jadedruid wrote on Mar 9, ’11

There is still so much hatred in the world. Right now I see it growing again. It scares me because hate crimes are on the rise with people feeling justified in committing them.

lauritasita wrote on Mar 9, ’11, edited on Mar 9, ’11

I’m also worried about Israel. I don’t understand why people blame the Jews for everything.

jadedruid wrote on Mar 9, ’11

I’m also worried about Israel. I don’t understand why people blame the Jews for everything.

Too much unrest in the region with special interests moving in quietly. I read Haaretz every day to keep up

catfishred wrote on Mar 10, ’11, edited on Mar 10, ’11

Unrest, unrest…when has there not been unrest? Since the day we were born our race has always been looking to scapegoat its woes on one another, for whatever reason. Bottom line is that we are simply an imperfect species. It takes a braver soul than the larger percentage of the timid and weak-hearted surrounding him or her to have courage enough to blend the strength of wisdom with the desire to tread softly and do no harm. Coupled with this is the need, which should not be ignored, to speak up and be counted when it is simply the time to do so. It appears that Natalie Portman has done just this.When I was younger, more foolhardy and energetic, I was not very wise at all. I believed that there was call to take up arms and fight for what was right. Perhaps there still is validity in such a call, say, if one’s land is overrun by tyrants or one’s family and/or existence is threatened. Arms, unfortunately, destroy the innocent. We all know this, of course, as well as the fact that too many suffer in the long run by the actions/reactions of both perpetrator and prey. Family upon family have been severely damaged throughout history by those acting out through avarice, bias, self-righteousness or simply blindly following orders that are truly crimes against humanity. You would think that, by now, our race would be somewhat more enlightened, especially when you think of all that has been uncovered, studied and developed in both the hard and soft sciences, as well as new technology. We ARE progressing somewhat, aren’t we? Abstractions, however, cannot be quantified. We can’t break down and explain away ‘love’, etc. Maybe in part we can. We can trace, observe and theorise individuals, groups and cultures, asking ourselves why? Why do we/they/you and I do what we do? Think like we do? Believe, doubt, love, hate what we do? There is still much, though, that is as unexplainable as the root of quantum theory, which appears unfathomable.

What is a very positive outcome of this particular incident here is that Mr Gallian’s prejudice was spoken up against and not tolerated. Since prejudice doesn’t seem to die, for whatever reason, it is always my hope that those human beings ignorant enough to stay stuck in their bias will now have to account for it and, hopefully, be re-educated by their own society in which they live. Do you think that’s possible?

lauritasita wrote on Mar 10, ’11, edited on Mar 10, ’11

What is a very positive outcome of this particular incident here is that Mr Gallian’s prejudice was spoken up against and not tolerated. Since prejudice doesn’t seem to die, for whatever reason, it is always my hope that those human beings ignorant enough to stay stuck in their bias will now have to account for it and, hopefully, be re-educated by their own society in which they live. Do you think that’s possible?

We can only hope for the best. Maybe these kinds of predjudices are just a reflection of adult bullying, but in this case, what does Mr. Gallian’s remarks stem from? He was a well established designer in a good company. What is the root of his hatred that he should say he loves Hitler? Jews have put up with this kind of crap forever. They are smart, educated, and kind to others. They seem to be a vicims of jealousy. I think people have also gone over board with the 1st amendment right, but he made these comments over in Paris, where it is against the law to say such slander. I actually didn’t know this until I watch the news yesterday. Interesting. Usually comments like these are laughed at and ignored, but I’m glad Natalie Portman had the guts to address it as it should be.

jadedruid wrote on Mar 10, ’11

Usually comments like these are laughed at and ignored, but I’m glad Natalie Portman had the guts to address it as it should be.

Exactly! What she did was a very brave act. She chose to stand alone.

lauritasita wrote on Mar 10, ’11

She chose to stand alone.

Yes, she certainly did stand alone, while the other stars like Nicole Kidman wore Galliano’s designs on the red carpet. That’s called indifference, unless they didn’t know about his comments. That’s how anti-Semitism starts over again. Very subtle, and then they continue to see how far they can go.

gileson wrote on Mar 10, ’11

Strictly from an historical perspective, hatred of the Jews has been around since the very first day of Christianity. Literally the very first days, that of Herod and Pilate., Christians were told and some still believe that Herod, et. al. essentially caved in to the masses who cried out for the execution of Jesus as a heretic, most or all of them Jews.
I have always found this to be confusing since the very foundation of Christianity is the death of Jesus as a redeemer of lost souls in perpetuity. Had Herod and the masses listened to Pilate when he said he could find no guilt, no crime worth of the death penalty and had Jesus been saved from exaction, then Jesus would not have been able to fulfill the promise of redemption.
It seems to me that the whole idea of redemption presupposes the death of Jesus and if the masses and Herod are guilty of anything it is their willingness to follow along a preordained process. In the overall perspective they did exactly what they had to do to fulfill the prophesies.The hatred of the Jews can be traced back to Nero when he was in charge of Rome. There were many Jewish emigrants to Rome at that time and like any stranger that comes to town they were greeted with a lot of suspicion and skepticism.Christians were trying to get organized and were preaching their philosophy trying to recruit new believers. The last thing they wanted was competition, so many of them were not enamored with the emigrants.

Somehow Nero screwed around and managed to burn most of Rome to the ground. Naturally he needed somebody to blame, so why not blame the people that most of the Romans already disliked and of whom they were suspicious? He blamed the Jews for it in essence making them his “scapegoat” (ironically a term founded in the beliefs of the early Jews themselves.)

He then retired to his Villa in the country.

He almost got away with it, until he got word that the Legions were on there way to arrest him and take him back to Rome to be executed. As they arrived at his door to detain him, he committed suicide.

Since the Romans were denied the opportunity for revenge on Nero, they focused their anger on the Jewish emigrants.

So this took place a couple of millennia ago, and why hasn’t it let up since?

I think it has to do with ignorance, superstition and fundamentalist belief that what is being preached to you from the pulpit must be true or they wouldn’t preach it.

There is still the battle for the most members, so that is still a part of it, but it also stems back to the issue of jealousy. Many Jews are very successful and that always irritates many who are not.

The Jews are successful because they are intelligent, savvy and world wise and above all else, stick together.

I knew a man in St. Paul, Mn who spent his entire life working for the railroad. Of his fellow employees, about 70% were Jewish. For years he heard them complain about having to drive clear across town an hour each way just to get some kosher food.

He bided his time and when he retired he took every dime of his retirement and opened a Kosher Deli about 2 blocks from the train station, a place by which most of the workers walked twice a day. He thought he was going to save his former associates a lot of time and money and the drive time to get kosher food.

He went broke and died an angry, bitter anti-semite.

He failed to take into consideration that a man named O’Reiley was not going to make any money selling food to the fellows named Leibowitcz or Seinfeld, no matter how convenient it was for them.

The store across town was owned and operated by Jewish people and the railroad workers were willing to make the drive and accept the inconvenience of it to deal with other Jews.

To me it is hard to find fault with the philosophy of “you wash my back, and I’ll wash yours” and the spirit of cooperation.

Our political system in this country as deteriorated so badly that the Republicans hate the Democrats, the Conservatives hate each other but will combine forces to vilify and harm the Liberals.

The conservatives want to close the schools and cut teacher pay and cut down every tree and dig up every mountain for fuel, pollute the streams and the ocean all for the sake of big business and big profits.

The Liberals want to protect the environment, preserve endangered species, expand education rather than reduce it, they would like to see that few trees are left for the next generation, air that is fit to breath and water that will sustain the animals (including humans) who depend on it for life.

The issues are the same as the discrimination and hatred of the Jews. They are based on ignorance, short sightedness; bigotry and the inability to sit down, negotiate, find a common ground and work together for the good of all.