|
|
|
For Bigots Only
 After
accusing various popes, saints,
politicians, celebrities, and even my humble self of anti-Semitism over the
years, the columnist Richard Cohen is shocked to find that he has been
accused of anti-Semitism himself. I’m surprised that he is shocked.
He has written critically of the state of Israel, and he’s now one of a
number of liberal Jews (the historian Tony Judt is another) finding
themselves in the same
dock.  How
could he not have seen this coming?
This genie
has been out of the bottle for a long time. It isn’t just Jews, of
course; any number can play (except Christians, who are to blame for so
many evils). When Senator Joe Biden tried to pay Barack Obama an innocent
compliment the other day, he found himself facing the charge of implying
that black politicians speak poor English, don’t bathe, and wear baggy
zoot suits. Watch what you say. Another columnist, David Brooks, has
written that the word neoconservative is now an anti-Semitic
code-word for Jew.
Never mind
the Jews who call themselves neocons. “Self-haters,” no doubt.
I’ve always liked Woody Allen’s reply to that label:
“It’s true that I’m Jewish, and I don’t like myself
very much, but it has nothing to do with my religion.” Liberal though he
is, Cohen is subject to spasms of common sense and humor, either of which
can be perilous. Humorlessness is threatening to become our national
religion. A country that considers Robin Williams funny is already in deep
trouble.
Sports
fans know that the names of their teams are apt to be found “deeply
offensive” to alleged spokesmen — oops, spokespersons —
for this or that ethnic group, such as Indians — oops, Native
Americans. Once upon a time somebody named a Boston baseball team the
Braves, thinking it was innocuous, a way of saluting brave warriors (teams
aren’t named for creatures that are held in contempt, such as
rodents, but for beasts and people associated with power and valor, such as
lions and tigers and bears); Babe Ruth played for them for a while. Later they
moved to Milwaukee and nobody complained. It wasn’t until long after
the Braves had moved to Atlanta that outrage erupted. Maybe it would have
been more prudent to call them the Atlanta Persons.
The forces
of Organized Touchiness never rest. That includes the Joke Police. The only
safety lies in bland solemnity. America is littered with the casualties of the
bigotry wars — people who have asserted, suggested, or said things
that might possibly be construed to imply anything that Al Sharpton or Abe
Foxman finds prejudicial. Never say anything that reminds these people of
slavery or the Holocaust, unless you are prepared to do a lot of groveling.
Even Marlon Brando had to crawl after blurting that Jews run Hollywood.
It’s
no use saying you’re not prejudiced; that’s what bigots always
say. Anyway, how would you know? Bigotry may be unconscious.
That’s what makes it so insidious.
At the
moment, the gravest offense against minorities is Holocaust denial.
It’s worse than actually murdering them. In fact you might be more
readily excused for defending the Holocaust than for expressing doubt of its
occurrence.
![[Breaker quote for For Bigots Only: I know you're out there.]](2007breakers/070208.gif) With
millions of new Mexican, Muslim, and Asian (don’t say “Oriental,” let alone
“Chinaman!”) immigrants pouring in, we can expect an
intensification of the Sensitivity Sweepstakes. I tremble for my country
when I reflect that the Almighty has a sense of humor and that he cannot
suppress his laughter forever.
Here on
earth, in the Land of the Free, you are guilty if accused. Even if you
haven’t actually lynched or gassed anyone, you are guilty of having
been accused. It’s not up to you to say whether you are a racist or
anti-Semite; even if the charge is false by objective standards, you obviously
did something to make someone want to make a false charge. Simple logic. I
must have done something to make Richard Cohen accuse me, and now he
must have done something to make someone else accuse him. Let’s
not get bogged down in irresolvable issues of truth and falsehood.
But
doesn’t this mean anyone can be accused of racism and
anti-Semitism? Now you’re getting the idea! In the Soviet Union, anyone
could be accused of “anti-Soviet activities,” a term that would
have been useless if it had ever been clearly defined. Your own show trial
may be just a matter of time.
Joseph Sobran |
||
| Copyright © 2007 by the
Griffin Internet Syndicate, a division of Griffin Communications This column may not be reprinted in print or Internet publications without express permission of Griffin Internet Syndicate 
|
||
|
||
|
Archive Table of Contents
Current Column Return to the SOBRAN’S home page. |
||
|
|
| FGF E-Package columns by Joe Sobran, Sam Francis, Paul Gottfried, and others are available in a special e-mail subscription provided by the Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation. Click here for more information. |