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rhuFirst, I want to apologize for not drawing the distinction between the literal reading of the Christian scriptures and the beliefs of many contemporary followers of Christianity. My point was not to impugn those mainstream Christians who do not believe that non-Christians are prima facae damned; my point was that Trudeau was setting up his punchline using commonplaces that (1) had their origins in the literal reading of Christian scripture, (2) developed through two millennia of Christian thought that does hold that way, and (3) are still held by many evangelicals (some of whom, as I understand it, regard even Christians of other sects as un-Saved).
Second, I want to comment on Abe Foxman. In one word, Oy. Look, Trudeau made a poor judgment call. I and others felt it was appropriate to explain to those who would read our comments why this particular joke made us uncomfortable. I sent my observations in to the Doonesbury site, where they were posted along with others; my hope in doing so was to raise awareness of the historical context in which some of us were reading the strip. I didn't feel that an apology from Trudeau was called for (although it certainly would have been appreciated had there been one). But then Abe Foxman and the ADL demand an apology, and what the hell good does that do? Now if Trudeau apologizes, he looks like he's doing it because "the Jews" made him, and if he doesn't apologize, the whole situation looks to the target audience like a justification of the anti-Jewish reading of the strip: good Christian refuses to kowtow to the Jews who run the media. If Foxman had meant it, he would have sent a private note to Trudeau suggesting that an apology would be received well by Trudeau's public. The only reason Foxman did what he did is that it gets press for the ADL. Well, see if I send them a check again anytime soon --- and if that's not self-defeating (for the ADL and, God forbid, for me) then I don't know what is.
Third, some of the responses on the Doonesbury feedback site were disheartening. A small number of readers accused me and the others who had written in of "hunting for hurts" or being "small-minded." I'd like to think that I'm fairly broad-minded, in fact, and that I wasn't looking for a reason to be offended but was merely explaining why the strip made me uncomfortable. A subtle difference, perhaps, but a crucial one. I didn't respond, because how could I? But they're precisely the people that we need to reach, to have them understand that these words reinforce societal attitudes that, if left unchecked, grow into actions.
Which leads to fourth. Clearly there's no direct causal relationship between a single comic strip which inadvertently included anti-Jewish code phrases and this afternoon's horror in Washington, D.C. The perpetrator, may his name be blotted out, had a decades-long fixation on "the Jews" ruining this country via, inter alia, financial mechanations. Yet the two are also not completely unrelated.
We must not forget that there are people on the fringes of society who hate. Most importantly, we must ensure that they stay on the fringes of society. Whether they hate Jews, or "non-Whites", or Muslims, or Democrats, or women or LGBT individuals or whomever, whomever they hate, once we start to dismiss their hate as unimportant, as not worth the effort to fight, we let their hate become acceptable, and then we let their hate become normal, and then we let their hate become expected, and sooner or later --- but all too often sooner --- we let their hate destroy us.
"Marginalize hate." It's a crappy bumper sticker, but it's the only way we'll survive.
Second, I want to comment on Abe Foxman. In one word, Oy. Look, Trudeau made a poor judgment call. I and others felt it was appropriate to explain to those who would read our comments why this particular joke made us uncomfortable. I sent my observations in to the Doonesbury site, where they were posted along with others; my hope in doing so was to raise awareness of the historical context in which some of us were reading the strip. I didn't feel that an apology from Trudeau was called for (although it certainly would have been appreciated had there been one). But then Abe Foxman and the ADL demand an apology, and what the hell good does that do? Now if Trudeau apologizes, he looks like he's doing it because "the Jews" made him, and if he doesn't apologize, the whole situation looks to the target audience like a justification of the anti-Jewish reading of the strip: good Christian refuses to kowtow to the Jews who run the media. If Foxman had meant it, he would have sent a private note to Trudeau suggesting that an apology would be received well by Trudeau's public. The only reason Foxman did what he did is that it gets press for the ADL. Well, see if I send them a check again anytime soon --- and if that's not self-defeating (for the ADL and, God forbid, for me) then I don't know what is.
Third, some of the responses on the Doonesbury feedback site were disheartening. A small number of readers accused me and the others who had written in of "hunting for hurts" or being "small-minded." I'd like to think that I'm fairly broad-minded, in fact, and that I wasn't looking for a reason to be offended but was merely explaining why the strip made me uncomfortable. A subtle difference, perhaps, but a crucial one. I didn't respond, because how could I? But they're precisely the people that we need to reach, to have them understand that these words reinforce societal attitudes that, if left unchecked, grow into actions.
Which leads to fourth. Clearly there's no direct causal relationship between a single comic strip which inadvertently included anti-Jewish code phrases and this afternoon's horror in Washington, D.C. The perpetrator, may his name be blotted out, had a decades-long fixation on "the Jews" ruining this country via, inter alia, financial mechanations. Yet the two are also not completely unrelated.
We must not forget that there are people on the fringes of society who hate. Most importantly, we must ensure that they stay on the fringes of society. Whether they hate Jews, or "non-Whites", or Muslims, or Democrats, or women or LGBT individuals or whomever, whomever they hate, once we start to dismiss their hate as unimportant, as not worth the effort to fight, we let their hate become acceptable, and then we let their hate become normal, and then we let their hate become expected, and sooner or later --- but all too often sooner --- we let their hate destroy us.
"Marginalize hate." It's a crappy bumper sticker, but it's the only way we'll survive.