Confronting Antisemitism

The neo-Nazi and Holocaust denier movement has gotten far too big for its merits; and it is time that it be seriously confronted. I do not practice political correctness; I have fought political correctness. I believe in the First Amendment and even Nazis should not be censored. I can however use the same First Amendment to stand up to their propaganda. And I hope that more people – both Jewish and non-Jewish – do so as well.

I am now confronting several central claims made by this movement.

Claim: There is a Jewish conspiracy to take over America or the world.

Answer: If there had been such a conspiracy, I would have been invited to join it a long time ago. I haven't been, so there is no such conspiracy.

Claim: Holocaust is a hoax perpetrated by Jewish media.

Answer: The media in the Soviet Union was not Jewish, and Jews were discriminated against. However the Soviet Union media carried extensive descriptions of the Holocaust, as well as of course of the Nazi invasion into the Soviet Union that cost 20 million Russian lives.

Claim: The Jews orchestrated the economic crisis of 2008.

Answer: No, crooks on Wall Street did. There is a Jewish presence on Wall Street; there are also many non-Jewish people on Wall Street as well. If Jews are to be blamed for that crisis, they should also be credited for Wall Street capitalization growing ten times in the previous three decades. In fact both are due to both Jewish people and non-Jewish people. That's how it has been; that's how it always was.

Claim: The Jews are cowards.

Answer: People who believe in pacifism and non-violence do frequently get that label. After the Second World War, many Jews decided that pacifism does not work and that they are not safe in the world; so they created a super-militaristic state. So now the same people who have been accused of being cowards are being accused of being brutes. Europe and the white man have many examples of both cowardice and brutality. It is wrong to impugn someone for traits that one possesses to a greater extent.

Claim: The Jews are a destructive influence.

Answer: If that were true, then Poland, with 800 Jews, would be doing better than America with 6 million. It is not.

Claim: The Jews are arrogant.

Answer: While believing oneself to be the chosen people of God may indeed lead to arrogance, so can any number of other things. This would include the American doctrine of being the New Jerusalem; the German doctrine of being the master race; the Russian doctrine of being the Third Rome; the Muslim doctrine of being the true people of God; and many others.

Claim: The Jews killed Jesus.

Answer: Jesus was God and could not be killed. If the task was to spend 6 hours on the cross in order to save the world, there would be millions of people applying for the honor. As for the Jews who tried to kill Jesus, they were only following the Ten Commandments. The first commandment is “thou shalt have no gods beside me.” In claiming to be God, Jesus committed the worst crime in the books. That is why the Jews insisted on getting Jesus crucified while letting off a murderer.

Claim: The Jews practice ritual sacrifice of babies / drink the blood of Christian babies / etc.

Answer: Telling ridiculous and blatant lies discredits your cause.

Claim: The Jews are evil.

Answer: The Jews have made vast contributions to the Western civilization without engaging in genocide, colonialism or slavery at nearly the level of people who hate them. Meanwhile the Spanish destroyed three of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known – the Incans, the Aztecs and the Moores. The English took over America and Australia and took their land while treating them horribly, and manipulated the Hindus to subvert India to a very greedy rule. The Russians took over a large territory and forced it to assimilate. The Muslims, who complain about Israeli “imperialism,” are guilty of a far greater imperialism than the Israelis. The Germans – where do I start. By any standard, the Jews are far less evil than their enemies; and while the Spanish and any number of others destroyed more than they contributed, the Jews contributed far more than they destroyed.

Claim: The Jews are in control.

Answer: If that had been true – and if the Jews were evil – then people saying such things would be facing a firing squad. That they are instead free to spread their propaganda shows either that Jews are not in control, or that Jews are so good that they would even let live the people who wish them dead.

Claim: The Jews are taking over America.

Answer: In a place that does not discriminate against them, people who value education and hard work will do well. If some Jews are doing well or wielding influence, that is completely consistent with American values, and it is success or influence that is legitimately earned. If you're going to destroy the better minds in your youth by claiming that they are “nerds” or “know-it-alls” or “think they're better than everyone else,” or drive around with signs “My son beat up your honor student,” expect to be out-competed. This will in no way be limited to the Jews. It will also be done by Hindus, Chinese, Russians, and any number of others that do not do such a thing to their youth.

Claim: The Jews are whiney.

Answer: Mistaking social analysis for whining is a very bad intellectual error. Very little is owed to actual whining, but much is owed to insightful analysis of issues that impact upon people.

Claim: The Jews are greedy.

Answer: It is funny to hear people who claim to own money, or that business is the only root of prosperity, or that unless you are wealthy you are a loser, saying such things. The people who think that “money talks, bullshit walks” champion greed; and if some Jewish people do so as well they are in that way just like their critics.

Claim: The Jews are stingey.

Answer: Generally it's not the Jews but the conservatives who whine about having to pay tax. When I was making good money in the computer industry I had no problem paying taxes, and I do not see why someone who claims to be an American patriot would either.

Claim: The Jewish women are sluts.

Answer: By historical standards, so are just about all women in the West, particularly in Europe. As for the Jews, there are vast differences between the denominations. The Orthodox act like the Muslims; the Conservatives act like mainstream Americans; and the Reform act like the French. There may be promiscuity in the Reform denomination as there is in many parts of Europe and America. However the Orthodox are far less promiscuous than most Western women.

Claim: The Jews are unethical.

Answer: Tell that to Yitzhak Rabin. In fact many Jews are highly ethical, and more so by far than people who tell lies about them. There have been many Jews who foreswore monetary self-interest in order to do noble work like being scientists and teachers and innovators; and America and the Western civilization owes vastly to them.

Claim: The Jews, immigrants, etc., should assimilate.

Answer: Doing this denies one's country much useful thought and cultural practices from abroad. The countries – especially the United States – grow through incorporating into themselves things that someone else does better. An American who dines at a Chinese restaurant, drives a German car or adopts European or Japanese styles is not being “pretentious” or a “traitor” or a “snob;” he brings into the country that someone else does well and in so doing improves his country.

Claim: The Jews are protected by political correctness.

Answer: I fought political correctness ever since I knew what it was. I do not need political correctness to defend me: I can do so myself.

Claim: The Jews are socialists.

Answer: Not the ones I know. There is also nothing socialist about the Koch brothers, who financed the Tea Party.

Claim: The Jews are liberals.

Answer: Not the Israeli Jews. And among the Russian Jews, most are moderate to conservative.

Claim: The Jews are destroying America.

Answer: America was doing well enough under Clinton. It was put greatly in the hole and into an economic crisis by Christian evangelical Bush administration, not the Jews. If they claim responsibility to be an American value, the conservatives will take responsibility for this state of affairs instead of blaming the Jews.

This should cover pretty much all of it, and I hope that the people involved in a fight against anti-semitism – both liberal and conservative – make good use of what I have written above.