s very likely there are conversations that have not crossed by dash in which white Jews (Please note capitalization on Jew) have said that — and they are wrong to do so. I’ve only seen the second point made, by both white Jews and Jews of Color, in the last week or so.

Ashkenazi != white

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:20:04 -0400

I’m Ashkenazi. I have a cousin who married a Mexican man and had children with him. They are identifiably Latino, have a Latino surname, are treated as Latino by society. They’re Ashkenazim, just like their mother. Simultaneously Latino and Ashkenazi.

I have two other cousins who met and married Chinese women, both having children with their respective wives. Those children are identifiably Chinese, German/Jewish surname notwithstanding, are treated accordingly by society. They’re also Ashkenazim, just like their fathers. Simultaneously Chinese and Ashkenazi.

Every single time someone asserts that Ashkenazi are white, my four cousins are erased. That’s why it’s antisemitic to assert it, and why people need to stop asserting it.

crackerhell: so-treu: and since there is just all kinds of stupid on my dash today someone splain...

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:12:54 -0400

crackerhell:

so-treu:

and since there is just all kinds of stupid on my dash today

someone splain how the term “white jews” erases non-white jews

like, that’s what the qualifier “white” is there for

it’s an implicit acknowledgement that there are jews of more than one race

otherwise you’d just say “jews”

so you say “white jews” to specify that you are talking about jew who are or pass as white

esp in the U.S. because everyone wants to be like “JEWS AREN’T CONSIDERED WHITE IN EUROPE AND IN MANY OTHER PLACES”

that is true and that does not erase the fact that many of them ARE read as white in the u.s. so why can’t we ever talk about that, esp when we’re talking about a piece of media that was produced and is set in the u.s.???

i mean for all these white jews howling about being called “white” they sure are acting like white people in that way how white ppl can’t stand being seen

“omg why are you saying ‘white people’ when what you’re saying applies to ALL people”

honestly the “saying white jews erases other jews” is the best part of the white ppl bullshit

because saying white jews implicitly says that there are jews of more than one color

because why would you say “white” if you thought all jews were white

if i say “carrots taste good”, that’s not pretending that no other vegetable exists. i’m naming ONE thing that is relevant. it doesn’t mean i think all vegetables taste good. it doesn’t even mean i think all other non-carrot vegetables taste bad. i am talking about ONE specific thing because it is the only thing RELEVANT to what i am talking about

in this case: WHITE JEWS ARE SPECIFIED BECAUSE WHITE JEWS ARE THE JEWS DOING THE OPPRESSIVE THINGS

Saying “white Jews” when referring to Jews who are in fact white doesn’t erase anyone, and I don’t think anyone has suggested it does.

Saying “white Jews” when discussing a Jew who is in fact not white erases the fact that they are not white and reinforces the stereotype of all Jews being white, thereby erasing all Jews who are not white.