How does Trayon White still have a job?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Avi Meyer on Twitter: Germany, 2018: The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, has warned Jews not to wear kippot (Jewish skullcaps) in major German cities due to the threat of antisemitic attacks. (Die Zeit)

Affects Jews in Metropolitan DC how?

My friend faced the same with her son. The boys in his middle school (middle school boys are the worst) were mocking and insulting him about his yamulke, and she and her husband (both Orthodox Jews) actually told him he didn't have to wear it to school. To the boy's credit, he did not want to back down to the antisemttic kids and hand them a win, and he wore it. Eventually the teasing stopped since it wasn't getting the desired effect, but they did transfer their son to a Jewish private school the following year. This was in a neighborhood bordering the DC line.

I tell you this story because I can tell by your compassionate response that you would sympathize.

I definitely sympathize.
I also sympathize with gays and transgenders who are experiencing an uptick in assaults in the District.
I also sympathize with the homeless who are experiencing an uptick in assaults in the District.
I also sympathize with the residents of Ward 8 who are experiencing an uptick in unemployment and poverty and the accompanying violence that results from those conditions.
Councilmember White may be outright ignorant when it comes to Jews and gays and transgenders and maybe even the homeless throughout the entire city but I give him credit for genuinely caring about his constituents in Ward 8.

Actually, this means that Trayon is even less competent than it seems. Currently, the US is approaching what economists consider full employment level. The unemployment rate among African Americans is at an all-time low. DC's economy is booming, and tax collections are at record levels. The fact that Ward 8 is not participating in much of this reflects how little the council member prioritizes attracting investment, economic development, reducing red tape and emphasizing skills development in his ward. "Genuinely caring" doesn't cut it. And clearly, Trayon genuinely cares more about Minister Farrakhan than actually using his constituent services fund to help... his constituents! (Now there's a novel thought.)

+1. The guy shouldn't even be elected dog catcher.

+ 2. It's been two generations since Marion Barry, and the people in Ward 8 haven't made any progress. With record low black unemployment, how is it going up? Total incompetence.

It hasn't been two generations since Marion Barry -- he died in 2014 and was the sitting councilmember there at the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get that more and more swastikas being spray painted on synagogues is distressing. I get that more and more Jews being beat up by hateful bigots is disturbing. But I’d be remiss not to point out that those increasing hate crimes are being committed by civilians not the state and it was the state that carried out the Holocaust in 1930’s Germany.

Is the state still persecuting you in America today?

You ever had somebody call the cops on you simply because you’re Jewish? You ever had the police tell you and your kippot wearing friends to “move along or we’re going to arrest you” simply because you’re Jewish? You ever had an officer pull you over because of the Star of David decal on your SUV? You ever had a judge hand down a harsh sentence on you because your last name denotes that you’re Jewish and turn you over to a corrupt criminal justice system that profits from your people’s pain? You ever have your congressional district redrawn to dilute the value of your vote just because of it’s large Jewish population? You ever had problems trying to cast your vote because there are no polling places in your predominantly Jewish community or you ever had strict voter ID laws put in place in your community to prevent you from exercising your Constitutional right?

Those are all examples of the state coming down on a people. It’s all kinds of nutjobs and assholes out here among the general populace perpetuating discrimination against Jews, yes, but the state isn’t coming after you today with guns drawn ready to kill you and cuffs out eager to compromise your freedoms like in 1930’s Germany.

No, today the state is coming after people of color with guns drawn and cuffs out and when it’s the state doing the discriminating that’s what allows Holocausts to happen.

I'm bout to do my due diligence for a few but y'all go ahead and do me a favor and let me know if this is venomous.

No, this isn't venomous toward Jews at all. Saying things like, "Jews better stop complaining about anti-Semitism or else" or "the Holocaust is irrelevant," that's venomous. Pointing out that Jews in America don't suffer from structural racism the way blacks do is just stating a fact. (At least as far as this Jew is concerned.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get that more and more swastikas being spray painted on synagogues is distressing. I get that more and more Jews being beat up by hateful bigots is disturbing. But I’d be remiss not to point out that those increasing hate crimes are being committed by civilians not the state and it was the state that carried out the Holocaust in 1930’s Germany.

Is the state still persecuting you in America today?

You ever had somebody call the cops on you simply because you’re Jewish? You ever had the police tell you and your kippot wearing friends to “move along or we’re going to arrest you” simply because you’re Jewish? You ever had an officer pull you over because of the Star of David decal on your SUV? You ever had a judge hand down a harsh sentence on you because your last name denotes that you’re Jewish and turn you over to a corrupt criminal justice system that profits from your people’s pain? You ever have your congressional district redrawn to dilute the value of your vote just because of it’s large Jewish population? You ever had problems trying to cast your vote because there are no polling places in your predominantly Jewish community or you ever had strict voter ID laws put in place in your community to prevent you from exercising your Constitutional right?

Those are all examples of the state coming down on a people. It’s all kinds of nutjobs and assholes out here among the general populace perpetuating discrimination against Jews, yes, but the state isn’t coming after you today with guns drawn ready to kill you and cuffs out eager to compromise your freedoms like in 1930’s Germany.

No, today the state is coming after people of color with guns drawn and cuffs out and when it’s the state doing the discriminating that’s what allows Holocausts to happen.

1. It didn't start out as the State in Germany. It started out as bands of bigots who organized and got elected to office. You know, like the kind of people who elected Donald Trump and them marched in Charlottesville.

2. No, Jews do not have much to fear right now, today, from state institutions designed to protect citizens. Black people do, and that is a bigger problem, right now, today.

When Douglas high school was shot up, very little attention was paid to the fact that it has a huge Jewish population, and the shooter hated Jews. Even those media-savvy kids knew a focus on anti-semitism as a motive would lessen sympathy for their cause, at the same time they were using that position to also address gun violence in communities of color. They were speaking to left-leaning Americans, and they attempted to fold in communities of color while down-playing Jewishness. That would not have happened 50 years ago.

I hate to break it to you but you ain’t gonna get the same rousing cry of outrage and hysteria from blacks about the media “down-playing Jewishness” when reporting a mass shooting as you will get about racial profiling or mass incarceration and the school to prison pipeline or another unarmed black man getting killed by the police. The state steady is down-playing basic humanity when profiling and penalizing and persecuting people of color naturally that's going to draw a more animated reaction from people of color. Doesn't mean blacks are anti-Semitic that's just the reality of basic human instinct as it relates to self-awareness and self-preservation. How is that so unreasonable?

This whole damn thread got thrown off-kilter because somebody dared to tell a poster several pages back that Councilmember Trayon White’s asinine sentiments and ignorant sentiments were indeed wrong and antisemitism is definitely wrong and such intolerance/ignorance most certainly needs to be curtailed, BUT...regrettably it’s not No. 1 on the list of African-American worries right now. Somehow that got equated to blacks being anti-Semitic. WTF?

All this shit got started because a poster several pages back basically tried to tell black people that if their first inclination is to sit down and have “The Talk” with their kids about how to handle negative perceptions by the police to avoid getting locked up or shot instead of first sitting down and having a talk with their kids about increasing Jewish resentment then that makes them anti-Semitic. WTF?!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Black person here. Keep in mind that this is an anonymous forum, so it's impossible to know whether people are who they say they are. IRL, I honestly have not heard of any resentment towards Jews by other AAs.

I grew up in the South and did not really know any Jewish people growing up, never learned about the Holocaust in school, and really didn't meet any self-identified Jews until grad school. My Jewish classmates basically schooled me on a lot of things at that time. At worst I've possibly detected indifference towards Jews among a segment of AAs (again, particularly in the South) but not outright anti-Semitism, especially among people who grew up as I did in predominantly AA settings where people don't know Jews or know much about their history, and some may see them as just another group of white people. However, I currently live in a black and Jewish neighborhood in DC where everyone gets along wonderfully. I like that our kids are growing up learning about each other's cultures, history, holidays, etc.

Also, please keep in mind that the people who post here are not necessarily representative of a community's sentiments towards a particular group of people--opinions on the Internet come with a large selection bias.

I am a [liberal] Jew who also grew up in the South. I didn't have meaningful interactions with large numbers of black people until I became a personal trainer and started working in a gym in my 20s. I think this may be different for blacks and Jews who grew up in cities where both groups had large numbers and lived together in working-class communities in the 1920s-60s. In the South, the Jewish population has always been very small, outside of a handful of large cities.

I do think it gives me a different perspective, however, when I hear the argument that white people have all been turning a blind eye to police brutality and other blatant discrimination in the black community. Until the advent of the internet, we really didn't hear much about it. Black people experienced it every day, but white people only heard about particularly egregious incidents in their communities. A lot of people of color don't believe that; they believe because the discrimination was so prevalent all these years, we white people just didn't care enough about it to fight it. But you readily admit you knew little or nothing about Jews and anti-semitism because you hadn't experienced the world as a Jew or as someone who interacted much with Jewish people. Why is it so hard to believe that a lot of white people, including white liberals, are only in the last few years being "schooled" (as this PP calls it) in the extent and brutality of discrimination against AAs and people of color in the US? The internet has allowed us to see these incidents in bulk, in real time, and from all over the US, even if we don't personally know a lot of African Americans.

As a black person, I hear you and I understand the point you are making. It makes sense to me that the information highway has been super effective in delivering these egregious incidents into our living rooms and kitchen table discussions. You are spot-on, the advent of the internet has changed the way we view the world - police brutality and discrimination against black people is a stark example.

I guess I do take a small issue with you in terms of what many white people knew about this brutality and discrimination. The black issues you identified have been around for a long, long time. Well before the internet. The Civil Rights Movement began in the early 50's and lasted through the late 60's. The reason why the movement was so effective is because it was broadcast by TV and radio into living rooms and kitchen tables. People knew about the issues - indeed, the world knew the issues and America was embarrassed on a daily basis. Then, it was the TV - now, it's the internet, as you rightly described, above. There were no "blind eyes" then or now. So, IMO, the comparison you're making is not valid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Black person here. Keep in mind that this is an anonymous forum, so it's impossible to know whether people are who they say they are. IRL, I honestly have not heard of any resentment towards Jews by other AAs.

I grew up in the South and did not really know any Jewish people growing up, never learned about the Holocaust in school, and really didn't meet any self-identified Jews until grad school. My Jewish classmates basically schooled me on a lot of things at that time. At worst I've possibly detected indifference towards Jews among a segment of AAs (again, particularly in the South) but not outright anti-Semitism, especially among people who grew up as I did in predominantly AA settings where people don't know Jews or know much about their history, and some may see them as just another group of white people. However, I currently live in a black and Jewish neighborhood in DC where everyone gets along wonderfully. I like that our kids are growing up learning about each other's cultures, history, holidays, etc.

Also, please keep in mind that the people who post here are not necessarily representative of a community's sentiments towards a particular group of people--opinions on the Internet come with a large selection bias.

I am a [liberal] Jew who also grew up in the South. I didn't have meaningful interactions with large numbers of black people until I became a personal trainer and started working in a gym in my 20s. I think this may be different for blacks and Jews who grew up in cities where both groups had large numbers and lived together in working-class communities in the 1920s-60s. In the South, the Jewish population has always been very small, outside of a handful of large cities.

I do think it gives me a different perspective, however, when I hear the argument that white people have all been turning a blind eye to police brutality and other blatant discrimination in the black community. Until the advent of the internet, we really didn't hear much about it. Black people experienced it every day, but white people only heard about particularly egregious incidents in their communities. A lot of people of color don't believe that; they believe because the discrimination was so prevalent all these years, we white people just didn't care enough about it to fight it. But you readily admit you knew little or nothing about Jews and anti-semitism because you hadn't experienced the world as a Jew or as someone who interacted much with Jewish people. Why is it so hard to believe that a lot of white people, including white liberals, are only in the last few years being "schooled" (as this PP calls it) in the extent and brutality of discrimination against AAs and people of color in the US? The internet has allowed us to see these incidents in bulk, in real time, and from all over the US, even if we don't personally know a lot of African Americans.

PP here. I commented once on p. 1 of this thread with an offhand comment at 7:21, and I don't think I commented again or really followed the thread until about p. 38. Not really sure how to respond given I didn't make this claim, or see it in prior posts.

I'm sure some people are just finding out about the extent of discrimination against POC, for sure. I also think there is also some indifference/denial of discrimination out there. Don't think it's specific to Jews, though. I think it's good that people are now seeing proof of discrimination via live recordings, etc.--makes it harder to deny, and perhaps motivates some receptive people to help address it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Avi Meyer on Twitter: Germany, 2018: The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, has warned Jews not to wear kippot (Jewish skullcaps) in major German cities due to the threat of antisemitic attacks. (Die Zeit)

Affects Jews in Metropolitan DC how?

My friend faced the same with her son. The boys in his middle school (middle school boys are the worst) were mocking and insulting him about his yamulke, and she and her husband (both Orthodox Jews) actually told him he didn't have to wear it to school. To the boy's credit, he did not want to back down to the antisemttic kids and hand them a win, and he wore it. Eventually the teasing stopped since it wasn't getting the desired effect, but they did transfer their son to a Jewish private school the following year. This was in a neighborhood bordering the DC line.

I tell you this story because I can tell by your compassionate response that you would sympathize.

I definitely sympathize.
I also sympathize with gays and transgenders who are experiencing an uptick in assaults in the District.
I also sympathize with the homeless who are experiencing an uptick in assaults in the District.
I also sympathize with the residents of Ward 8 who are experiencing an uptick in unemployment and poverty and the accompanying violence that results from those conditions.
Councilmember White may be outright ignorant when it comes to Jews and gays and transgenders and maybe even the homeless throughout the entire city but I give him credit for genuinely caring about his constituents in Ward 8.

Actually, this means that Trayon is even less competent than it seems. Currently, the US is approaching what economists consider full employment level. The unemployment rate among African Americans is at an all-time low. DC's economy is booming, and tax collections are at record levels. The fact that Ward 8 is not participating in much of this reflects how little the council member prioritizes attracting investment, economic development, reducing red tape and emphasizing skills development in his ward. "Genuinely caring" doesn't cut it. And clearly, Trayon genuinely cares more about Minister Farrakhan than actually using his constituent services fund to help... his constituents! (Now there's a novel thought.)

+1. The guy shouldn't even be elected dog catcher.

+ 2. It's been two generations since Marion Barry, and the people in Ward 8 haven't made any progress. With record low black unemployment, how is it going up? Total incompetence.

It hasn't been two generations since Marion Barry -- he died in 2014 and was the sitting councilmember there at the time.

He served on the Ciry Council beginning in 1974 - 44 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get that more and more swastikas being spray painted on synagogues is distressing. I get that more and more Jews being beat up by hateful bigots is disturbing. But I’d be remiss not to point out that those increasing hate crimes are being committed by civilians not the state and it was the state that carried out the Holocaust in 1930’s Germany.

Is the state still persecuting you in America today?

You ever had somebody call the cops on you simply because you’re Jewish? You ever had the police tell you and your kippot wearing friends to “move along or we’re going to arrest you” simply because you’re Jewish? You ever had an officer pull you over because of the Star of David decal on your SUV? You ever had a judge hand down a harsh sentence on you because your last name denotes that you’re Jewish and turn you over to a corrupt criminal justice system that profits from your people’s pain? You ever have your congressional district redrawn to dilute the value of your vote just because of it’s large Jewish population? You ever had problems trying to cast your vote because there are no polling places in your predominantly Jewish community or you ever had strict voter ID laws put in place in your community to prevent you from exercising your Constitutional right?

Those are all examples of the state coming down on a people. It’s all kinds of nutjobs and assholes out here among the general populace perpetuating discrimination against Jews, yes, but the state isn’t coming after you today with guns drawn ready to kill you and cuffs out eager to compromise your freedoms like in 1930’s Germany.

No, today the state is coming after people of color with guns drawn and cuffs out and when it’s the state doing the discriminating that’s what allows Holocausts to happen.

I'm bout to do my due diligence for a few but y'all go ahead and do me a favor and let me know if this is venomous.

No, this isn't venomous toward Jews at all. Saying things like, "Jews better stop complaining about anti-Semitism or else" or "the Holocaust is irrelevant," that's venomous. Pointing out that Jews in America don't suffer from structural racism the way blacks do is just stating a fact. (At least as far as this Jew is concerned.)

And this Jew, too. And the very fact that those comments quoted above aren't recognized as being antisemtic (or even threatening in the first example) is telling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Black person here. Keep in mind that this is an anonymous forum, so it's impossible to know whether people are who they say they are. IRL, I honestly have not heard of any resentment towards Jews by other AAs.

I grew up in the South and did not really know any Jewish people growing up, never learned about the Holocaust in school, and really didn't meet any self-identified Jews until grad school. My Jewish classmates basically schooled me on a lot of things at that time. At worst I've possibly detected indifference towards Jews among a segment of AAs (again, particularly in the South) but not outright anti-Semitism, especially among people who grew up as I did in predominantly AA settings where people don't know Jews or know much about their history, and some may see them as just another group of white people. However, I currently live in a black and Jewish neighborhood in DC where everyone gets along wonderfully. I like that our kids are growing up learning about each other's cultures, history, holidays, etc.

Also, please keep in mind that the people who post here are not necessarily representative of a community's sentiments towards a particular group of people--opinions on the Internet come with a large selection bias.

I am a [liberal] Jew who also grew up in the South. I didn't have meaningful interactions with large numbers of black people until I became a personal trainer and started working in a gym in my 20s. I think this may be different for blacks and Jews who grew up in cities where both groups had large numbers and lived together in working-class communities in the 1920s-60s. In the South, the Jewish population has always been very small, outside of a handful of large cities.

I do think it gives me a different perspective, however, when I hear the argument that white people have all been turning a blind eye to police brutality and other blatant discrimination in the black community. Until the advent of the internet, we really didn't hear much about it. Black people experienced it every day, but white people only heard about particularly egregious incidents in their communities. A lot of people of color don't believe that; they believe because the discrimination was so prevalent all these years, we white people just didn't care enough about it to fight it. But you readily admit you knew little or nothing about Jews and anti-semitism because you hadn't experienced the world as a Jew or as someone who interacted much with Jewish people. Why is it so hard to believe that a lot of white people, including white liberals, are only in the last few years being "schooled" (as this PP calls it) in the extent and brutality of discrimination against AAs and people of color in the US? The internet has allowed us to see these incidents in bulk, in real time, and from all over the US, even if we don't personally know a lot of African Americans.

As a black person, I hear you and I understand the point you are making. It makes sense to me that the information highway has been super effective in delivering these egregious incidents into our living rooms and kitchen table discussions. You are spot-on, the advent of the internet has changed the way we view the world - police brutality and discrimination against black people is a stark example.

I guess I do take a small issue with you in terms of what many white people knew about this brutality and discrimination. The black issues you identified have been around for a long, long time. Well before the internet. The Civil Rights Movement began in the early 50's and lasted through the late 60's. The reason why the movement was so effective is because it was broadcast by TV and radio into living rooms and kitchen tables. People knew about the issues - indeed, the world knew the issues and America was embarrassed on a daily basis. Then, it was the TV - now, it's the internet, as you rightly described, above. There were no "blind eyes" then or now. So, IMO, the comparison you're making is not valid.

You don't have to believe it, but much as my community brought in Holocaust survivors and Russian refusniks to talk about anti-semitism and discrimination against Jews, your community taught you about the civil rights movement in all its detail (and probably lynchings, police brutality, etc.) when you were a kid in the 1980s and these things were no longer in the news. All I knew about the civil rights movement was that it happened and it was over. I was, indeed, an adult before I even heard there was a counter-narrative to that, much less about ongoing police brutality, the school-to-prison pipeline, etc.. I know that seems impossible coming from your perspective, but it was hard for me to understand how someone could really, truly, not know anything about Jews or Judaism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Avi Meyer on Twitter: Germany, 2018: The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, has warned Jews not to wear kippot (Jewish skullcaps) in major German cities due to the threat of antisemitic attacks. (Die Zeit)

Affects Jews in Metropolitan DC how?

My friend faced the same with her son. The boys in his middle school (middle school boys are the worst) were mocking and insulting him about his yamulke, and she and her husband (both Orthodox Jews) actually told him he didn't have to wear it to school. To the boy's credit, he did not want to back down to the antisemttic kids and hand them a win, and he wore it. Eventually the teasing stopped since it wasn't getting the desired effect, but they did transfer their son to a Jewish private school the following year. This was in a neighborhood bordering the DC line.

I tell you this story because I can tell by your compassionate response that you would sympathize.

I definitely sympathize.
I also sympathize with gays and transgenders who are experiencing an uptick in assaults in the District.
I also sympathize with the homeless who are experiencing an uptick in assaults in the District.
I also sympathize with the residents of Ward 8 who are experiencing an uptick in unemployment and poverty and the accompanying violence that results from those conditions.
Councilmember White may be outright ignorant when it comes to Jews and gays and transgenders and maybe even the homeless throughout the entire city but I give him credit for genuinely caring about his constituents in Ward 8.

Actually, this means that Trayon is even less competent than it seems. Currently, the US is approaching what economists consider full employment level. The unemployment rate among African Americans is at an all-time low. DC's economy is booming, and tax collections are at record levels. The fact that Ward 8 is not participating in much of this reflects how little the council member prioritizes attracting investment, economic development, reducing red tape and emphasizing skills development in his ward. "Genuinely caring" doesn't cut it. And clearly, Trayon genuinely cares more about Minister Farrakhan than actually using his constituent services fund to help... his constituents! (Now there's a novel thought.)

+1. The guy shouldn't even be elected dog catcher.

+ 2. It's been two generations since Marion Barry, and the people in Ward 8 haven't made any progress. With record low black unemployment, how is it going up? Total incompetence.

It hasn't been two generations since Marion Barry -- he died in 2014 and was the sitting councilmember there at the time.

He served on the Ciry Council beginning in 1974 - 44 years ago.

Stop. You're lack of knowledge of this situation is embarrassing. I mean this sincerely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get that more and more swastikas being spray painted on synagogues is distressing. I get that more and more Jews being beat up by hateful bigots is disturbing. But I’d be remiss not to point out that those increasing hate crimes are being committed by civilians not the state and it was the state that carried out the Holocaust in 1930’s Germany.

Is the state still persecuting you in America today?

You ever had somebody call the cops on you simply because you’re Jewish? You ever had the police tell you and your kippot wearing friends to “move along or we’re going to arrest you” simply because you’re Jewish? You ever had an officer pull you over because of the Star of David decal on your SUV? You ever had a judge hand down a harsh sentence on you because your last name denotes that you’re Jewish and turn you over to a corrupt criminal justice system that profits from your people’s pain? You ever have your congressional district redrawn to dilute the value of your vote just because of it’s large Jewish population? You ever had problems trying to cast your vote because there are no polling places in your predominantly Jewish community or you ever had strict voter ID laws put in place in your community to prevent you from exercising your Constitutional right?

Those are all examples of the state coming down on a people. It’s all kinds of nutjobs and assholes out here among the general populace perpetuating discrimination against Jews, yes, but the state isn’t coming after you today with guns drawn ready to kill you and cuffs out eager to compromise your freedoms like in 1930’s Germany.

No, today the state is coming after people of color with guns drawn and cuffs out and when it’s the state doing the discriminating that’s what allows Holocausts to happen.

I'm bout to do my due diligence for a few but y'all go ahead and do me a favor and let me know if this is venomous.

No, this isn't venomous toward Jews at all. Saying things like, "Jews better stop complaining about anti-Semitism or else" or "the Holocaust is irrelevant," that's venomous. Pointing out that Jews in America don't suffer from structural racism the way blacks do is just stating a fact. (At least as far as this Jew is concerned.)

Thank you , this is exactly what some of us have pointed out . Has there been some venom in certain comments ? Sure , but by and large most commenters have simply said the same thing as you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Black person here. Keep in mind that this is an anonymous forum, so it's impossible to know whether people are who they say they are. IRL, I honestly have not heard of any resentment towards Jews by other AAs.

I grew up in the South and did not really know any Jewish people growing up, never learned about the Holocaust in school, and really didn't meet any self-identified Jews until grad school. My Jewish classmates basically schooled me on a lot of things at that time. At worst I've possibly detected indifference towards Jews among a segment of AAs (again, particularly in the South) but not outright anti-Semitism, especially among people who grew up as I did in predominantly AA settings where people don't know Jews or know much about their history, and some may see them as just another group of white people. However, I currently live in a black and Jewish neighborhood in DC where everyone gets along wonderfully. I like that our kids are growing up learning about each other's cultures, history, holidays, etc.

Also, please keep in mind that the people who post here are not necessarily representative of a community's sentiments towards a particular group of people--opinions on the Internet come with a large selection bias.

I am a [liberal] Jew who also grew up in the South. I didn't have meaningful interactions with large numbers of black people until I became a personal trainer and started working in a gym in my 20s. I think this may be different for blacks and Jews who grew up in cities where both groups had large numbers and lived together in working-class communities in the 1920s-60s. In the South, the Jewish population has always been very small, outside of a handful of large cities.

I do think it gives me a different perspective, however, when I hear the argument that white people have all been turning a blind eye to police brutality and other blatant discrimination in the black community. Until the advent of the internet, we really didn't hear much about it. Black people experienced it every day, but white people only heard about particularly egregious incidents in their communities. A lot of people of color don't believe that; they believe because the discrimination was so prevalent all these years, we white people just didn't care enough about it to fight it. But you readily admit you knew little or nothing about Jews and anti-semitism because you hadn't experienced the world as a Jew or as someone who interacted much with Jewish people. Why is it so hard to believe that a lot of white people, including white liberals, are only in the last few years being "schooled" (as this PP calls it) in the extent and brutality of discrimination against AAs and people of color in the US? The internet has allowed us to see these incidents in bulk, in real time, and from all over the US, even if we don't personally know a lot of African Americans.

As a black person, I hear you and I understand the point you are making. It makes sense to me that the information highway has been super effective in delivering these egregious incidents into our living rooms and kitchen table discussions. You are spot-on, the advent of the internet has changed the way we view the world - police brutality and discrimination against black people is a stark example.

I guess I do take a small issue with you in terms of what many white people knew about this brutality and discrimination. The black issues you identified have been around for a long, long time. Well before the internet. The Civil Rights Movement began in the early 50's and lasted through the late 60's. The reason why the movement was so effective is because it was broadcast by TV and radio into living rooms and kitchen tables. People knew about the issues - indeed, the world knew the issues and America was embarrassed on a daily basis. Then, it was the TV - now, it's the internet, as you rightly described, above. There were no "blind eyes" then or now. So, IMO, the comparison you're making is not valid.

You don't have to believe it, but much as my community brought in Holocaust survivors and Russian refusniks to talk about anti-semitism and discrimination against Jews, your community taught you about the civil rights movement in all its detail (and probably lynchings, police brutality, etc.) when you were a kid in the 1980s and these things were no longer in the news. All I knew about the civil rights movement was that it happened and it was over. I was, indeed, an adult before I even heard there was a counter-narrative to that, much less about ongoing police brutality, the school-to-prison pipeline, etc.. I know that seems impossible coming from your perspective, but it was hard for me to understand how someone could really, truly, not know anything about Jews or Judaism.

I'm one of the black PPs from the south. Part of it may be that one group (Jews) is only ~1-2% of the US population, and the other (AAs) has a prevalence in the US of about six times that amount (12%). So it sort of makes sense, aside from any other differences, that many don't know much about Jews/Judaism, but are more familiar with AA history/culture.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Avi Meyer on Twitter: Germany, 2018: The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, has warned Jews not to wear kippot (Jewish skullcaps) in major German cities due to the threat of antisemitic attacks. (Die Zeit)

Affects Jews in Metropolitan DC how?

My friend faced the same with her son. The boys in his middle school (middle school boys are the worst) were mocking and insulting him about his yamulke, and she and her husband (both Orthodox Jews) actually told him he didn't have to wear it to school. To the boy's credit, he did not want to back down to the antisemttic kids and hand them a win, and he wore it. Eventually the teasing stopped since it wasn't getting the desired effect, but they did transfer their son to a Jewish private school the following year. This was in a neighborhood bordering the DC line.

I tell you this story because I can tell by your compassionate response that you would sympathize.

I definitely sympathize.
I also sympathize with gays and transgenders who are experiencing an uptick in assaults in the District.
I also sympathize with the homeless who are experiencing an uptick in assaults in the District.
I also sympathize with the residents of Ward 8 who are experiencing an uptick in unemployment and poverty and the accompanying violence that results from those conditions.
Councilmember White may be outright ignorant when it comes to Jews and gays and transgenders and maybe even the homeless throughout the entire city but I give him credit for genuinely caring about his constituents in Ward 8.

Actually, this means that Trayon is even less competent than it seems. Currently, the US is approaching what economists consider full employment level. The unemployment rate among African Americans is at an all-time low. DC's economy is booming, and tax collections are at record levels. The fact that Ward 8 is not participating in much of this reflects how little the council member prioritizes attracting investment, economic development, reducing red tape and emphasizing skills development in his ward. "Genuinely caring" doesn't cut it. And clearly, Trayon genuinely cares more about Minister Farrakhan than actually using his constituent services fund to help... his constituents! (Now there's a novel thought.)

+1. The guy shouldn't even be elected dog catcher.

+ 2. It's been two generations since Marion Barry, and the people in Ward 8 haven't made any progress. With record low black unemployment, how is it going up? Total incompetence.

It hasn't been two generations since Marion Barry -- he died in 2014 and was the sitting councilmember there at the time.

He served on the Ciry Council beginning in 1974 - 44 years ago.

Stop. You're lack of knowledge of this situation is embarrassing. I mean this sincerely.

Barry won a seat on the newly formed DC Council in 1974 - 44 years ago, as I said. The point is that with all his public service, including his mayoral seat starting in 1979, black people in Ward 8 have made no progress - and this Trayon White idiot can't even turn it around despite record low black unemployment. I wasn't the poster who said he shouldn't even be dog-catcher, but I echo those sentiments. Dump the guy.

http://dccouncil.us/pages/marion-barry-memoriam

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Black person here. Keep in mind that this is an anonymous forum, so it's impossible to know whether people are who they say they are. IRL, I honestly have not heard of any resentment towards Jews by other AAs.

I grew up in the South and did not really know any Jewish people growing up, never learned about the Holocaust in school, and really didn't meet any self-identified Jews until grad school. My Jewish classmates basically schooled me on a lot of things at that time. At worst I've possibly detected indifference towards Jews among a segment of AAs (again, particularly in the South) but not outright anti-Semitism, especially among people who grew up as I did in predominantly AA settings where people don't know Jews or know much about their history, and some may see them as just another group of white people. However, I currently live in a black and Jewish neighborhood in DC where everyone gets along wonderfully. I like that our kids are growing up learning about each other's cultures, history, holidays, etc.

Also, please keep in mind that the people who post here are not necessarily representative of a community's sentiments towards a particular group of people--opinions on the Internet come with a large selection bias.

I am a [liberal] Jew who also grew up in the South. I didn't have meaningful interactions with large numbers of black people until I became a personal trainer and started working in a gym in my 20s. I think this may be different for blacks and Jews who grew up in cities where both groups had large numbers and lived together in working-class communities in the 1920s-60s. In the South, the Jewish population has always been very small, outside of a handful of large cities.

I do think it gives me a different perspective, however, when I hear the argument that white people have all been turning a blind eye to police brutality and other blatant discrimination in the black community. Until the advent of the internet, we really didn't hear much about it. Black people experienced it every day, but white people only heard about particularly egregious incidents in their communities. A lot of people of color don't believe that; they believe because the discrimination was so prevalent all these years, we white people just didn't care enough about it to fight it. But you readily admit you knew little or nothing about Jews and anti-semitism because you hadn't experienced the world as a Jew or as someone who interacted much with Jewish people. Why is it so hard to believe that a lot of white people, including white liberals, are only in the last few years being "schooled" (as this PP calls it) in the extent and brutality of discrimination against AAs and people of color in the US? The internet has allowed us to see these incidents in bulk, in real time, and from all over the US, even if we don't personally know a lot of African Americans.

As a black person, I hear you and I understand the point you are making. It makes sense to me that the information highway has been super effective in delivering these egregious incidents into our living rooms and kitchen table discussions. You are spot-on, the advent of the internet has changed the way we view the world - police brutality and discrimination against black people is a stark example.

I guess I do take a small issue with you in terms of what many white people knew about this brutality and discrimination. The black issues you identified have been around for a long, long time. Well before the internet. The Civil Rights Movement began in the early 50's and lasted through the late 60's. The reason why the movement was so effective is because it was broadcast by TV and radio into living rooms and kitchen tables. People knew about the issues - indeed, the world knew the issues and America was embarrassed on a daily basis. Then, it was the TV - now, it's the internet, as you rightly described, above. There were no "blind eyes" then or now. So, IMO, the comparison you're making is not valid.

You don't have to believe it, but much as my community brought in Holocaust survivors and Russian refusniks to talk about anti-semitism and discrimination against Jews, your community taught you about the civil rights movement in all its detail (and probably lynchings, police brutality, etc.) when you were a kid in the 1980s and these things were no longer in the news. All I knew about the civil rights movement was that it happened and it was over. I was, indeed, an adult before I even heard there was a counter-narrative to that, much less about ongoing police brutality, the school-to-prison pipeline, etc.. I know that seems impossible coming from your perspective, but it was hard for me to understand how someone could really, truly, not know anything about Jews or Judaism.

It isn't that I don't believe you, it's just difficult to understand how someone can live in the U.S. for the past 30-40 years and not be aware of the discrimination and police brutality against blacks that you spoke about.

Indeed, what I learned about the Civil Rights Movement wasn't ONLY about incidents of the past - many of these incidents are happening now and structural racism is a well-oiled machine in America.

I get the sense that you and I are both sympathetic, or even empathetic, to the challenges facing minorities here. Let's not allow some of the toxicity in this thread divide us. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I get that more and more swastikas being spray painted on synagogues is distressing. I get that more and more Jews being beat up by hateful bigots is disturbing. But I’d be remiss not to point out that those increasing hate crimes are being committed by civilians not the state and it was the state that carried out the Holocaust in 1930’s Germany.

Is the state still persecuting you in America today?

You ever had somebody call the cops on you simply because you’re Jewish? You ever had the police tell you and your kippot wearing friends to “move along or we’re going to arrest you” simply because you’re Jewish? You ever had an officer pull you over because of the Star of David decal on your SUV? You ever had a judge hand down a harsh sentence on you because your last name denotes that you’re Jewish and turn you over to a corrupt criminal justice system that profits from your people’s pain? You ever have your congressional district redrawn to dilute the value of your vote just because of it’s large Jewish population? You ever had problems trying to cast your vote because there are no polling places in your predominantly Jewish community or you ever had strict voter ID laws put in place in your community to prevent you from exercising your Constitutional right?

Those are all examples of the state coming down on a people. It’s all kinds of nutjobs and assholes out here among the general populace perpetuating discrimination against Jews, yes, but the state isn’t coming after you today with guns drawn ready to kill you and cuffs out eager to compromise your freedoms like in 1930’s Germany.

No, today the state is coming after people of color with guns drawn and cuffs out and when it’s the state doing the discriminating that’s what allows Holocausts to happen.

I'm bout to do my due diligence for a few but y'all go ahead and do me a favor and let me know if this is venomous.

No, this isn't venomous toward Jews at all. Saying things like, "Jews better stop complaining about anti-Semitism or else" or "the Holocaust is irrelevant," that's venomous. Pointing out that Jews in America don't suffer from structural racism the way blacks do is just stating a fact. (At least as far as this Jew is concerned.)

And this Jew, too. And the very fact that those comments quoted above aren't recognized as being antisemtic (or even threatening in the first example) is telling.

I'm the black man paused to do his due diligence and I will gladly 2nd you above posters.
The person(s) who made comments upthread about "Jews better stop complaining about anti-Semitism or else" and "the Holocaust is irrelevant" - that shit is INDEED venomous. Maybe the person(s) didn't mean it to be, I mean I understand tone/context is everything and for a lotta people written communication is not necessarily their forte so sometimes the point they're trying to make doesn't come across as they intended, but nonetheless you just can't say shit like that. It's not cool and those aren't attitudes that are pervasive among African-Americans.
Black people in this country have always known suffering and thus we are more than capable of perceiving and relate to the suffering of others - from the atrocities against Native Americans to the massacre of Mexicans in the interest of annexing the Southwest and California to the Japanese interment camps to the genocide of Jews in Germany, black people don't dismiss any of that shit or downplay any that shit. If anything we see all of those crimes against humanity as further proof of just how cruel and oppressive ruling classes can be and thus solidifying our argument that racism/discrimination is not a myth in America and there are still cruel and oppressive systems in existence today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Black person here. Keep in mind that this is an anonymous forum, so it's impossible to know whether people are who they say they are. IRL, I honestly have not heard of any resentment towards Jews by other AAs.

I grew up in the South and did not really know any Jewish people growing up, never learned about the Holocaust in school, and really didn't meet any self-identified Jews until grad school. My Jewish classmates basically schooled me on a lot of things at that time. At worst I've possibly detected indifference towards Jews among a segment of AAs (again, particularly in the South) but not outright anti-Semitism, especially among people who grew up as I did in predominantly AA settings where people don't know Jews or know much about their history, and some may see them as just another group of white people. However, I currently live in a black and Jewish neighborhood in DC where everyone gets along wonderfully. I like that our kids are growing up learning about each other's cultures, history, holidays, etc.

Also, please keep in mind that the people who post here are not necessarily representative of a community's sentiments towards a particular group of people--opinions on the Internet come with a large selection bias.

I am a [liberal] Jew who also grew up in the South. I didn't have meaningful interactions with large numbers of black people until I became a personal trainer and started working in a gym in my 20s. I think this may be different for blacks and Jews who grew up in cities where both groups had large numbers and lived together in working-class communities in the 1920s-60s. In the South, the Jewish population has always been very small, outside of a handful of large cities.

I do think it gives me a different perspective, however, when I hear the argument that white people have all been turning a blind eye to police brutality and other blatant discrimination in the black community. Until the advent of the internet, we really didn't hear much about it. Black people experienced it every day, but white people only heard about particularly egregious incidents in their communities. A lot of people of color don't believe that; they believe because the discrimination was so prevalent all these years, we white people just didn't care enough about it to fight it. But you readily admit you knew little or nothing about Jews and anti-semitism because you hadn't experienced the world as a Jew or as someone who interacted much with Jewish people. Why is it so hard to believe that a lot of white people, including white liberals, are only in the last few years being "schooled" (as this PP calls it) in the extent and brutality of discrimination against AAs and people of color in the US? The internet has allowed us to see these incidents in bulk, in real time, and from all over the US, even if we don't personally know a lot of African Americans.

As a black person, I hear you and I understand the point you are making. It makes sense to me that the information highway has been super effective in delivering these egregious incidents into our living rooms and kitchen table discussions. You are spot-on, the advent of the internet has changed the way we view the world - police brutality and discrimination against black people is a stark example.

I guess I do take a small issue with you in terms of what many white people knew about this brutality and discrimination. The black issues you identified have been around for a long, long time. Well before the internet. The Civil Rights Movement began in the early 50's and lasted through the late 60's. The reason why the movement was so effective is because it was broadcast by TV and radio into living rooms and kitchen tables. People knew about the issues - indeed, the world knew the issues and America was embarrassed on a daily basis. Then, it was the TV - now, it's the internet, as you rightly described, above. There were no "blind eyes" then or now. So, IMO, the comparison you're making is not valid.

You don't have to believe it, but much as my community brought in Holocaust survivors and Russian refusniks to talk about anti-semitism and discrimination against Jews, your community taught you about the civil rights movement in all its detail (and probably lynchings, police brutality, etc.) when you were a kid in the 1980s and these things were no longer in the news. All I knew about the civil rights movement was that it happened and it was over. I was, indeed, an adult before I even heard there was a counter-narrative to that, much less about ongoing police brutality, the school-to-prison pipeline, etc.. I know that seems impossible coming from your perspective, but it was hard for me to understand how someone could really, truly, not know anything about Jews or Judaism.

I'm one of the black PPs from the south. Part of it may be that one group (Jews) is only ~1-2% of the US population, and the other (AAs) has a prevalence in the US of about six times that amount (12%). So it sort of makes sense, aside from any other differences, that many don't know much about Jews/Judaism, but are more familiar with AA history/culture.

Jew here. Even more than the fact that we are only 2% of the population (less, even ), we are clustered in cities. In rural areas, you can drive 100 miles without running into a Jew. That means that rural folks can live well into adulthood without even meeting a Jew.

I told the following story in this forum befor and and was told I was lying, but here goes: When I was in high school (MoCo) in the mid 70s, a girl moved into town, we got to talking, it came out that I was Jewish, and her mouth dropped open "But you don't have horns. I was told that Jews have horns!" She was so out of touch that she didn't even realize how insulting this was - she just thought this was a physical trait specific to Jews.

I swear to G-d.