antisemitism

@vellibiz (297)
United States
June 10, 2009 4:36pm CST
If i discriminate against a white person i am called a racist If i discriminate against a black person i am called a racist If i discriminate against a latin person i am called a racist. If i discriminate against a jewish preson i am anti-semitic. Why do jewish people have their own word for when people discriminate against them? i watch fox and cnn, and they use racist or racism for ever other race, but for jews its always antisemitism. Why?
1 person likes this
7 responses
@heathcliff (1415)
• United States
10 Jun 09
Maybe you shouldn't discriminate against anybody, then you wouldn't have to worry about semantics! AND if you really didn't worry about semantics, you could be anti-semantic!
2 people like this
• United States
10 Jun 09
I know your point. The Holocaust made hate toward Jews "worse" than hate toward anyone else, but it is still semantics. It is all about the power we give words. After that it is all about being able to laugh at stupidity.
1 person likes this
@vellibiz (297)
• United States
10 Jun 09
i just dont understand why you go through the trouble making sure you type ant-semitic than plainly using hate or racist or racism you decide to use anti-semitic, why? whats the difference? im sorry i just look at it as everyone is equal but when it comes to jewish people we have to stop and take deep consideration and use more cautious terms. when there is pain and suffering all around.
1 person likes this
@Latrivia (2878)
• United States
10 Jun 09
Because a German jew hater coined the term back in 1879. It's been used ever since then.
2 people like this
@4ftfingers (1310)
11 Jun 09
This is an interesting question. Semite actualy was first used to refer to a group of Afro-asiatic languages. In a similar way to how Romance refers to a group of Indo-European languages. If the same was applied, anyone anti-European (of these particular parts of Europe) would be anti-romance. Though this doesn't exist there are such words as Anglophobe - which refers to people who are anti-British. And also, there is Francophobe (France) and Germanophobe (Germany). There may be others but I'm not sure.
1 person likes this
• United States
11 Jun 09
Of course, Xenophobe is fear of or opposition to all foreigners, regardless of what you call yourself. I still see alot of this in rural USA.
1 person likes this
11 Jun 09
No, he's band from the UK because it is of the government's oppinion that he advocates violence. Similar to how extremist Muslim preachers have been banned for promoting violence. Should the government be more tolerant of their views too?
• United States
11 Jun 09
Xenophobia is not just in rural U.S- The Japanese are just as xenophobic. The Communist Chinese are very xenophobic. The Muslim nations are xenophobic. Liberals are xenophobic as well, especially if you do not believe in their insight. They will try to ban you out of their country. Michael Savage, a famous talk show host was banned from the UK because his views are not pro liberal.
@momiecat (997)
• United States
10 Jun 09
Interesting question. I don't have an answer, unfortunately. May be someone who can speak with authority will have an answer. It is a curious study to think about, how people feel about their own culture and race. If there is a God, why would he create such diversity? Why is it that one race thinks they are better than another? Are we not all living, breathing human beings? Most races, I think, have had issues to deal with in terms of prejudices against them. Even the white race has had a sort of reverse prejudism against them. I think a lot of cultures have gone through a lot of crap and hardship. I think they have some right to be angry with people who have done their ancestors wrong. However, the blame for the atrocities should not be put on the current generations as they had no say in what happened long ago.
1 person likes this
• United States
11 Jun 09
I believe God got bored. Think about being a God and knowing everything. I do not believe, sometimes, God even cares even though people tend to care more often about what goes on in the world.
@murderistic (2278)
• United States
11 Jun 09
Honestly, why does it matter if there is a phrase coined for it? It's not like someone just came out and coined the phrase. It's been around for a while. To explicitly NOT use the phrase in order to not make the Jews special or something seems a bit racist to me honestly haha. The phrase is already there, you can't take it back.
1 person likes this
@JodiLynn (1417)
• United States
10 Jun 09
actually, Semite means anyone born in the middle east, so the term is technically incorrect. Arab's are a semetic people, yet are held as being the most anti-semetic in all the world. hate is hate no matter what title you give it.
@vellibiz (297)
• United States
10 Jun 09
after 9/11 people who discriminated against muslims were racist not anti-semitic whether the term is correct or not.
1 person likes this
@momiecat (997)
• United States
10 Jun 09
I have good friends who are Armenian. They can be the nicest people. However, I have been places where middle eastern people can be very rude. The men seem to have problems with their tempers and egos, and the woman are big and strong enough to push you out of their way or not move out of your way. I have experienced this in stores. We live in the next town over of a heavily populated Armenian community. All in all, I take a person on an individual basis regardless of their skin color or beliefs. If they are nice to me, I will be just as nice to them. I think the people that were involved in 911 do not represent a certain culture as a whole. It is always due to the aberrant behaviors of a few people that can spoil the way a culture is viewed by those who have reasons to be angry with those actions of a small group.
@clrumfelt (5490)
• United States
11 Jun 09
According to Israelect.com: "It dates back to 1879, the invention of a German journalist and writer who wanted to signify that anti-Semitism was not the same as traditional religious hatred of Jews, and therefore coined a phrase which had a racial connotation." There have been many religious groups that hated the Jews based on their religious beliefs, but anti-Semitism says to hate the Jews based on who their ancestors are, same as any other racism.