By the way, I DO divide the world into "good guys" and "bad guys".

[xiphias]

Just so you know: if you're against the building of an Islamic community center in Downtown Manhattan, you're one of the bad guys.

If you are saying, "well, sure, they have the LEGAL right to do it, but by putting it there, they're just being provocative," then you may not be particularly evil yourself, but you're intimidated by the evil people into being one of their henchmen. People doing completely normal things like building community centers aren't being provocative. The people who you are afraid they will provoke? Those are the bad guys. And if you are saying that they should modify their behaviors to do what the bad guys want, then you are saying that you support the bad guys.

And that means that you're one of the bad guys.

And THAT means that I find you a danger to me, personally. I'm Jewish. Right now, Jews are mostly considered more or less white. But that could change. And the second it does, people will start saying things like, "Well, sure, they COULD build a synagogue there, but wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?"

Everything that people are saying about the downtown Manhattan community center, I just automatically hear people saying that about something that I might want to do someday. If you're against them, then you're against me, and you're also against justice, freedom, and every ideal that this country stands for.

Just so we're clear on that.

Comments

[sethg]

Your reminder that Jewish ≠ Ashkenazi is noted and appreciated.

[ron_newman]

However, note also that Sephardi ≠ 'dark-skinned'. Sephardim preceded Ashkenazim to the US.

[holzman.livejournal.com]

Also note that Ashkenazim + Sephardim < Judiasm

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Actually, historically, Sephardi Jews were considered white long before Ashkenazi Jews were. All the Jews who were, for instance, part of the rulling class in the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War were Sephardic; at the same time period, the same distinction was true in England, where Jews of Sephardic descent could be part of the upper class, but Ashkenazi Jews couldn't.

Later, WESTERN European Sephardic Jews, from Germany and Austria, could be considered white, but EASTERN Ashkenazic Jews -- Polish, Russian, Litvak, and so forth -- were not considered white, not even by Western Ashkenazic Jews or Sephardic Jews. That didn't change until thethe vast majority of them were killed by Hitler.