Sunday, November 30, 2008
Nadia Lays It On The Line
In a recent post entitled "anti racist blogging," Nadia at no snow here writes, in part:
Any way, people of color are generally subject to the same racist media garbage about Arabs and Muslims that White folks get and if I've learned anything it's that being oppressed is no inoculation against being an oppressor. The "anti-Semitism on the Left" racket is about ensuring that critiques of racism and other forms of oppression don't get turned against Zionism and Jewish supremacism.
Nadia didn't seem very receptive when I ripped the "great zine" in "Rosenblum's Myths of 'Anti-Semitism'--Part 1." She said I was "way off base." I hope she's willing to reconsider that and the extent to which she has also bought into the "anti-Semitism on the Left" racket. We'll see.
but i guess one thing that is important to point to (and a thing that was and continues to be a source of confusion for many young arabs coming up) is that larger u.s. people of color culture doesn't include arabs, and often actively excludes us. i thought, maybe this was because of how the u.s. census categoriezes us, maybe because so many of us have sadly assimilated into whiteness, or maybe because of ways arabs are positioned as rich in media outlets, i don’t know. it seems like a total disconnect to me that one could watch a movie with a brown, bearded "foreign" man speaking a different language and holding white people hostage and regard that person (and his u.s. counterparts) as white. but after two years in the "anti racist" blogosphere i figured out that it is not that we are too "white" for u.s. people of color, but that we are just too fucking outlaw and a lot of ya'll can’t handle it becauseJust about a year and half ago Nadia wrote:our issues are too dangerous; you want safety. and after all i have experienced i’ve truly come to believe this. you’re more concerned with "anti-semitism on the left" than the reality of war (war is torture, rape, murder and desctruction)–there are wars going on, people are dying, but ya'll are more concerned about white people's feelings than about the actual systematic physical destruction of the people we love in other countries AND the systematic institutionalized racism we face. fuck you.
Last week I stumbled upon a great zine entitled “The Past Didn’t Go Anywhere: Making Resistance To Antisemitism Part of All of Our Movements” (via Josh Russell). It is available for download in both digital and printout formats (I recommend reading it before reading the rest of this post.) This is a must read for EVERYONE. The writers of the pamphlet did a great job breaking down so many issues in a clear, concise and engaging way. They went into the history of Jews in Europe, the history of antisemitism, antisemitism on the left ...I hope Nadia's post signifies a new willingness to call bullshit on the "anti-Semitism on the Left" racket. After all, the Anti-Semitism Industry is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Holocaust Industry or vice versa--I always forget which.
Any way, people of color are generally subject to the same racist media garbage about Arabs and Muslims that White folks get and if I've learned anything it's that being oppressed is no inoculation against being an oppressor. The "anti-Semitism on the Left" racket is about ensuring that critiques of racism and other forms of oppression don't get turned against Zionism and Jewish supremacism.
Nadia didn't seem very receptive when I ripped the "great zine" in "Rosenblum's Myths of 'Anti-Semitism'--Part 1." She said I was "way off base." I hope she's willing to reconsider that and the extent to which she has also bought into the "anti-Semitism on the Left" racket. We'll see.
Labels: critical thinking, identity, racism, US politics, Zionism
Comments:
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omg, i am tired of this.
i really did not appreciate the comment you left saying you hoped i'd be "inspired" to come to that protest when i said i was inspired by slingshot hiphop. i don't know if you realize this, but it comes off very sarcastic when you put the word "inspired" in quotes, it was really insinuating something and i didn't appreciate it.
then this ... i am a 24 year old person who works at least 60 hours in a week and doesn't have the kind of lifestyle where i can sit at a computer surrounded by books and research all day. this is apparently what it takes to be a blogger and one reason i stopped blogging for so long. thanks for pointing out that i am not as knowledgeable as you on the topic of antizionism. isn't it possible that i may have changed my mind in a period of a year and a half? and i don't need you all up in my blog saying i told you so?
i am arab and palestinian and have been really damaged by all of the anti-arab and anti-palestinian sentiment i have grown up with here. as a white jewish "ally" do you not understand the concept of internalized racism? and actually, anti-semitism IS a problem in our communities, and i was trying to negotiate working with jewish antizionists within that context, that is what i was reacting to when i first came across that zine, it spoke to something that i had experienced but i hadn't yet had enough experience and sophisticated knowledge of this misinformation production to filter it through. i appreciate you providing information and a different analyses. but i really do not appreciate how you are talking about me here.
i am not old, i am young, okay? i never said i wasn't going to change my mind. and the whole point of my blog and blogging for me is that i am trying to figure a lot of things out. this is why i write it. if you can't understand that than you shouldn't read or comment there.
you don't know anything about me or what i have or have not "bought into." you think you know so much that you can be this judgemental? and a "new" willingness to call bullshit? YOU DON"T KNOW ME. i have hardly posted on my blog in the past year. i am calling bullshit on you.
i really did not appreciate the comment you left saying you hoped i'd be "inspired" to come to that protest when i said i was inspired by slingshot hiphop. i don't know if you realize this, but it comes off very sarcastic when you put the word "inspired" in quotes, it was really insinuating something and i didn't appreciate it.
then this ... i am a 24 year old person who works at least 60 hours in a week and doesn't have the kind of lifestyle where i can sit at a computer surrounded by books and research all day. this is apparently what it takes to be a blogger and one reason i stopped blogging for so long. thanks for pointing out that i am not as knowledgeable as you on the topic of antizionism. isn't it possible that i may have changed my mind in a period of a year and a half? and i don't need you all up in my blog saying i told you so?
i am arab and palestinian and have been really damaged by all of the anti-arab and anti-palestinian sentiment i have grown up with here. as a white jewish "ally" do you not understand the concept of internalized racism? and actually, anti-semitism IS a problem in our communities, and i was trying to negotiate working with jewish antizionists within that context, that is what i was reacting to when i first came across that zine, it spoke to something that i had experienced but i hadn't yet had enough experience and sophisticated knowledge of this misinformation production to filter it through. i appreciate you providing information and a different analyses. but i really do not appreciate how you are talking about me here.
i am not old, i am young, okay? i never said i wasn't going to change my mind. and the whole point of my blog and blogging for me is that i am trying to figure a lot of things out. this is why i write it. if you can't understand that than you shouldn't read or comment there.
you don't know anything about me or what i have or have not "bought into." you think you know so much that you can be this judgemental? and a "new" willingness to call bullshit? YOU DON"T KNOW ME. i have hardly posted on my blog in the past year. i am calling bullshit on you.
# posted by 
: Monday, December 01, 2008 6:23:00 AM
: Monday, December 01, 2008 6:23:00 AM
My personal sorrow is how Arabs and Muslims have internalized the Jewish media trip against Germans and against whites, and when push comes to shove, Arabs and Muslims often resort to stereotyping and slander of Germans. I was so very disappointed by Prof. Yasir Qadhi's response to Zionist accusations of Holocaust Denial. Instead of just backing up his arguments with some facts, which he could easily have done, he resorts to smearing the Institute for Historical Research with the same exact smears the Zionists were using against him. These people are going to prison, getting deported, stripped of their rights, for standing up to the Jews. If the Arabs and Muslims can't show some decent respect and support, they should at least refrain from stereotyping and smearcasting. It is so ignorant and it probably will backfire. Just have a backbone and stop trying to fit in with groups.
# posted by : Tuesday, December 02, 2008 11:15:00 AM
: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 11:15:00 AM
nosnowhere (NSH) writes: "i don't know if you realize this, but it comes off very sarcastic when you put the word 'inspired' in quotes, it was really insinuating something and i didn't appreciate it."
I put the word in quotes for the simple reason that it was a direct quote of something you said and anything else you got out of that was in your own head.
NSH writes: "thanks for pointing out that i am not as knowledgeable as you on the topic of antizionism. isn't it possible that i may have changed my mind in a period of a year and a half? and i don't need you all up in my blog saying i told you so?"
My post wasn't about saying "I told you so." It was about being glad and hopeful that you, apparently, "changed [your] mind" and taking note of that. You blog because you choose to put your thoughts out for public scrutiny. So, what's with your whiney and defensive comment?
NSH writes: "i am arab and palestinian and have been really damaged by all of the anti-arab and anti-palestinian sentiment i have grown up with here."
I'm sorry that you see yourself as "damaged".
NSH writes: "as a white jewish 'ally' do you ..."
You have me confused with someone else.
NSH writes: "actually, anti-semitism IS a problem in our communities ..."
Really? I don't see it. Could it be that the people you interact with and whom you think manifest so-called anti-Semitism just fail to use the politically correct terminology and adhere to politically correct lines of thought? In any case, why is "anti-Semitism" such a concern to you (this is not a rhetorical question) and don't you think the organized Jewish community is sufficiently capable of 'addressing' the problem? They deftly handled Norman Finkelstein and Mehrene Larudee, Catherine Wilkerson, and Will Smith, didn't they?
NSH writes: "you don't know anything about me or what i have or have not 'bought into.' "
I know at one time you promoted and sang the praises of April Rosenblum's poisonous propaganda and then a year-and-a-half later you seemed to starkly change your tune. I also know that you could have been a lot more gracious "calling bullshit on" me. Oh, well.
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I put the word in quotes for the simple reason that it was a direct quote of something you said and anything else you got out of that was in your own head.
NSH writes: "thanks for pointing out that i am not as knowledgeable as you on the topic of antizionism. isn't it possible that i may have changed my mind in a period of a year and a half? and i don't need you all up in my blog saying i told you so?"
My post wasn't about saying "I told you so." It was about being glad and hopeful that you, apparently, "changed [your] mind" and taking note of that. You blog because you choose to put your thoughts out for public scrutiny. So, what's with your whiney and defensive comment?
NSH writes: "i am arab and palestinian and have been really damaged by all of the anti-arab and anti-palestinian sentiment i have grown up with here."
I'm sorry that you see yourself as "damaged".
NSH writes: "as a white jewish 'ally' do you ..."
You have me confused with someone else.
NSH writes: "actually, anti-semitism IS a problem in our communities ..."
Really? I don't see it. Could it be that the people you interact with and whom you think manifest so-called anti-Semitism just fail to use the politically correct terminology and adhere to politically correct lines of thought? In any case, why is "anti-Semitism" such a concern to you (this is not a rhetorical question) and don't you think the organized Jewish community is sufficiently capable of 'addressing' the problem? They deftly handled Norman Finkelstein and Mehrene Larudee, Catherine Wilkerson, and Will Smith, didn't they?
NSH writes: "you don't know anything about me or what i have or have not 'bought into.' "
I know at one time you promoted and sang the praises of April Rosenblum's poisonous propaganda and then a year-and-a-half later you seemed to starkly change your tune. I also know that you could have been a lot more gracious "calling bullshit on" me. Oh, well.
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