Superb MRFF Inbox Post: “YES! Ask The Victims!!! […] Victims get to define what is done to them and what they need.”
keyboard-typing-1200×628
“PLEASE BE CAREFUL BEFORE YOU TELL A JEWISH PERSON SOMETHING IS ‘NOT ANTI-SEMITIC”
YES! Ask the Victims!!!
The post-WWII liberal democracy had a popular 1960’s expression “Walk a mile in my shoes” (often attributed to a Native American saying, not sure on that). It became the “first commandment” of empowerment advocacy/teaching. Social workers “Meet people where they are.” Teachers “Reach ’em to teach ’em.” Civil rights advocates turn their clients into advocates. Juries must determine what is “unwelcome” sexual conduct from the Victim’s view, as increasingly, Victims get to define what is done to them and what they need.
The core precept is that those who’ve lived a particular slice of the human existence have the best knowledge of what sustains and threatens it. Hate and prejudice from ignorance and fear threaten personal beliefs and thoughts, human feelings, choices, self-acceptance, autonomy – the full human experience of targeted people. The Founders recognized it threatens life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, albeit only for colonial America’s religious refugees from entangled Church-States, and expressly guaranteed religious choice in the Constitution. After the Civil War, race was added. The 1960’s civil rights statutes protect race and religion, and sex, color, ethnicity, national origin. Age got protections in the 1980’s, disability in 1991 and 2008. Some State laws protect even more classes. These protections do not diminish the Constitution’s guarantees enjoyed by others all along.
Racism is a mindset, word, act that offends or harms people because of their race, color, ethnicity, national origin. Sexism, homophobia, transphobia offends or harms people because of their sexual identity. A mindset, word, act that offends or harms Jewish people is anti-Semitic.
If words or acts are accompanied by slurs/hate speech (like Mikey gets daily), threats (like Mikey gets on the regular) or violence (hopefully never) and the perpetrator rants against “jewishness” or Jews, or tries to keep Jews out of society – it’s anti-Semitism.
Who do you think knows best what life is like for people in these classes (that you might not want to be a member of) – what they think, feel, need – what is prejudice, discrimination, hate against them, and the effects on them?
Ask Jewish people – and believe them!!!
Signed,MRFF Supporter, retired JAG and always Twice the Citizen