5 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: [Updated] Who runs /r/Holocaust? Each line represents a moderator overlap. [OC]
Let's be real, hatred fucking sucks. Be it someone who economically may take your job or an incredibly disproportionate, from a total statistical standpoint, relevance in certain areas.
In all sincerity, I'm Jewish but remarkably average. I'm myself first, American second, Jewish...somewhere after all that.
Comment by TangoZippo at 23/07/2014 at 04:33 UTC
8 upvotes, 2 direct replies
The social factors that led to Jewish success in America are essentially nullified by assimilation and modernity.
When Jews arrived in America, mostly in the early 20th century, they were in a sort of "sweet spot" of racism -- there was sufficient antisemitism to force the community to retain strong communal bonds, but since they were white (not all Jews are white, but this wave of immigrants were almost all ashkenaz) they were still able to more or less engage in public commerce.
This built on two long-term advantages:
1. Jewish culture places an extremely high value on education (for example, the Talmud teaches that all boys and girls are required to be literate, something that was basically unheard of elsewhere prior to the last 300 years or so).
2. For antisemitic reasons, Jews were excluded from the feudal systems in Europe. In the short-term, this was very bad for Jews because it basically means you couldn't farm at all. However, in the long-run, this led to an emphasis on trade and merchant professions.
So Jews arrived in America: with more drive to be educated; with cultural inclinations to become professionals or businesspeople instead of farmers; hated enough to force the community to stick together and build strong bonds and institutions; but accepted enough that they could participate in the economy.
However, in American today, things have changed. American Jews are more assimilated, to the point at which, one might have a hard time telling apart secular Jews from secular gentiles based merely on culture, language and mannerisms (as opposed to for example, Quebec Jews, who any Quebecor can spot as Jewish as soon as they start talking). The value of education is widely accepted throughout America, and the number of people employed in agriculture has significantly declined.
Comment by [deleted] at 23/07/2014 at 04:33 UTC
-6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
IMO hatred is something that should be reserved for individuals who've personally wronged you. I don't think there's anything wrong with prejudice based on fact though. I'm more wary around black people because statistically they're *far* more likely to rob or murder you.