#erasure of black jews

[cepheusgalaxy]

"Blackwashing" "too-woke headcanons" sure but when it's an aspec character then suddenly it's "LET'S PEOPLE ENJOY FANDOM."

[jewishvitya]

Why do we do this thing where we're like "You wouldn't do this to another marginalized community."

I just saw a video of a bi person going "people act like the only bi woman is white and middle class, but they don't do that with lesbians or gay men." I immediately thought "Yes they do, though."

I've seen people say it with "people wouldn't say it about Jews" as a talking point against racism, with examples that I've definitely seen happen to Jewish people. "People wouldn't say this to a Black person" about comments I've seen Black people receive.

"Don't tell me I can heal my invisible disabilities with enough willpower, people wouldn't say that to a wheelchair user!" - they say it.

It's rare that a bigoted mindset doesn't replicate itself across groups. There are specifics for each marginalized group, but if a shitty attitude exists towards one, it most likely exists towards others. If you haven't seen it - it's probably your positioning.

If you want to discuss an issue you experience, you don't have to use another marginalized group as an example of someone who has it better. If you're wrong and they do suffer, you just contributed to erasure.

[probablyasocialecologist]

Since the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip started, I have been reviewing British media and its everyday items, such as the newspaper, phone, posters, and TV channels that seep into the public’s consciousness. Without the critical tools and education to puncture through their framing, we become complicit and easily intimidated. Some media outlets have gone as far as spreading misinformation, which surely would have been considered a hate crime in other contexts. Both the Daily Telegraph and The Times chose this misinformation as the headline for their October 11th issues. Although some (not all!) of those newspapers have already retracted their original false claims, the damage has already been done.   The Guardian chose to adorn its main headline for October 12th with the words ‘Israelis suspended between fear, grief and foreboding.’ The Daily Mail selected ‘The King Calls Them Terrorists, Why Can’t the BBC?’ Marching to the same beat, the Daily Telegraph opted to plaster the Royals’ condemnation of Hamas on its front pages. Survey the pages of the newspapers, and the stories eliciting support and empathy for Israel abound, making it clear who the perpetrators are and that vengeance against them is justified. Meanwhile, the Palestinians are only evoked through the register of terrorism and violence. Even those headlines, which are shy in their coverage of the Israeli genocide in Gaza, intentionally omit the perpetrators: the Israeli army and state. They are designed to neglect the root and cause of the violence: Israeli settler colonialism. By settler colonialism, we mean the gradual transfer of European Jews to the land of Palestine, the coercive displacement and dispossession of the indigenous Palestinian population, and the imposition of a coordinated and sustainable system that turns this displacement into a continuous process.  Western media relies on racial, gendered, and colonial tropes to describe the atrocities in Palestine. It instrumentalizes white female faces to elicit support for Israel. Such a tactic simultaneously serves racism, patriarchy, and colonialism. It relies on notions of white female ‘innocence’ and ‘victimhood’ to justify the continuous erasure of Palestine. In a headline by the Daily Telegraph about a British IDF female soldier, below, we are shown a smiling white female soldier wearing military attire and a keffiyeh on her head. Neither the photograph nor the article questions why a British citizen is justified in enlisting in a settler army elsewhere, let alone the same army that is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. To the contrary, the article frames such enlisting as voluntary and dignified. These strategies bring to mind 9/11, Laura Bush, and the weaponization of white feminism in the service of imperialist and colonial expansion. Black and Brown feminist scholars and activists, including Lila Abu Lughod, bell hooks, Angela Davis, Audre Lorde amongst others, have long debunked and punctured through such strategies. It is this same white feminism that has been utilized by the media and governments to justify the intensification of Israeli brutality against the Palestinian residents of Gaza. 

[determinate-negation]

What is important to understand about that moment was that Zionism was a political choice — not only by western imperial powers, but also by Jewish leadership. They could have fought more strenuously for Jewish immigration to the United States. And a lot of the Zionist leaders actually fought against immigration to the United States. There were a number of stories reported in the Jewish Communist press about how Zionists collaborated with the British and Americans to force Jews to go to Mandate Palestine, when they would have rather gone to the United States, or England. There’s a famous quote by Ernest Bevin, the British Foreign Secretary, who said the only reason the United States sent Jews to Palestine was ​“because they do not want too many more of them in New York.” And the Zionists agreed with this.

While this may seem like ancient history, it is important because it disrupts the common sense surrounding Israel’s formation. ​“Yes, maybe there could have been peace between Jews and Palestinians, but the Holocaust made all of that impossible.” And I would say that this debate after 1945 shows that there was a long moment in which there were other possibilities, and another future could have happened

[…]

Question: Who or what is responsible for the erasure of this history of Jewish, left anti-Zionism?

I wouldn’t blame the erasure solely on the Soviet Union or Zionism, because we also have to think of the Cold War and how the Cold War destroyed the old Jewish left, and really drove it underground and shattered its organizations. So I think we also have to see how the turn toward Zionism was understood as something that would normalize Jews in a post-war era.

With the execution of the Rosenbergs, the Red Scare of the late 1940s and ​’50s, and the virtual banning of the Communist Party, which had been throughout the 1930s and ​’40s half Jewish, for much of the Jewish establishment, aligning themselves with American imperialism was a way for Jews to normalize their presence in the United States. And hopefully that moment has to some degree passed. We can see the emptiness and barrenness of aligning ourselves with an American imperial project, with people like Bari Weiss and Jared Kushner. Why would someone like Bari Weiss, who describes herself as liberal, want to align herself with the most reactionary forces in American life?

It’s a bloody matrix of assimilation and whiteness that emerged out of the Cold War suburbanization of the 1950s. Israel was part of that devil’s bargain. Yes, you can become real Americans: You can go to good U.S. universities, you can join the suburbs, enter into the mainstream of American life, as long as you do this one little thing for us, which is back the American Empire. Hopefully, with the emergence of new grassroots organizations in the United States, among Jews and non-Jews who are questioning the U.S. role supporting Zionism, this calculus can begin to change. With the rise of Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow, the Democratic Socialists of America and the Movement for Black Lives all taking a serious stance against U.S. support for Zionism, the common sense in the Jewish community has begun to move in a different direction, particularly among the younger generation. The battle is very far from over, but it makes me just a little optimistic about the future.”

- The Forgotten History of the Jewish Anti-Zionist Left

[jewishbarbies]

the erasure of jewish identities of superheroes bother me so much… that is core symbolism and representation and the creations of JEWISH PEOPLE as a result of what jewish people have gone through. how are you gonna pretend they dont exist.

the christian-ification of superman is my 13th reason. there’s no way you, as an appropriator of jewish beliefs as is, is going to take the most obvious Moses allegory ever and pretend like acktually that’s jesus. and give him BLUE EYES. the excuse from nerdbros is always some shitty word salad about “every character has multiple iterations so there’s no TRUE canon” and then get mad when there’s a black spiderman. it’s the same bullshit when you say scarlet witch is roma and more recently also jewish. like the mcu literally decided that judaism is the same as christianity so the son of a rabbi is like the son of a priest and therefore has religious trauma when the character in question canonically only had religious adjacent trauma because of antisemitic crimes against him, as if daredevil isn’t RIGHT THERE. he has enough catholic guilt to cover it. but no, we’re going to fuck up an infamously jewish character for the hell of it. the absolute disrespect shown to not only jewish characters, but the jews who created them, is insane. there’s no way you can claim to love and respect stan lee and then pull that fucking shit.

[swolesome]

What if I told you that the antidote to Islamophobia isn't Antisemitism?

CW for this post (you have seen the title.) I feel like this shouldn't need explaining, but merciful Brigid, some of the shit I have seen. It's time for Led Tasso to come out. I'm not Jewish, let's just get that out of the way first, but my position on Palestine is largely informed by Jewish people who have been protesting for decades about the horrific treatment of Palestinians being done by a settler colonial state appropriating their religion, culture, language, and trauma. Fascist governments weaponizing fear and hiding behind religion is a well known tactic, and the fact that so many people have put this readily available information from their minds, specifically in this conversation, speaks to how incredibly pernicious antisemitism really is. I'm treading lightly here because as someone who's not Jewish, it really isn't my place to explain the cultural complexities, trauma, or general experiences of Jewish people. But if you haven't seen those discussions crossing your feed, you should be looking inward and asking why. Because if you're not invested in Jewish voices right now (or in general), that's a red flag for the kind of rhetoric you've internalized and the struggles you take seriously. The position I can speak from, however, is one of being committed to challenging all forms of systemic violence and oppression. So from that stance, and I cannot stress this enough: If you are fighting for some at cost to others, you are reinforcing oppression. It is wild to me that "Nazi" has come to mean "The worst thing a person can be" without recognition of the fact that the ideology is inherently antisemitic, that this is its centrepiece, that Jews are the number one target. This separation is, once again, an example of how insidious this brand of hatred really is--blatant erasure of the way Jewish people are uniquely targeted. I know a lot of trans people follow me, so here's a fun fact: You know the "Doctors are transing our kids to damage fertility rates!" conspiracy? You can thank antisemitism for that, too! It's literally just a rebrand of the Great Replacement conspiracy, which is modernized "protection of Aryan bloodlines." The most recent chapter of "My Life as A Bigot" by Joanne Klan Rowling isn't just another gleeful display of her hatred of trans people, it's another addition to the laundry list of antisemitic beliefs and talking points she's been peddling for years. The Charlottesville "unite the right" Nazi rally was spurred on by the removal of confederate statues and anti-Black racism. What is it they were chanting, again? Anyone remember? Any of this ringing a bell? OH RIGHT. "Jews will not replace us." So many other forms of systemic violence are steeped in the poisonous rhetoric of antisemitism. Acting like this isn't the case damns our Jewish siblings who need us while weakening our understanding of the oppressive forces we're fighting. "One struggle" includes all of us. The fact that the Likud government uses accusations of antisemitism as a cover for their violence should make you more diligent about condemning antisemitism, not less. Because letting them weaponize something that is already so widespread and destructive makes it that much harder to dismantle.

Do not stop talking about Palestine. Do not stop speaking up against the horrors of settler colonial violence. But if you can't do this without throwing another group of oppressed people under the bus, you need to question where you learned your resistance tactics, because the company you're keeping there should disgust and terrify you.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

Marvel Studios, founded by various American Jews, recently released the first trailer for Captain America: Brave New World. 

Amid the excitement for the legendary Captain America saga to continue with Sam Wilson at its helm, Jewish and Israeli Marvel fans noticed something odd: Sabra, Israel’s Captain America, will be portrayed as a former Black Widow instead of the superhuman Mossad agent she was originally intended to be.

However, erasing a character’s Jewish identity is not something that is entirely new to Marvel. 

Although a recent Wrap report indicates that Sabra will retain her Israeli background in the film following a backlash from fans, Marvel’s approach to dealing with Sabra highlights a complex relationship between the studio and its portrayal of Jewish characters. In short, Marvel has a history of minimizing Jewish representation in its works.

In Marvel’s upcoming Captain America: Brave New World, the Israeli-born Mossad super-agent Ruth Bar-Seraph, known as Sabra, has been reimagined as a Russian spy. Her powers include super strength, speed, regenerative healing, and the ability to transfer her life energy to others. 

Sabra, an Israeli cactus that’s prickly on the outside and sweet on the inside, is symbolic of the Israeli mindset. This significant reinvention intentionally deprives her of her Israeli identity and the deeply rooted Jewish trauma embedded in her story, replacing it with a more convenient narrative. 

By sidestepping these crucial elements of Sabra’s heroism, Marvel chooses to sanitize complex identities rather than embracing their power. In light of the ongoing war in Gaza, this erasure is particularly painful, as Israelis and Jews worldwide continue their struggle for authentic representation in the media. 

Marvel’s deliberate decision to whitewash Sabra’s identity ignores the genuine, contemporary trauma and historical persecution faced by the Jewish people. The decision underscores that the delegitimization of the Jews and their homeland cannot even be escaped on the big screen. 

Marvel’s latest attempt at a Jew-free superhero lineup doesn’t begin with Sabra. It has roots in the X-Men, Avengers, and Moon Knight — all major Marvel movie standouts. 

Magneto and Hydra

Magneto, born Max Eisenhardt to a Jewish family, was taken by Nazi soldiers to Auschwitz alongside his family. Surviving due to his mutant ability to control metal, he later assumes the identity of Eric Lensherr and befriends Professor Charles Xavier. 

In one of the most poignant Jewish scenes in Marvel movies thus far, X-Men: First Class depicts Magneto drawing strength as he remembers lighting candles with his mother before the Nazis uprooted his life and sent his family to Auschwitz. In X-Men: Apocalypse, Magneto returns to the concentration camp and uses his powers to destroy it. 

As arguably the most famous Marvel character visibly rooted in his Jewish identity, Magneto exemplifies meaningful representation. However, he is also one of the most infamous villains in comic book history. Jews have a long history of being demonized and scapegoated, and Marvel’s choice to perpetuate this narrative rather than challenge it is troubling.

Magneto’s mutant legacy lives on in his two children;  Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Wanda possesses intense telepathy and telekinesis, while Pietro can move at superspeed. In the Marvel comics, their Jewish heritage is integral to their identities. With a Romani mother and Jewish father, both Holocaust survivors, the twins are armed with a powerful legacy of resilience. Having fought both with and against the Avengers, the Maximoff twins are among the most compelling characters in the Marvel universe. 

However, in X-Men: Days of Future Past, devout fans debate Wanda’s blood relation to Magneto. The fact remains that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has presented Wanda and Pietro without a religion, hailing from the fictional country of Sokovia, and devoid of any connection to their Jewish identity.

In the MCU, Wanda and Pietro’s powers result from experiments by the evil Hydra scientist, Baron von Strucker. Originally, Hydra served as the advanced technology and weaponry arm of the Nazi regime during World War II. Hydra soldiers share the fascist red and black, the straight-armed salute (performed with both arms), and an eerily familiar “heil Hydra” chant with their mainstream Nazi counterparts. 

Beginning with Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel has largely downplayed Hydra’s Nazi roots, transforming it into a generic, timeless evil organization. By downplaying or outright ignoring Hydra’s origins as a Nazi faction, Marvel seeks to avoid the disturbing historical implications and instead focuses on Hydra as a broader symbol of tyranny and corruption.

This revisionist approach not only dilutes the gravity of Hydra’s origins but also conveniently sidesteps the uncomfortable reality of depicting true historical atrocities, thereby diminishing the impact of the narrative and the lessons it could impart about the dangers of fascist ideologies. 

The ongoing conflict between Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D. with Hydra, persisting throughout the MCU, is presented as a battle between American strength, embodied by Captain Steve Rogers, and a vague evil represented by Hydra and its endless heads, minimizing the profound impact of Nazi ideology on World War II.

Considering Marvel’s popularity among young audiences, this depiction misleads impressionable viewers into believing that WWII was merely a struggle between America and a technologically innovative bad-guy. Hydra persists throughout the MCU, threatening the forces of good in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 

Yet, as the technology arm of the Nazi party continues fighting, its despicable origins are conspicuously absent. If a young fan beginning their Marvel journey learned lessons about the war from these movies, they would identify a fictional Hydra, not the very real Nazis, as the primary antagonist, thereby doing a disservice to the depravity of the Third Reich.

Kitty Pryde

Kitty Pryde, another mutant in the X-Men universe with repeated movie appearances, is another revealing example of Marvel entirely revising a Jewish character’s identity to be more palatable for the big screen.

Kitty has remarkable phasing abilities, meaning she can pass through solid matter. Various websites, including fan sites and her official Marvel biography, emphasize her commitment to Judaism (see here, here, and here).  

In the comics, she has been seen wearing a Star of David, reciting blessings, and drawing parallels between her experiences of being marginalized as a Jew and as a mutant. These sometimes invisible identities deeply influence her worldview.

However, Kitty appears in four X-Men feature films, and her rich cultural and religious background is consistently absent, leaving a void where her Jewish identity should be. This omission not only strips away a layer of her character’s depth but also underscores Marvel’s pattern of erasing Jewish identities to fit a more generalized narrative, thereby failing to represent the nuanced experiences of Jewish characters on the big screen.

I’m Jewish. I don’t have a quote unquote Jewish-sounding name. I don’t look or sound Jewish, whatever that looks or sounds like… So if you didn’t know I was Jewish, you might not know… unless I told you. Same goes for my mutation. I don’t have to wear a visor or have blue fur all over me. I can walk around. Just a young woman of the world. But… I’m not. —Kitty Pryde, All-New X-Men Vol 1 13

Moon Knight

Unfortunately, Marvel’s belittling of Jewish identity endures on the little screen as well. One of the most highly anticipated TV series on Disney+ was Moon Knight, centered around, well, Moon Knight. In the show, Steven Grant is a goofy museum gift shop employee who struggles with dissociative personality disorder. His other identity is Marc Spector, a retired mercenary who becomes the Earthly representative of Khonsu, the Egyptian god of the moon.

Marc’s family embodies the American dream. Having fled Nazi persecution in Europe in the 1930s, Spector’s rabbi father sought a better environment to raise his Jewish family—a story many are familiar with today. 

The show switches between Steven and Marc’s perspectives, but hones in on Spector in episode 5, “Asylum.” Spector is immersed in the memory of a shiva from his childhood as a means of confronting his abusive mother. In the scene, mourners can be seen wearing Jewish prayer shawls, and Spector himself is even wearing a kippah.

Given that Oscar Isaac, the non-Jewish actor playing Moon Knight, confirmed Spector’s Jewish identity would be evident in the show, there is no mention of his father’s work, his family’s history fleeing antisemitic persecution, or any significant exploration of his Jewish identity beyond surface-level nods. 

This neglect strips away a layer of depth from Marc Spector’s character, reducing his heritage to mere background decoration rather than an integral part of his identity and motivation. Furthermore, it deprives Jewish fans of the same representation Marvel eagerly awards to other minority groups.

Despite its Jewish origins, Marvel continues to sanitize and diminish the Jewish identities of its characters, both on the big screen and in streaming series. 

From reimagining Sabra as a Russian spy to neglecting Marc Spector’s rich Jewish heritage in Moon Knight, Marvel consistently misses opportunities to genuinely represent Jewish experiences and identities. 

This pattern not only strips characters of their depth and authenticity but perpetuates a troubling erasure of Jewish culture and history as characters ascend from comics to movies. Marvel has demonstrated their commitment to representation as they bring their characters to life on the big screen, so why do they have a Jewish problem?

[girlactionfigure]

It is very concerning that Antisemitism and genocidal calls against Jewish people are only deemed condemnable by governmental and religious figures if it is coupled with a denunciation of Islamophobia. Such conditional condemnations appear as mere political maneuvers, coated with empty lip-service. The Antisemitism we are witnessing today is clear advocacy for another Holocaust, where all Jews are being targeted. While acknowledging the existence of daily attacks against Muslims, the comparison fails, as there is no movement seeking the erasure of 1.8 billion Muslims from planet Earth. Insisting on condemning Antisemitism only if Islamophobia is condemned is dangerous because Islamophobia doesn’t come from Jewish people, and Antisemitism is of many flavours. Islam is not at war with Judaism; instead, both Jews and Muslims confront the threat posed by Islamist terrorists. Each struggle is unique, and imposing conditions on condemnation diminishes the struggles faced by innocent victims from different communities. You cannot compare a genocide, to an attack on a Mosque. When was the last time you heard of an interfaith event to condemn Anti-Black Racism… on the condition that Anti-Asian Racism is also condemned. These are two different struggles, and Asians in America did not live the painful history of African Americans or the slave trade. It would be an insult to the entire Black American population. To truly combat bigotry, we must unequivocally condemn each form without diluting their significance through false comparisons and misleading headlines. If you condemn Antisemitism, then condemn Antisemitism. Thank you and God Bless.

Imam of Peace

[baeddelations]

Nazi germany is "uniquely evil" in the sense that western nationalist mythology needs it to be the most evil thing it can think of. It is an important spectre in tge western psyche as so unlike the nation state that they exist in. While blatantly ignoring the apocalypse level genocides that made it into what it is today. I think alot of this is yes the erasure and white washing of these histories, and the need for enemy that constitues nationalism, but also is about the way we frame these massacres.

This history allows for willfull ignorance. Obfuscation of the humanity of the other through exaggerated difference, (Savages, heathens, barbarians) but in the example of Nazis we often focus in on the antisemitism of their machinations. Anti-semitism is a such a central pillar to this ideology bc in a lot of ways, then and now, they had been thorughly integrated into the vague hegemonic social structure that we often refer to as whiteness. This is important for conspiracy theories bc you need a part of the conspiracy to have wealth and power. It was important to the nazis for similar reasons with different ends: nationalizing those resources into the war machine.

Narratively for the rest of the world this is important for the reason jewish folks could be framed as citizens(not savages, heathens, barbarians) this is the uproar and this is why it is so focused on the jewish genocide when we talk about the holocaust, and often allow for the genocide of queer ppl, disabled ppl, itinerant ppl, mad ppl, romani ppl, black ppl, various eastern europeans, free masons, and religious minorities to go undiscussed. There were far more jews in the country at the time than any of these other groups individually but more total of these groups killed than total jewish ppl killed. Obviously all of these deaths are atrocious but it is uniquely atrocious bc ppl deemed citzens in the psyche of the western world were killed.

So much of the atrocities happening in nazi germany were being perpetrated by the rest of the western world just not to citizens. The holocaust spurred this assimilation and the large scale support of the 9th crusade(israel). So yes it is "unique". it needs to be so that we can exceptionalize it, to excuse the rest of us.

[matan4il]

Just wanted to send some love your way 🩵 Im a left-ish diaspora Jew who had, up until really recently, taken the stance that the conflict between Israel and Palestine was too complex for me to fully understand. I appreciate blogs like yours because they have genuinely helped me understand and see through the narratives that both sides are equally at fault, or that Israel is some colonialist war machine bent on gobbling up all available territory at the expense of everyone else’s lives.

It’s kind of frightening for me to have a stance at all, when the people around me were all silent on October 7th but have no issue hanging Palestinian flags outside their homes and filling their social media with slogans that they claim are simply “anti Zionist” but are absolutely anti-Semitic.

I don’t know how to explain to them that YES my heart bleeds for every average human in Gaza who genuinely does want to just exist, but that doesn’t meant that I think the onus for peace lays exclusively on Israel’s shoulders, and I don’t support disbanding Israel as a country. I worry a lot about being too one-sided or simplifying things too much; I still feel very much like I’m sitting in a middle position, due to those concerns. And it’s scary that it still wouldn’t be enough for people — FRIENDS, even — around me.

Sorry for the ramble. Thank you for your informative posts. Speaking as someone who finds a lot of joy in fandom stuff, I really hope the tides turn so that kind of thing can occupy more space in your mind than worrying does 🩵

Awww, Nonnie! I am hugging you SO MUCH!

My heart aches, because you're absolutely right. It doesn't matter how much we'll denounce racism, they will still call us racist. It doesn't matter how often we state that we want life and dignity for both Jews AND Palestinians, they'll still accuse us of supporting genocide. It doesn't matter if we'll criticize the government, they'll still claim we're brainwashed to silence our voices.

So if it's not about our actual beliefs and positions, what's it about?

It's about the fact that we're Jews. And we're told that we can only be "good" Jews if we throw our fellow Jewish people under the bus, even though for every other minority, solidarity is encouraged and celebrated. We're only "good" Jews if we give up our native rights by adhering to a narrative that paints us as colonizers of our own ancestral land, even as native rights are upheld as vital for every other indigenous group. We're only "good" Jews by doubting the multiple testimonies of rape and baby beheadings, even though every victim is supposed to be heard and believed. We're only "good" Jews if we agree to give up the right to self defense, which means we give up the right to live safely, to live peacefully... really, if we give up the right to live, period. All while telling us this is due to the value of all human life. They're literally gaslighting us with "All Lives Matter," and it's the same crowd who could recognize the issue with that slogan, when it was used to silence black people demanding that very same right.

We do not have to go along with this modern "witch test," where they try us by dunking us into water, and the only way to be "innocent" is to die drowning, so if we didn't, then we're witches, and we die still, because they burn us at the stake. I refuse to collaborate with the erasure of Jewish identity, history and rights, which leaves all Jews stripped of protection, vulnerable to abuse, and I will keep speaking, even if they call me every dirty name they can think of for recognizing the Jewish right to live, and to live in our historic homeland, especially as we have always been willing to live here side by side with others. Whatever they say about me, at least I won't be a tokenized Jew, that they can use to bully other Jews into silence.

We absolutely can be pro-Israeli AND pro-Palestinian, rather than turning anti-Israeli to "prove" we're good, pro-Palestinian Jews.

I'm sorry, IDK if I'm actually helping here! Just know that you're not alone in feeling this way. Actually, the fantastic Mayim Bialik also talked about this recently, so I'll give you her eloquent words:

(this is just a part of the vid, you can find the whole thing here)

Thank YOU for the kind words! And may we all get back to just being able to enjoy fandom as the fun, escapist hobby it should be. Sending you lots of hugs and love! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[earthytzipi]

as much as Zionism is a colonial project (though I tend to take the view as expressed in "Decolonizing Jewishness" re: Zionism as failed decolonization attempt) I think it's extremely reductive to claim that Ashkenormativity is to blame for the colonial nature of the Zionist reality. as more and more people from outside of Jewish spaces are introduced to the concept of Ashkenormativity, "Ashkenazi" is being used as a synonym for white and for colonizer.

this is not the whole picture. first and foremost, a large percentage of Ashkenazim are not white, though of course many of us are. conflating Ashkenazim with whiteness, both inside and outside of the Jewish community, contributes to the erasure of Jewish People of Color. additonally, the first Jews in the western hemisphere, arriving with conquistadors and colonizers, were, in fact, Sephardi. in the US, almost every Jewish person was Sephardi until the second half of the 19th century. Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews have also historically participated in and currently participate in Zionism, including in the settlements. furthermore, when we're talking about Israel's suppression of diasporic culture, a very real phenomenon, we need to discuss how many Ashkenazi cultural elements were also suppressed - including Yiddish and Ashkenazi Hebrew. in fact, Ashkenazim from Europe who wanted to hang onto their diasporic cultures were considered weak and effeminate. this reality should make sense to everyone who is aware of how Holocaust survivors are treated in Israel. in Israeli society, there is contempt for EVERY Jewish culture that is not Israeli, and of course that is compounded and exacerbated by racism for Mizrahi, Ethiopian, Indian, and other Jewish groups of color.

it's not the same dichotomy as the Black vs white dichotomy set up by US/UK/French/Spanish/etc colonization, and the term "Ashkenormativity" being taken out of Jewish contexts and applied to Zionism just makes Ashkenazim a convenient scapegoat for all the evils of Zionism. the main consequence I'm seeing is the idea that Ashkenazim are "fake European Jews" in contrast to the "real Middle Eastern Jews." this idea hurts us all. Jewish people are from every corner of the globe, and every Jewish person is a real Jewish person. I'm asking those of us who are pro-Palestine to tread very carefully when discussing this issue, and maybe retire the use of "Ashkenormativity" when it comes to discussing the racism of Zionism, which Jewish people from every diasporic background can and do participate in. Ashkenormativity refers to the centering of Ashkenazi history and customs when discussing Jewishness, and I'm really concerned that the way I'm seeing it used does not meet that definition and is not helpful (and maybe ends up centering Ashkenazi "evilness" or "Europeanness" while still not discussing Sephardi, Mizrahi, and other Jewish diasporic group's histories at all outside of their interactions with Ashkenazim in Israel). there's a lot of racism Jewish spaces, in Zionism, and in Israeli society, I just think we should call it racism and white supremacy.

[edenfenixblogs]

Why do I post so much about antisemitism?

I post about it exactly as often as I experience it

People think antisemitism isn’t real

People think antisemitism isn’t that bad

People think antisemitism is justifiable as long as it is directed toward “bad” Jews. Like any other form of bigotry, it is always bad. Candace Owens has terrible anti-Black, extremely racist opinions. It’s still not OK to hurl racist insults at her. Isis and Hamas are terrorist organizatjons committing terrible crimes against humanity while invoking Islam . It’s still not ok to insult Islam while talking about them or to be racist and Islamophobic toward Muslims or Arabs. Netanyahu is an actual monster whose actions are destroying lives in Palestine, Israel, and worldwide. Jewish West Bank settlers are being extremely hostile, racist, and terrible. It’s still not ok to use antisemitic conspiracies, tropes, or insults against them. Ever. And it’s certainly not ok to use them against ordinary civilians who happen to share a race or religion with the worst people who share those identities.

I want to show all the ways antisemitism hurts.

I want to show how the damage from antisemitism lingers long after the first moment its experienced

I want people to understand that even if I don’t support Netanyahu or the Likud government or the broad actions of the IDF or the indiscriminate bombing of Palestine or the subjugation of Palestinians (and to be very clear—I do not support these things) I’m still allowed to be upset about the global hatred toward Israel right now based solely on the fact that I am Jewish. To say that makes me a supporter of colonialism or genocide is antisemitic. Why? Because half of the Jews in the entire world live in Israel. If half the Muslims in the entire world lived in America or half the Christians in the entire world lived in Japan, then everyone started calling all Christians or Muslims in that country evil/colonizers/oppressors and saying that they should lose protection and citizenship from those places, then it would make sense for all Muslims or Christians around the world to be very upset by that. Not because the Muslims or Christians in those nations are always perfect. But because, hey, seeing that people are perfectly ok condemning half everyone with whom you share a religion will cause you to be sad. And empathetic. And because obviously condemning that many people for anything as if they are all equally responsible is fundamentally wrong. Especially if your only basis for that condemnation is someone’s religion and where they live.

My trauma response is to fawn. To be aggressively kind and complimentary to show I’m not a threat. That I don’t deserve to be hated. That I promise I’m not worth your aggression. This is unhealthy for me personally. This is a bad way to live. This is a disservice to my fellow Jews who don’t deserve to experience antisemitism, regardless of any of their other actions. Instead, I am laying my pain bare for you all to see. I am using my pain to educate you. I am using my desire to help you to keep me patient while I try to educate you while experiencing an endless barrage of hatred all day every day. That hatred is not all violent or aggressive. Very often that hatred is neglect, erasure, and the revocation of societal privileges until I behave in an acceptable manner. But sometimes it is aggressive and violent as well.

People say that I am making a genocide “all about me,” but I’m not. You are. Why do your actions in preventing and fighting an ethnic cleansing on the other side of the world involve causing me emotional pain, social isolation, and ethnoreligous erasure? The problem isn’t that I’m speaking up. It’s that you’re too busy speaking over me to listen to what I’m saying and to stop being harmful.

Because I have the emotional capacity to be patient and to engage when many of my Jewish peers do not. I have the position of relative safety where I can post about these things without facing actual physical harm. Many of my Jewish peers do not. While I would never speak on behalf of other Jews’ opinions, I will certainly speak FOR my fellow Jews. For the dignity, respect, safety, love, and community they all deserve.

Because when this conflict is over or even just calmed down enough to not be at the top of the zeitgeist anymore, I don’t want any of you to have the excuse of saying you didn’t know what you were doing or the harm you were causing. You know. I’m telling you. Repeatedly.

Because despite everything I’ve just written, I know most of you won’t even listen until I confirm that I do support Palestinian self determination, citizenship, equality, and indigeneity. Which I do. I support all those things. I shouldn’t have to in order to avoid antisemitism though.

Because most people in my life have pulled away in this time and if I don’t share my pain here I’ll explode.

Because I have nobody else non-Jewish to share this with. You’ve isolated me. I’m alone. You did this. I could have been marching with you. But you hate me too much to let me fight for a cause we both believe in alongside you. And you aren’t even aware you hate me at all, because it’s so ingrained in you.

[dragoneyes618]

"A study by professors Jay P. Greene, Albert Cheng, and Ian Kingsbury, found that the more education a person has, the more anti-Semitic he is likely to be.

Though earlier studies had suggested a correlation between low education levels and anti-Semitism, Greene et al suspected that those with higher education were too sophisticated to give “wrong” answers when asked straight up how they felt about Jews or whether they agreed with blatantly anti-Semitic stereotypes. So instead, the researchers used a test based on double standards by asking about comparable cases involving a Jewish example and a non-Jewish example. And they found that “more highly educated people were more likely to apply principles more harshly to Jewish examples.”

In the test, no subject was asked both about the Jewish case and the non-Jewish case to prevent them from discerning the nature of the test. When asked, for instance, whether “attachment to a foreign country creates a conflict of interest,” respondents with four-year degrees were 7 percent more likely, and those with advanced degrees 13 percent more likely, to express concern when the country was Israel than when it was Mexico. Those with advanced degrees were 12 percent more likely to support the military in prohibiting Jewish yarmulkes than in prohibiting Sikh turbans. While a majority of respondents supported a ban on public gatherings during Covid, those with advanced degrees were 11 percent more likely to do so with respect to Orthodox funerals than BLM protests.

The authors conclude their Tablet article (“Are Educated People More Anti-Semitic?” March 30, 2021), by quoting Harvard professor emerita Ruth Wisse, who argues that anti-Semitism flourishes when “it forms part of a political movement and serves a political purpose.” And such political causes are increasingly those favored by the well-educated in the US.

Horn herself provides a fascinating real-life example of differential treatment involving Jews. She wrote a piece on anti-Semitism for the New York Times. During the editorial process, she was relentlessly fact-checked on her assertion that violation of Jewish women had been widespread in the 1918–1921 Russian civil war and in the 1941 Farhud pogrom in Baghdad. Yet that same paper rushed to print a highly inflammatory (an ancient Tunisian synagogue was burned down in response) and false Hamas claim that Israel had bombed a Gaza hospital and inflicted 500 casualties, with no apparent fact-checking.

Often times the differential attention focused on Jews reflects an obsession with us. Since 1948, the number of casualties in the Arab-Israeli conflict ranks somewhere around 50th in world conflicts. Yet it has sucked up almost all the attention. Over half a million people were killed in the Syrian civil war, including some with poison gas, and millions displaced from their homes. Black Darfurian tribesman have been slaughtered by Sudanese Arabs in even greater numbers. Can anyone remember one mass demonstration protesting those slaughters? Or against Russia’s deliberate targeting of hospitals, apartment buildings, and other civilian sites in Ukraine? Or against Chinese concentration camps for two million imprisoned Uighurs? Compare that silence to dozens of anti-Israel demonstrations every day in cities and on campuses around the world.

Israel is constantly accused of genocide against Palestinians, even though under Israeli rule, Palestinians life expectancies increased 50 percent and infant mortality declined by three-quarters. Yet it is Hamas whose charter explicitly calls for the extermination of Jews around the globe — i.e., genocide. This is inversion of the worst sort. The accusation of genocide against Israel is a form of erasure of the Holocaust; alleged Jewish guilt an expiation of gentile sins of many greater times magnitude.

- https://mishpacha.com/anti-semitism-for-smarties/

[neverwritewhatyouknow]

Hi, so, I agree that we're unlikely to get even a token reference to Hanukkah or Magen David pendant in the movie. I assume that if they'd kept any references to Nora being Jewish in the movie, the powers-that-be would've publicized it to deflect criticism about casting a non-Jewish actress. Since that didn't happen, my guess is that Jews just Won't Exist in the RWRB movie 'verse.

But I was curious about something in one of your recent posts about how, in order for the for the film to convey Nora's Jewishness despite Rachel not being Jewish, it would have to rely on stereotypes like Hanukkah or a necklace, etc. (I don't have your post right in front of me, so my paraphrasing might be slightly off.) My question, I guess, is how that differs from the book. Admittedly, it's been a few years since I've read it, but to the best of my recollection, Nora's Jewish identity relies largely on stereotypes, such as her very stereotypical Ashkenazi appearance, a necklace at the NYE party (I think), and the Hanukkah reference. I think that's it. Which was enough for me when I read the book--just the existence of a queer Jew on the page was so validating for me as a queer Jew--but, at the same time... If the movie *were* to rely on the same token references to Nora's identity--which, as you pointed out, are kind of the very low bar/lowest common denominator cultural signs representing Jews in media--then does that really make Nora's identity in the book Great Representation? I'm not terribly invested in the entire discourse of good vs. bad representation, but I'm just curious what you think about the difference between using those specific cultural signifiers in the book vs. the film, independent of the casting of a Jewish actress. Like, if the film had cast a Jewish actress--say Kat Graham, if we're looking for a Black Jewish actress relatively close to Taylor in age--and then only had her wear a necklace and make an offhanded reference to Hanukkah, would it still seem like they were relying on stereotypes to convey her Jewishness? Is it relevant here that with the other minority characters, most viewers can readily identify that the casting is book!canon-compliant, while they probably wouldn't automatically read a Black actress as Jewish without very basic cues?

(On a different topic, I just wanted to point out that Greg Berlanti has done this before. I'm not sure how much creative control he had in RWRB production, but he directed and was deeply involved with creative decisions for Love, Simon. Not sure if you've read the book/seen the film, but in the book, Simon's friend Nick is Jewish. In the film, they cast Jorge Lendeborg Jr., a Dominican actor who isn't Jewish to the best of my knowledge. The film then very clearly erased the character's Jewishness by having him make a joke to Simon about the time they got tipsy on Manischewitz at their other friend Leah's... I think it was a Seder. Anyway, Leah is *not* Jewish in the books, which the Jewish author of the series has confirmed, and actress Katherine Langford isn't Jewish to the best of my knowledge, but what does Katherine Langford have? Whiteness and wavy brown hair, the stereotypical physical markers of Ashkenazi identity! So. Anyway. Just wanted to point out that Berlanti/his production company have done this before: taking a canonically Jewish character, casting a non-Jewish actor of color while hoping no one would notice the erasure of that character's Jewishness, and in that particular case, just... faffing Jewishness on the character who ~looked more stereotypically Jewish, even though the actress wasn't, and hoping that would appease viewers, I guess. I don't know how other viewers felt about it, but I know that it really got under my skin at the time. And it felt like a slap in the face that they just assigned Nick's Jewish identity to another character. I almost would've preferred if they hadn't bothered making the other character Jewish because it didn't actually feel like real representation to me, just a throwaway line/joke, probably to avoid criticism, or maybe to appease the Jewish author. But, hey, Berlanti got a visually diverse cast, so why should he have spent the extra time finding a Jewish Latino actor for Nick??? /sarcasm. But, yeah, it's starting to feel like a pattern in media, and it just pisses me off so much because they could be casting non-white Jews! That would be really great to remind non-Jewish viewers that not all Jews are white! But instead... this.)

Anyway, sorry this is long and rambly and kind of rant-y, but I'm glad you're talking about this. I know you get a lot of hate, so I just wanted to say that I appreciate the attention you're calling to this. I often don't feel secure enough in my own Jewishness to critique antisemitism in media, so I really respect what you're doing here.

Hey Anon!!!!

You win the award for the longest ask I’ve ever had. It’s a good award, don’t worry, I love when people have a bunch of stuff to say.

I’m gonna try and answer this in parts by paragraph, but if I skip something just lmk.

1. Totally agree. They know that people, or at the very least, one person is very vocal about it and they’ve had so many opportunities to say something and haven’t. I’ve contacted them via social media and email, they’ve been silent in all the ways. While Casey has been very vocal about literally everything else, and the director (who blocked me when I called everything out and told him that Rachel was receiving antisemitic hate) is always posting RWRB stuff. So, they’re aware and vocal, just not caring.

2. My feelings on this, is that in the book, Nora is Jewish and any description of Hanukkah and her physical characteristics are there to show that she’s Jewish, because it’s a book. We can’t see it, there has to be some sort of description. Did Casey do the bare minimum and rely on stereotypes? Yes. Not harmful ones, per say, like I have dark curly hair and would go home for Hanukkah, but it’s clear the CMQ doesn’t know a lot about Jews in general (I have another post on that and about how Nora’s book rep is fine, but when looking at it from the movie lens, is a little stereotypical and can border on offensive by giving her the rich Jew trope). BUT, that said, Nora in the book, in my opinion, is solid Jewish rep because she was Jewish on every page without it being constantly brought up. I would say that given what we normally get, Nora was pretty good rep. And given what is known of CMQ’s background and present, and the lack of Jewish education, Nora was fine. Could there have been more or better or different stuff? Absolutely. But at least Nora was a person and not a caricature, you know?

3. If the actress was Black and Jewish and they had her wearing jewelry to signify it, it would fit the character more than throwing it on a non-Jewish actress and saying “look we made a Jew.” It becomes less of a stereotype and more of just a symbol. But even if they didn’t have any of the signifiers, just having a Jew onscreen would be representation enough. Would people instantly think she was Jewish if she didn’t “look Jewish?”Probably not. But she would be, and that’s what’s important. The same way that if a character (beyond RWRB) was any other minority, they wouldn’t have to parade around with a gay flag or a trans button or a T-shirt that says they’re Indigenous. Just the existence would be enough. And if they then relied on some of those signifiers, as long as they aren’t harmful or done purposely to make a drastic big deal, it wouldn’t be forced, it would be much more natural. But just relying on stereotypes is different than a little cue in. A Jewish character played by a Jewish actor wearing a Magen David… that’s power, that’s common, if handled right, it’s basic in a usual way. Is it a little stereotypical since not all Jews wear one? Sure, but it’s not a bad symbol. A Jewish character played by a non-Jew wearing one… that’s a stereotype, that’s using our most important and well-known symbol to make a Jewish character beyond anything else. History lesson for those who don’t know: During The Holocaust, Jews had to wear yellow stars on their clothes so people could instantly recognize them as Jews. So if a Jewish character (played by a Jew) is wearing one, fine, it fits, it could clue the audience in if they would have no other way of knowing but it’s not needed because their existence is enough. If a non-Jew is wearing one, it feels like you’re saying the star that was used to mark our death is the only way we can exist as alive in your production. Tell me if that was all a rambling mess!!!!!

4. No. I did not know that. I saw that movie, but never read the book, so I had no idea that he was supposed to be Jewish. Which is basically exactly what’s about to happen to Nora. Here’s a little thing I feel like people don’t know about good ol’ Greg…

He’s not Jewish. His partner isn’t Jewish. They’re raising their kids Jewish (his kids technically are Jewish via egg donor, but the raising in faith would make them Jewish regardless, I bring this up not for the kids themselves but for the fact that Greg is kinda… taking the parts of Jewish was he wants and leaving the rest.). He says he grew up in an area that was massively Jewish and Italian and said “I’m not sure that I knew if I was one or the other until I was 9 or 10.” What the actual fuck, Greg??! What?!! No. That’s not okay. He was raised Catholic and was an alter boy. He knew as a kid that he wasn’t Jewish religiously and he the way that he twists being Italian and Jewish together is just… wrong. He treats Jewishness like a toy, like a coat to put on and take off. He said he always felt enthralled and comfortable around the Jewish faith (that it was the faith he felt the most comfortable in beyond their (Catholic) faith) and that’s why he’s raising his kids in it, but he and his husband don’t want to convert, that’s fine you don’t have to, I guess that’s up to you. We’re a great religion and community, please raise your kids Jewish, if you’re serious about that. BUT the issue comes with the fact that he wants only the good parts of being Jewish, and won’t look at the bad parts— the hate, the antisemitism, all of that. We’re a toy for him. He says that since his son “thinks he’s Jewish” that it took pressure off of him actually being Jewish. His exact words are “At some point, I’m going to have to make that transition.” Being Jewish to him is a chore, something he’s reluctant to do, but he says he has to, like a child dragging their feet to do their chores. This is different from a convert who felt such a strong pull and wanted to be a part of the community and family. What Greg is doing is not that. He’s putting on a show. He’s letting people think he’s Jewish for clout, he likes that it gives him a Hollywood edge, a diverse credit, but he can still say that he isn’t Jewish when it comes down to it. They do Shabbat and keep traditions and that’s all fine, he said he went to Israel and it was profound, okay. But notice what he still refuses to call himself, what he literally laughs off being known as… A Jew. He doesn’t want to be Jewish, he just wants to reap the benefits. He’ll talk about his Jewish identity while saying that converting is something he’s going to be forced to do. He only talks about Jewish in terms of faith, and he purposely sought out a Jewish egg donor for his children which he said was “not an easy thing to find, by the way.” to keep things kosher in the eyes of religion. I wonder if since the faith was what brought him in and he seems really set upon the fact that Jewish = religious, if he doesn’t even think about the fact that Jews are more than that. He claims as a child he didn’t know if he was Jewish or Italian, while being actively raised not-Jewish, is that a man who has a grasp on the full extent of what it means to be a Jew? He’s definitely raising his kids in the most Jewish ways he’s knows, zero issues with any of that, but the way he talks about things and the way he acts just feels so much like he’ll take the cool parts of being Jewish without the rest. It feels almost like a fetish. He’ll take the benefits of being Jewish while also actively celebrating all the Christian holidays too (in his own home, not just with family), and all the while refusing to even take the idea of conversation seriously (as he says it’s “pressure” and a “transition” and something he’ll have to do someday.) He plays the role of the “Jewish” Hollywood executive to get ahead, but when it comes to standing up for Jews in his productions, he’ll erase them because he’s scared of the backlash that comes with putting Jewish characters into stuff. He wants the happy parts of being Jewish, the place that felt comfortable for him. I’m glad he feels comfortable and welcomed into Judaism, truly, but just wanting the happy parts and not facing the reality of what it means to be Jewish feels wrong.

He’s also a hypocrite. He received some hate mail after making a show with Jewish characters, with his exact words being “I chose to make the hero family of the Jewish faith— and we chose to dramatize it in a lot of ways.” and then asked how to be an advocate. Note: he claims that he experienced “antisemitism first hand” due to this hate mail. I think he experienced people being antisemitic and Jew-hate, and likely it was thrown in his direction. But… if you’re not Jewish and you’re openly non-Jewish, your experience of first hand antisemitism is going to be way different than a Jewish person’s. It’s not going to impact you the same way, it just can’t, you don’t have the lived experienced. *cough* I’ve nearly died many times *cough* He then said all this, before doing exactly what he said he would, reverting back to what he knows… Which is not having Jewish characters and using them basically as pawns.

Greg Berlanti is not an ally to Jewish characters. It’s genuinely really sad that his kids will grow up without that Jewish rep, all because of him. So far he’s done it twice, once for a boy, once for a girl— exactly like his kids.

I didn’t know any of this about Greg until this Anon pointed stuff out. But, oh boy, this is gonna be fun. Watch out, Greggy B. I’m gonna enjoy exposing you on your hypocrisy😘

Did I answer everything, Anon? Were things clear? My phone is on 5% so I’m typing super fast. Just tell me if I didn’t.

[phoukanamedpookie]

hi, sorry preemptively because ignorance does guide this question. i guess i’m just curious about what the difference between antisemitism and islamophobia is? and this is not an argument about the moment, but more of a question about how.. maybe there’s just little alignment/joint conversation about what i thought both amounts to a cultural misconception about religious affiliation? i’m black so i guess what i have is an ambivalence or blind spot about what i thought for a longtime was a yt ppl wanting a hierarchy over types of yt ppl argument, but i think that’s likely wrong and dismissive(and contributing to the erasure of poc jews). i mean i suppose it could be scale? i saw your post about the # of ppl who identify as jewish compared to christianity & islam, but it lands me in a similar place of like my limited knowledge of the persecution of romani and pagan peoples? of small communities of yt people persecuted under the umbrella of religion/pinholing it into a kind of moral or cultural brand of prejudice.

and you can tell me to fuck off and i’ll look around for the folx who could get around to it eventually; because i think i just want to be more informed. anyways, thanks for your time & consideration. i wish you healing and love and good food during this shitty time

You're fine. Admitting what you don't know is rare and refreshing on social media.

It's pretty complicated because Jewish peoplehood predates modern notions of religion and race, yet antisemitism takes the form of both religious and racial bigotry and justifies itself as standing up to illegitimate power. "The Jews are behind it!" is literally the oldest conspiracy theory in the world.

If you want to know more, you should read what @didyoumeanxianity has shared so far.

Islamophobia isn't something that I feel comfortable speaking with authority on, but my understanding of it is that it functions in a similar way to racism because of how Muslims are racialized in Western societies.

[notasapleasure]

Second time in a day I'm getting fucked up views on Irishness on my dash???

If you're tempted to believe the assertion that the discrimination against the Irish can be equated with the discrimination faced by Black people in the wake of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, I recommend this article:

Here's the abstract if you don't like clicking:

Much Victorian Irish studies has followed the Americanist Noel Ignatiev's famous claim that the Irish “became white” upon migration to the United States, whereas they had not been in the context of the United Kingdom. This article argues, in contrast, that an emphasis on the undeniable racialization of Irish poverty and politics can distract us from an important truth: nineteenth-century Irish people, in Britain and Ireland as well as in the United States, were broadly understood as white, and “Celticness” was not in any serious or widespread way treated as equivalent to Blackness, although that did not stop some nineteenth-century Irish advocates from drawing that misleading analogy. Drawing upon cultural and anthropological work of the mid-nineteenth century, from Robert Knox, Thomas Carlyle, and John Mitchel to Charles Kingsley, Matthew Arnold, and the caricaturists of Punch to Frederick Douglass, this article proposes that the implication that nineteenth-century Irishness was cognate to Blackness—or the Irish experience a version of the Black experience—represents the epistemological and ethical error that Frank B. Wilderson III has called “the ruse of analogy” that we must interrogate more critically lest we, in Wilderson's formulation, enact a “mystification, and often erasure, of Blackness's grammar of suffering.”

A quote from within the article that gives a succinct idea of things too:

None of this should obscure the fundamental point, which is that nineteenth-century caricaturists, in both prose and image, turned to racist stereotypes of Black and other nonwhite people in order to mock whites who—for whatever reason—came under critique. After all, the deprecatory rhetorical alignment of the Irish with nonwhite people was frequently rather scattershot: the Irish-born (but London-based) royal physician James Johnson, giving an account of his early 1840s “tour in Ireland,” describes Killarney guides as “an amusing race” who “swarm about the hotels like the Hindoos and Mahomedans on the beach at Madras,” Cashel as “a city of wig-wams inhabited by Titanians,” and the “Hibernian” as “like a Mahomedan Cadi.” He declares that “the murders of this county [Tipperary] would disgrace the most gloomy wilds of the most savage tribes that ever roamed in Asia, Africa, or America.” For all of Johnson's racialized rhetoric, this is not a serious attempt at racial taxonomy but rather the deployment, in the interest of evocative insult, of whatever racist stereotype of nonwhite persons comes to hand. As David Theo Goldberg states more generally, “The charged atypicality of the Irish or Jews in the European context . . . is comprehended and sustained only by identifying each respectively with and in terms of the conjunction of blackness, (European) femininity, and the lumpenproletariat.” That says far more about the largely unquestioned ideologies of anti-Black racism than about prejudice toward, for example, deliberately disparaged subsets of whites.