Absolutely. Everything you read on this site about our candidates and leaders is true. We used to be a little shy to say all this stuff in public, but what the hell, it’s time to treat the American public like adults and be very clear about who we are and what we stand for.
People don’t frighten themselves. It takes courage and leadership to spread fear and division, and we’re just the right people to provide that courage and leadership.
As 2016 showed, we don’t actually need to win a majority of votes to take power and force our values on the entire country (see also: 2000). Between racist gerrymandering, dismantling the Voting Rights Act, voter ID laws, taking away hundreds of polling locations in Southern states, and now attempting to undermine the post office, we’re feeling pretty good about 2020.
Well, some of us are true believers. And for the rest of us, disavowing it would weaken our chances to hold onto wealth and power. Condoning white nationalism keeps us right where we want to be.
Oh, you noticed? We put a lot of effort into this and it feels good to have our work be recognized.
It’s simple: Ever heard of the old schoolyard trick, “He who smelt it dealt it?”
Just like when you point at someone else so no one thinks you farted, Republicans accuse our enemies of antisemitism so people don’t think Republicans use antisemitism.
Hmm, about that….We have noticed that most people haven’t responded well to the increase in violence and antisemitic incidents in the current administration. We read somewhere that 73% of Jewish voters feel less safe today than they did four years ago. Yikes.
I mean it might have something to do with us using language that promotes antisemitic and racist theories. And it certainly isn’t helping us when people talk about those same theories motivating the shooters at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the Chabad of Poway, the Walmart in El Paso, and even internationally in Christchurch, New Zealand. It’s been particularly unhelpful when people notice that the shooters have said some of the same things we say on Fox News.
But back to the main thing from earlier, we can always deflect the blame! That’s why it’s so great when patriots like Liz Cheney decided that we should all call Democrats antisemites, socialists, and radicals every chance we get. Or when Dan Crenshaw heroically blames the latest shooting on a New York Times cartoonist to distract from our party rhetoric that clearly mirrored the attack.
And has it been working? Pretty well, actually, thanks for asking. One study found that the media talks a lot more about “antisemitism on the left” than far-right extremism, which we feel A-OK about.
And fun fact: Our fake care about antisemitism isn’t really about Jews for us, anyway. Most of the stuff we say about Jews is really meant to shore up our evangelical base and try to make us sound like good people. Accusing others of antisemitism is a nice way to shift attention away from our own antisemitism.
Hate’s a strong word, don’t you agree? Put yourself in our shoes. We’re mostly white and we’ve always been in power. It’s just sort of threatening when people start talking about racial justice and demanding equality. Over the years we’ve found it much easier to suppress voices and votes so we don’t have to think too hard about how to govern a multiracial country where everyone can belong.
If more people in this country have access to justice and opportunity, it might threaten our power a bit. A few years ago, some very fine people marched to Unite the Right in Charlottesville, and we liked what they had to say so much, we turned their chants into our talking points this year. So let’s get to it: we’re here to proudly defend our ‘heritage’ of celebrating chattel slavery, decry the ‘replacement’ of our culture, and call anyone who thinks otherwise a ‘radical leftist’ (whose part of a Jewish conspiracy).
While not every one of us has said or done something overt, we all feel fine being part of the same political party as Donald Trump and his enablers, which has come to represent hate and division.Which is to say, yes. We’re all in this together. And we’re OK with it.