Freedom of Speech Is a Good Thing, Oui?

Our bathroom renovators are two great guys working for a very professional company. They are actually fun to have around, and since we are now going forward with a second bathroom, they will be for some time. Recently one of them remarked that it was a pleasure to work for us, unlike a former client who was "one of those obnoxious and pushy New York Jews-- you know the type." I told him I know the type very well indeed, since I am a New York Jew and so is my husband. He said, somewhat flustered, "No, not really! You two aren't like that."

I forgot about it until last week when I posted an ad on Craigslist for a writing job I am seeking to fill. Looking for someone willing to help me with a certain task for a 50/50 split of the profit, I composed an articulate ad and hoped for the best. Out of five respondents, two answered angrily that the poster--that would be me--"must be a kike." I wondered what had tipped them off; was it the lack of errors in the ad? The big words? Again, I moved on.

Until today, when I spied a story in this morning's Wall Street Journal about the documented return of anti-Semitism.  Seems the Christian Dior line of frocks has fired its top designer, John Galliano, for saying "I love Hitler" and "People like you should be dead" to strangers sitting next to him in a trendy Paris bar. (This was somehow caught on video and is now playing on the Internet in your neighborhood.) But losing his job is not the worst of it: making anti-Semitic remarks is illegal in France and punishable with up to half a year in prison.

I'm certainly glad it's not illegal here, since I would hate to wait six months for my bathroom renovation.