Reply to Diversity, equity, inclusion but not for Jews?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I recall a huge outpouring of support for the Jewish community after the Tree of Life shooting. As with the Atlanta shootings, there were also people who wanted to minimize the fact that Jews were targeted in the shooting and the impact these acts of violence have on Jewish people.

I have also discussed with many people the impact of seeing so much Nazi imagery in prominent places in the last 6 years ago as white supremacy has gained traction in many places including the White House. It is alarming and raises red flags for many of us who are not Jewish.

I am sorry your CEO did not acknowledge the Tree of Life shooting -- he should have. I do think we've undergone a huge shift in how our culture talks about these hate crimes and in particular on how we think about how they impact members of the targeted groups. I think we will continue to change. I personally think that we are currently in a weird knee jerk place now where people often speak up because they feel they have to in order to protect their own reputations, and not always from a place of human empathy. I hope we keep working on it.

I do think we should be extremely cautious about viewing any of this in a comparative way. There are common threads among the violence and threats of violence that marginalized groups experience. You can draw parallels, for instance, between the way that Jewish people and Asians are both often viewed as "model minorities" with positive stereotypes associated with them by the dominant white Christian culture. But these issues are complex. For instance, the Atlanta shootings likely involve an element of fetishization that is so prevalent in the way white men, in particular, view Asian women. It is also important to see how sex workers were targeted in this awful crime. So there are common threads but also differences. The details matter.

I think if it seems like this was an intentional (or even unconscious but nevertheless biased) oversight by your CEO, you could bring it up. However, I think you should be thoughtful about it. It's entirely possible that your CEO was deeply troubled by the Tree of Life shooting but that it happened before he had the skill set to speak on it. Alternatively, it's possible your CEO doesn't care about any of these events but now feels compelled to say something due to shifting societal expectations. I would encourage you to not view these things as 1:1 comparisons but to think holistically about what is happening and tailor or response to the specifics of a given situation.[/quote]

Yes to all this.  Just to add that as a Latina who is very much involved in my faith community, the Tree of Life killings hit me right in the gut.  I could readily imagine the quite early morning bustle in the synagogue -- the folks who were regulars in preparing for worship and who thus became targets of a killer filled with hate.  I could readily imagine the pain and anger of the Tree of Life community, and the deep hole this killing left behind.  I felt the same way about the murders at Mother Emanuel.  And, even in a different context, I feel despair and anger over the shootings in Atlanta.  Please, let's not turn this into the Olympics of oppression.  Let's stand together to fight hate and advocate for justice and inclusion for all.   [/quote]

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