David Duke loves Trump but hates this
Dec 8, 2016 12:35:28 GMT
benson, traveler, and 2 more like this
Post by ck4829 on Dec 8, 2016 12:35:28 GMT
“Race” is a historically contingent and subjective category that is used to justify violence against minority groups. I specifically wrote about American Jews because their experiences—which are incredibly diverse and varied—show the hypocrisies and limits of these racial categories. Looking at the historical experiences of this one particular group, and the present-day tensions its faces, is a means of critiquing the way “whiteness” is used to delineate who is and isn’t considered powerful and valuable in society.
When I was first looking into writing this article, I worried that the question might be stale. A number of scholars, including Emory’s Eric Goldstein, whom I interviewed; UCLA’s Karen Brodkin; and, most recently, Princeton’s Mitchell Duneier have written about the way Jews relate to whiteness, from a variety of different angles. I wondered whether this debate would seem too esoteric and niche—a conversation of interest only to a small group of Jews and scholars, but effectively irrelevant outside of those circles.
The reaction I’ve gotten has been surprising, and shows that this is clearly not the case. Certain parts of the Jewish community are having conversations along these lines; others seem stunned that this is a question at all. A lot of people seem to feel strongly that talking about Jews in terms of race—even to challenge the notion that Jews could ever fit neatly into a single racial category, which is what my article is about—is thought-provoking or, at worst, dangerous.
Some other excerpts:
Racial categories are flawed, socially constructed, and ultimately premised on control and power. But ignoring questions about race is not a way of bringing about racial justice or overturning white supremacy. It’s a way of stifling understanding, debate, and awareness.
I have also gotten feedback from the other side—folks who believe that questioning racial categories is part of the scourge of “leftism”.
And...
As a final aside, I think it’s instructive to look at how real Nazi sympathizers reacted to my piece. David Duke, who is a Holocaust denier, former Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard, and unabashed white supremacist, was also apparently enraged by our headline—he seems to have read it as an argument that Jews are white.
The fact that this makes David Duke angry—that the mere suggestion that Jews might be considered white by some people sets him into an all-caps Twitter rage—is exactly why I wrote this piece.
www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/12/jews-whiteness/509606/
When I was first looking into writing this article, I worried that the question might be stale. A number of scholars, including Emory’s Eric Goldstein, whom I interviewed; UCLA’s Karen Brodkin; and, most recently, Princeton’s Mitchell Duneier have written about the way Jews relate to whiteness, from a variety of different angles. I wondered whether this debate would seem too esoteric and niche—a conversation of interest only to a small group of Jews and scholars, but effectively irrelevant outside of those circles.
The reaction I’ve gotten has been surprising, and shows that this is clearly not the case. Certain parts of the Jewish community are having conversations along these lines; others seem stunned that this is a question at all. A lot of people seem to feel strongly that talking about Jews in terms of race—even to challenge the notion that Jews could ever fit neatly into a single racial category, which is what my article is about—is thought-provoking or, at worst, dangerous.
Some other excerpts:
Racial categories are flawed, socially constructed, and ultimately premised on control and power. But ignoring questions about race is not a way of bringing about racial justice or overturning white supremacy. It’s a way of stifling understanding, debate, and awareness.
I have also gotten feedback from the other side—folks who believe that questioning racial categories is part of the scourge of “leftism”.
And...
As a final aside, I think it’s instructive to look at how real Nazi sympathizers reacted to my piece. David Duke, who is a Holocaust denier, former Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard, and unabashed white supremacist, was also apparently enraged by our headline—he seems to have read it as an argument that Jews are white.
The fact that this makes David Duke angry—that the mere suggestion that Jews might be considered white by some people sets him into an all-caps Twitter rage—is exactly why I wrote this piece.
www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/12/jews-whiteness/509606/
