Having a Mel Gibson moment.

[mmaestro]

Via wingsrising, we get this wonderful Richard Cohen diatribe. wingsrising makes the point that we still seem unable to have conversations about Israel and criticise that country without lapsing immediately into the language of antisemitism. You criticise Israel, you're antisemetic. It's a quick and simple slur, it still seems to hold sway with some people too. I won't

Comments

Hey man I like you and all but

[waterstrider]

I'm trying to think of a non-combative way to phrase this, but I think it's really whack that you say Did I look at the accusation? Did I care? Nope. and then try to blame that on other people--namely, the minority whose only crime was saying "Hey, this offends us." Refusing to think about things on a case-by-case basis just because it involves a certain group of people is usually called prejudice.

Re: Hey man I like you and all but

[mmaestro]

I think the problem is that the signal to noise ratio reaches a certain point, and then you just block the whole thing out. Everything. I don't think that's dealing with a specific group, but rather the specific accusation. If I spent some time, I could probably come up with another accusation to put this alongside (but it's late - then again, maybe not).
You hear 30 false accusations, then one true one, are you genuinely going to take the time to investigate the 31st? I don't think many would, and I don't think that's fair to blame it on the person who didn't bother to investigate the accusation because, well, he'd heard it all before and it was simply never true.

[biggingerdave]

Yeah, he probably said some antisemitic things.
Frankly, I care much more that he was speeding while drunk. He's just set an example that society cares less about potentially lethal behaviour than slurs.

I'm depressed now :(

[mmaestro]

I'm not sure that's fair. In the end, his drunk driving will be dealt with by the courts; his comments won't be.

[narnee]

You know, as someone born and raised Jewish, I wholeheartedly agree with you about the overuse of anti-semitism accusations. Particularly in terms of criticism of Israel. (Most of the time. Not always true, either; remember, children in some countries of the Middle East learn The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a textbook.)

But your use of "they" and "them" in this post makes me uncomfortable. Who are they? Do all Jews cry wolf too often? To me, it's a bit like saying that because a subset of black America plays the race card too often, that means that all of black America is playing the race card every time someone makes an allegation of racism.

Some Jews may use outcries of anti-semitism too much, some black people may play the race card as and when it suits, and some women may cry misogyny when treated like everyone else, etc. -- but doesn't mean that these things don't exist and moreover that they don't exist in abundance.

[mmaestro]

But your use of "they" and "them" in this post makes me uncomfortable. Who are they? Do all Jews cry wolf too often?

That's not an unreasonable criticism. I'm struggling to think of a better (or rather, more accurate but still not completely clunky) way of putting what I was saying. It would be accurate to say that a lot of the Christian right are as bad about this issue as certain Jewish groups, but short of writing a non-comprehensive list every time, I don't know what a better way of phrasing would be.

To me, it's a bit like saying that because a subset of black America plays the race card too often, that means that all of black America is playing the race card every time someone makes an allegation of racism.

I don't think I'd read it that way, which may inherently be one of the problems. While I understand your concern, I suspect had I been reading the above passage, I would have assumed "they," meant "those who are making what I consider to be unwarranted accusations," which of course should not consist automatically of