Jill Is Pulling an Imus--Now What?

Email Print posted by ProfJonathan 04/17/2007 07:43:59 AM EST

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Jill's breezy recitation of anti-Semitic canards is akin to Imus' recent comments, except it's worse.

Okay, so Jill's back, and right away she's making anti-Semitic statements.  By her arguments, Jews are good at finance, so what's wrong with that?  Setting aside the empirical nonsense of that statement (what about a particular monotheistic faith leads to financial acumen?), if there would be any truth to it, it would be as true as the fact that some African-Americans' hair can be described as "nappy". 

 

Sound familiar?

 

Here's the reality for Jill's benefit: Judaism is a religion, not a race with genetic characteristics.  Here's more reality: that canard has been used to persecute Jews for literally two thousand years, from the stories of evil Jewish moneylenders and Judas sellling out Jesus for pieces of silver in the New Testament on forward.

Any time one ascribes a cultural "characteristic" to a national, ethnic or religious group without some rational cause for that characteristic (e.g. demonstrable genetics or laws), whether or not one feels it to be complimentary, it's wrong and objectionable.  It's no different from what Imus did, except that rather than slinging this statement at a small group of athletes, Jill has painted every Jew with this brush.

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Jill Is Pulling an Imus--Now What? | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 hidden)
Seems like simple immaturity to me (none / 0)

Not to be mean, but the kind of rationalisation/false logic she used is rather juvenile.

 

It is ALWAYS a mistake to try to make arguments  based on generalizations.

 

Generalizations make me cringe = S

Generalization is lazy thinking. 

by pinellas on 04/17/2007 08:01:54 AM EST

Hey Rabbi! Lighten up! (none / 0)
Here is a photograph of "Palestine", taken about 60 years ago.
israel

If the Jews had never returned to the land of their ancestors, Israel would still look like this today.

Instead, they took a tiny speck of sand, and turned it into one of the richest, most powerful countries in the world. They did all of this in a very short period of time, while they were being blown up by Islamic Jihadists.

In my humble opinion, Jews seem pretty good at finance. While we're at it, I've also noticed that African-Americans are good at basketball. 

by KenTX on 04/17/2007 08:20:31 AM EST

Asian Engineers (none / 0)
While we're on the steriotype thread I'd like to point out that Asians, specifically Chineese and Indians pump, out some smart Engineers.  You can tell by the fact that it's darn hard these days to find an engineer that speaks decent english! 

by alphasigmookie on 04/17/2007 01:58:05 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Jews have a history of being educated, sorry! (none / 0)
For over  thousands of years, when most everybody was  illiterate, the Jews were 100% literate and educated their children as part of their religion. It made a difference. Their religion  was condusive to good study habits. Yes, jews make good lawyers, Italians are loud and love to eat, the Irish like to drink and kenyans can run like the wind. People from certain cultures can have a particular attribute. That's NOT racism, it's reality! Grow up!

by grogger on 04/17/2007 10:26:48 AM EST

Literate, yes, but financially savvy? (none / 0)

I would agree that near-universal or universal literacy (which is a cultural ethic) has made a huge difference in the ability for Jews to succeed, particularly in our more modern, knowledge-driven world and in fields like law (I'm a law professor, so I certainly wouldn't argue there!).

The myth about finance, though, has little or nothing to do with that.  At its heart, it is stating that Jews love money as a racial characteristic.  Not books, money.  As a corollary, they are greedy, financially savvy, and oh yes, control the world's banks and are using them from behind the scenes to control governments.  That kind of myth (perpetuated through lasting evil forgeries like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as well as through well-intended statements like those of Tommy Thompson as well as Jill this a.m.) should never be left unchallenged, since it leads to prejudice, resentment, and many other negative results.

by ProfJonathan on 04/17/2007 11:00:05 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Savvy, maybe...Cheap, Yes! (none / 1)
I don't know how savvy they are per say, but I have a friend who is jewish and he is possibly the cheapest person I've ever met! It is possible that being frugal is ingraned in their culture and by saving a lot of money it allows them to be lenders instead of debtors which tends to make you much richer over time.  I guess I would call that savvy. 

by alphasigmookie on 04/17/2007 02:03:03 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Texas Jew Boy (none / 0)
"That kind of myth (perpetuated through lasting evil forgeries like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as well as through well-intended statements like those of Tommy Thompson as well as Jill this a.m.) should never be left unchallenged, since it leads to prejudice, resentment, and many other negative results."

Dixie rednecks consider Jews to be different. The Bible says that Jews are God's chosen people, and that Jesus was a Jew. This could be why the South elected the first Jewish Senators, and Southern Baptists want to kill Islamic Jihadists to protect the Children of Israel.

Texas nearly elected a Jew last year, who promised to reduce the speed limit to 54.95

Southerners also admire the Jews’ talent at grading diamonds.

by KenTX on 04/17/2007 03:19:26 PM EST

[ Parent ]
You gotta love (none / 0)
that Jewish sense of humor.

Maybe that's why half my girlfriends have been Jewish.

by jarett on 04/17/2007 06:11:39 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Jews and money (none / 0)

  "At its heart, it is stating that Jews love money as a racial characteristic.  Not books, money." I never saw it that way
but after reading for a couple of day, I can see your correct!! Boy people are f'd up!

by grogger on 04/19/2007 08:00:21 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Sharpton (none / 0)
Sharpton has a name for Jews I think. He calls them diamond merchants or some such thing if I recall.

by acroso on 04/17/2007 01:27:02 PM EST

I just can't stand the stupidity. (none / 0)

Is Jill really a progressive? Because she sounds just like a stupid, uninformed budding Republican racist/bigot.

In fact, her "questioning" as to why is it wrong to generalize traits and characteristics by race or religion sounds exactly like that ignorant f*** Glen Beck.

Congratulations, Jill.  You made my morning. There's an open slot  where Imus used to be. Why don't you start your new show by asking why is it wrong to call women atheletes ugly when, in fact, many are. Please. Do that. Somewhere else.

by ammie119 on 04/17/2007 02:05:04 PM EST

How many "theys" (none / 0)

...do you have in your life, Jill? 

I mean we now know that you don't consider Jews or blacks part of your community, because you make a point to note where they differ -- in finance and basketball -- which is so charming... Are gays part of your community, the America you belong to? Or do they belong to a separate segment that is good at decorating and self-deprecating humor? How about Turkish-American men? In what ways does Cenk reveal his heritage and show that he's not totally an American like you?

by ammie119 on 04/17/2007 02:16:10 PM EST

Jews, Gems and Cash (none / 0)
 Thoughout history the jewish people have been subject to laws either forbidding them from owning property or during times of bigotry and hatred have had their property taken away.
Cash,  Diamonds or other gem stones was a way to accumilate wealth that is liquid and easy to hide and move.

BTW, I should have mentioned before the graphics I've posted in the forum are original, using cropped pictures. Sometimes a picture says so much more.
Go Beyondhiv

by Beyondhiv on 04/19/2007 02:29:15 AM EST

Jill Is Pulling an Imus--Now What? | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 hidden)
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