- DAWN is Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper.
Funny! I did not write that headline! I am totally comfortable writing, "As a Jew, . . . " The headline editor of Dawn came up with that language, perhaps because of some kind of sensitivity in Pakistan.
Wow, interesting question. For sure. And, actually, it is one that I have thought about, albeit decades ago, not recently. There ARE negative connotations to the word "Jew". There are echoes and ghosts of lingering anti-semitism. Some elements in the larger society attaches negative judgment to being a Jew, which for them is the "other". That has had terrible consequences, as you must know. And, honestly, I don't think that is entirely over yet. Nonetheless, I am a Jew. If anyone has a problem with that, it's their problem -- not mine. If some parts of society put some negativity onto that identity, me using some other form of labeling is certainly not going to solve that problem. One way to counter that negativity is to apologetically claim the identity. When I grew up -- and even today -- there were organizations called things like the Young Mens Hebrew Association and the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, instead of the Young Mens Jewish Association and the Baltimore Jewish Congregation. I think that choice of public naming was a defensive measure by Jews who found themselves needing to negotiate life in a society dominated by a culture which imposed negative judgments on Jews. Possibly they thought that Hebrew had fewer negative connotations than "Jewish". Anyway, Fan, that's a good question. Thank you. I hope my reply offers you some understanding of my own personal perspective.
Thank you for elaborating. As a person in no association with the Jewish life, I have barely any idea what it's like to be a Jew, especially given that most of my context comes from people on less that favourable terms with the "lil' Jews" (that's the best I can translate the dimunitive Russian term "еврейчик", used often by my mother). While I did get a glimpse of your perspective, I am, nonetheless, hungry to know more. I'm interested in what it's like to be a person of the community as oppressed, subtly but strongly, as Jewish. I hope it's okay if I ask further questions like this in the future.
That's great, Fanfic. I love questions. I have many myself. I would thoroughly enjoy being honored by you sharing your questions with me.
"As a Russian person, I can say that we don't have such a difference in our language, so it's new to me". Compare: "As a Russian, I can say that we don't have such a difference in our language, so it's new to me". It's true: that adds formality to it. To be frank, it's possible to translate "Ecksian person" into Russian proper: "человек иксовой крови" or "человек иксового происхождения", but it sounds more anthropological.
Perhaps my phrasing was wrong, then. The way it was structured in my brain was how Jew has become an insult or pointed quip over millennia; thus, writing the long form of identification makes this more personable. The two points aren't mutually exclusive. The statement is who he is, and being very clear as to not mix in the stigma of what a "Jew" is.
Over my Hubski presence I've always called myself "a Russian" - that is, a member of the Russian national community, born into and by blood. It doesn't make me less of a person or more diluted into the national stereotype, as many of the hubskiers will agree. I mean no offence to the author; oppressed communities - Jews, blacks, hispanics - seem to be the only ones to used that construction, and I find it weird that they even have to.
Uber didn't do this. Uber didn't break the taxi strike at the airport. Uber had stopped surge pricing to the airport. Some questioned that if Uber had joined the strike, how anyone would get out of the airport that day. Uber apologized for the miscommunication. Depending on how they do this, it might be discriminatory to hire a group of people over others. Every day, people make choices about what they purchase and whether and how to get involved in politics. What does his being Jewish have to do with it? It sounds a little self-righteous to imply that only religious people have the heart to help those in need.I deleted the Uber app when its CEO exploited the plight of refugees stranded at JFK airport in New York City to make a few more bucks.
We’re sorry for any confusion about our earlier tweet — it was not meant to break up any strike,” a spokesperson for Uber said. “We wanted people to know they could use Uber to get to and from JFK at normal prices, especially last night.”
And, I made a special point of ordering a Starbucks cappuccino for a stranger on the street when its CEO announced that he'll hire 10,000 refugees to work at his stores in the next two years.
I think the correct answer to your question is centered around a certain historical event that impacted the Jews.What does his being Jewish have to do with it? It sounds a little self-righteous to imply that only religious people have the heart to help those in need.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. As I said to the dog of jade, people will take what they want from a text and interpret it as they need to. You quoted this suggesting that the author was saying that religious people are more compassionate: I don't see any arrogance in that observation. I agree that it is often in the nature of people to fear people who are different from them and target them for exclusion. There is a lot of evidence too that compassion is part of human nature. And so we are programmed for both love and fear. My sense is that the author examined his own need to act and saw the origins of his outrage in how he lives daily in the world. Others, based on their own experience and action or lack of action, can explain themselves any way they want to. The Pakistani newspaper solicited this article from this author as an attempt to build greater compassion between diverse groups. Given the comments from the Karachi readers, it seems to have succeeded. Thank you again for your challenging comments.Being a religious figure can make one just as blind to good coming from non-religious people as to evil committed by the members of their own group.
Absolutely right. It takes a very long time to let go of the stories we tell ourselves. That particular author has been fighting for Palestinean rights along with many other people.it seems to be human nature to do the opposite.
I don't think you're terribly wrong, but maybe we need to pay more attention when someone says "I feel a certain way, and I'd like to talk to you about it." Sometimes, we just can't help how we feel, and it's therapeutic to know that someone else listened to what you have to say. After all the emotions are on the table, then we can start constructively attacking logical fallacies and plan a best course of action. In an ideal world.
I take issue with the implication here, not that someone has an emotional connection and wants to talk about it, but with the idea that the person being Jewish matters in any shape or way on their ability to judge the situation. I am certain the "as a Jewish person" is taken as a pro for their argument, rather than as a con, and as a sign that someone needs to be comforted and brought back to "reality" from their emotions driving their thoughts.
Thank you for asking me to describe the image. The historical event is the holocaust. There have been other hate-based genocides. The US Holocaust Museum website says, The image I posted is called the pyramid of hate and it suggests that a society starts with bias and prejudicial attitudes which can develop into discrimination and perhaps genocide. Here's another version:Are you saying that the author is analogizing the actions of the US with this historical event?
Genocide is often preceded and accompanied by widespread hate speech. The leaders who planned mass killings in the Holocaust, Rwanda, and Srebrenica disseminated ideologies of hatred to spur their followers to act, to cow bystanders into passivity, and to justify their crimes.
My Crusades prof alluded to some theory drawing a line between previous slaughter in Germany and the Holocaust. Will have to get home to edit this comment with its name.
Yeah, Jadedog, I don't imply that only religious people have the heart to help. In fact, sadly, as I look around this broken world we live in, I see many people who perceive themselves to be religious to also be very bigoted, selfish, negative toward others, etc. Many people who reject religion are quite welcoming, generous, caring, compassionate, etc. I am speaking as clearly as I can of this one guy who I know -- myself. I am not speaking for anyone else.
Ah, now it's clear why I'm getting so much negative feedback on my thoughts on your article. I guessed you were related to lil after kanto's comment but by then it was too late to retract my opinion. I wish there were a bit more transparency about the reason for the OP. I still disagree with your article in several ways, but I'll take my leave since I'm getting the idea that the article wasn't to be debated, but more announced. Congrats on the publication of it.
While you've come to the correct conclusion there was some relation, that was a standalone "ah-ha!" moment I wanted to express. On the other hand, feel free to ask in the comments or PM if you're confused in the future. :) I think miv hit the nail on the head in his response to this comment. Disagreement is an opportunity to reach shared ground, if not a little bit more understanding of eachother. Hubski is just as much a sounding board as you'd like it to be - and civil about it no less!
Well, Jadedog, thank you for the congrats. I feel very good about it being published and shared with people in Pakistan. There are 88 comments on the Pakistani website; some of them have 100+ likes. The editor told me on the day it was published it was one of the ten most-read pieces in English in Pakistan. So, I do feel good about sharing the perspective expressed in it. You say you still disagree. The whole purpose of Hubski is to provide a venue for thoughtful discussion, right? So, disagreement is a good thing when we share and explore ideas. I thank you for your comments.
Thanks for the links about uber and the taxi strike. Very informative. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see where the author implies that The author says "Along with millions of other Americans, I'm doing what I can to resist." Seems to me that he's recognizing all acts of resistance, but saying that his own resistance includes personal feelings of "heartfelt connection with religious people of all kinds" -- notably Muslims. The author says that aside from being a Jew, his activism comes from being American, "with all the rights and responsibilities of an American citizen. This gives me particular opportunities and, consequently, obligations to act." It doesn't sound self-righteous to me - but there are many ways to read words.only religious people have the heart to help those in need.
You're right. We read those words differently. To me, by his constant bringing it up as one of the reasons for his actions, he implies that his compassion comes from his religion. For many people, compassion comes from being human.It doesn't sound self-righteous to me - but there are many ways to read words.
As a normal person I don't really see this epidemic of either muslims being targeted or doing bad things. I see a political move by someone who doesn't understand the world and things you can solve terrorism by the knowledge he's gotten by way of arguments on the internet and common right-leaning talking points. I see a community who generally says that all groups and all people are "good", but that their logic for the bans are that the cultures which are overseas are toxic and/or negative, and/or whatever else. I see hysteria about people lying about being targeted for being muslim. I see hysteria about how refugees are evil and attacking women. I see a bunch of bullshit being flung for no good reason to get both sides angry and righteous and unwilling to understand the other side. As a normal person, I do not like that.
As someone who has a very good friend listed as "muslim" on their visa, we have to repeal this federal-level bullshit right now. The rest of that mess can wait just one more day, but I would like to clean it up as quickly as possible, of course.