In my head I was making a distinction that I didn't effectively communicate. By 'really bad stuff' I meant truly outlandish stories about horns and tails and baby eaters. Strangely enough, (as you know) the first Christians were persecuted as baby eaters too, what with the eating of body and blood down in catacombs and all. But I was not, however, referring to the truly horrendous realities of antisemitism which you describe and which are apparent to anyone who follows the news.
My point was that when we educate those around us we should do it in a very inclusive way. From me to you, I felt like my opinion was trivialized by you, and I felt an undercurrent of "What do you know? You midwesterners (or non-new yorkers) don't know any jews, so why WOULD you know anything?" It's not what you said, but judging from Isabel Gold's respeonse, she felt the same thing. I realize my posts too could have pushed some buttons, but the point is to SHARE the experience and emphasize the uniqueness AND similarities of the experiences of those around you. My point of only hearing these outlandish (though once believed) stories about jews FROM jews, seemed like it was these people who were telling the stories keeping them alive. It was as if real, present persecution were not enough, so that one had to keep alive old prejudices to futher the image of jews as a victim. It may seem narrow minded that I got that from the experience, and the only way I can try to convey it to try to critique the METHOD of sharing these stories. I am not saying they should be forgotten, that would be idiotic.
It seems, and seemed to me at the time, to convey an attitude of "You don't get it, you never will, you're not a Jew". Of course not. We can NEVER know what it's like to walk in another's shoes. But all of our experiences have commonalities, and I beleive the only way to bring people together is to emphasize those commonalities, and not the differences in specific details. The details ARE very important, but in speaking about the similarities of discrimination, you can include the entire world, and invite everyone to reflect on thier own experiences as a human being.
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-01 06:46 pm (UTC)My point was that when we educate those around us we should do it in a very inclusive way. From me to you, I felt like my opinion was trivialized by you, and I felt an undercurrent of "What do you know? You midwesterners (or non-new yorkers) don't know any jews, so why WOULD you know anything?" It's not what you said, but judging from Isabel Gold's respeonse, she felt the same thing. I realize my posts too could have pushed some buttons, but the point is to SHARE the experience and emphasize the uniqueness AND similarities of the experiences of those around you. My point of only hearing these outlandish (though once believed) stories about jews FROM jews, seemed like it was these people who were telling the stories keeping them alive. It was as if real, present persecution were not enough, so that one had to keep alive old prejudices to futher the image of jews as a victim. It may seem narrow minded that I got that from the experience, and the only way I can try to convey it to try to critique the METHOD of sharing these stories. I am not saying they should be forgotten, that would be idiotic.
It seems, and seemed to me at the time, to convey an attitude of "You don't get it, you never will, you're not a Jew". Of course not. We can NEVER know what it's like to walk in another's shoes. But all of our experiences have commonalities, and I beleive the only way to bring people together is to emphasize those commonalities, and not the differences in specific details. The details ARE very important, but in speaking about the similarities of discrimination, you can include the entire world, and invite everyone to reflect on thier own experiences as a human being.