Underneath this post I will make a thread going into detail about things I wish more non-Jews knew about antisemitism (with relevant content warnings.) This thread is intended to serve as a non-definitive primer for antisemitism for those curious, as well as trying to highlight specific aspects about antisemitism that some might not know about. Please be advised the topics below will be extremely serious and potentially upsetting, and will be content warned as such.
I made a post similar a bit ago on Yom Hashoah highlighting things I wish more non-Jews knew about the holocaust and since that was received well I figured it would be worth it to do so the same with antisemitism in general.
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gavi (gavi@grimgreenfo.rest)'s status on Saturday, 08-Jun-2024 17:51:49 JST gavi -
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iced depresso (icedquinn@blob.cat)'s status on Saturday, 08-Jun-2024 17:51:44 JST iced depresso @gavi i somewhat lol to think anyone takes "jewish space lasers" seriously. it sounds like a cards against humanity card every time -
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gavi (gavi@grimgreenfo.rest)'s status on Saturday, 08-Jun-2024 17:51:46 JST gavi Antisemitism manifests based upon what is most convenient as a means to scapegoat the ills of society at that time. There is no sense to it, and it is not worth trying to find sense in it either.
Jews have been portrayed as evil communists at times, and others evil capitalist pigs. Rootless cosmopolitans, or chauvistic nationalists. Backwards religious zealots, or G-dless heathens.
Most, if not all, antisemitic tropes that often manifest are actually in direct contrast to how Judaism as a religion functions and the cultural dynamics within the community. It's absurd and is why at times Jews will laugh at some of the manifestations of it.
There is no logical sense in the allegation that Jews caused the California widlfires a few years ago using space lasers, and the common trope of blood libel exists in direct contrast to the fact that blood is not kosher. Cannibalism isn't kosher either!
It would be funny if it hadn't caused so many of us to die.GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this. -
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gavi (gavi@grimgreenfo.rest)'s status on Saturday, 08-Jun-2024 17:51:47 JST gavi Antisemitism is an ancient form of hatred that is nearly as old as modern human civilization. It is like a play that nearly every generation learns how to perform, with occasional tweaks for the time frame it falls under.
Antisemitism is a unique form of bigotry in that exists typically outside the bounds of other forms of bigotry. It adapts to whatever purpose it serves. It is at its root a form of racism & xenophobia.
Hatred of Jews has existed since antiquity, but antisemitism in its specific usage towards Jews was coined by a German journalist and "racial scientist" in the late 1800s who wanted to give more legitimacy for hatred of Jews with a specific name. It's usage in the modern day is explicitly used to refer to Jews and only Jews. It was effectively reclaimed by Jews to refer to our own hatred by the people who hate us. As well, this is why in some settings (especially academic) you will see the lack of a dash. Instead of anti-semitism, it is antisemitism. The purpose for this is that it is a separate word entirely. -
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gavi (gavi@grimgreenfo.rest)'s status on Saturday, 08-Jun-2024 17:51:48 JST gavi As a disclaimer: I am not a rabbi and I am only one Jew, and when there is nuance of opinions amongst Jews I will try my best to highlight it. I also cannot fully condense the complexities of antisemitism into a single fedi thread so I will as well highlight some resources as well for those curious. I will likely continually add replies to this thread today too.
This is not a thread about Israel or Zionism. Zionism and Israel is a touchy topic even amongst the Jewish community. This threads highlighting of antisemitic tropes is something that you can look to if you desire but beyond that this is more a general antisemitism discussion. I may make a specific thread about talking about Israel and Zionism and when critique crosses the line into antisemitism, but that's such a clusterfuck even amongst Jews I really do not have the energy to really unpack that right now. -
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gavi (gavi@grimgreenfo.rest)'s status on Sunday, 09-Jun-2024 21:46:43 JST gavi Antisemites more often than not try to force Jews to prove reality to them in a public setting. It is an ancient tradition, and is not unique to Nazis. And they never come to an argument in good faith.
There is no sense or reasoning with an antisemite. They are not there in good faith. They know what they are saying in most cases is absolutely fucking nonsense and they just don't care. When they request a debate, they want to spread their hatred to others and intentionally inflict trauma upon Jews. It is a means of power, and the only way to win their game is by not engaging and explicitly removing their platform.
Do not fall for their shit.
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