I can say with 100% confidence that there are no Nazis running around Freeport, Maine, unless you count the big muckety-mucks at L.L. Bean's who don't hire Jews, but I tend to think that's just plain old anti-Semitism which has been around since the beginning of time and bothers me not at all. After all, it's natural for people to fear and mistrust that which they don't comprehend, and if you are not Jewish, lots of our behavior can be confounding.
For example, my husband and I visited some friends over the weekend and were asked to just "bring ourselves." This was a near-impossible feat, as we were both taught growing up that you never go anywhere empty-handed. There's always a cake or a box of cookies or a bottle of wine -- something -- to offer the hosts. I always thought this was a friendly ritual based on the native generosity of the Jew, but more and more I have come to understand it's at bottom an offering to make ourselves more palatable so we don't get shoved into an oven when we get there. (Just partially kidding.)
As for the rise of those "white nationalists" that many people fear, yesterday's rally in Washington, D.C. should put those fears to rest. A mere 20 of the heinous racists showed up, their presence dwarfed by the throngs numbering in the thousands who had assembled to shout them down. If the Nazis are hoping for a foothold they'd better get cracking because so far they've done little more than scrawl a few swastikas here and there. As for Trump, I can't see him as a Jew-hater since his daughter married one and converted to Judaism herself, and his three grandkids are Jewish. But then, what do I know -- I'm so out of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment