[ExI] the anti-Jews

[Lee Corbin]

Spike writes

> Please what causes in some otherwise perfectly reasonable person this Jew
> hatred?

Well, of course, as several have pointed out,
Madalyn was hardly an "otherwise perfectly
reasonable" person, which I may be slowly
be being forced to believe is far more true of
famous people period. Psychopaths are overrepresented
in the corridors of power. Anywhere.

As for anti-Jewishness (the anti-S word has
been thrown around far too much and is
etymologically wrong anyway), it seems on
the part of the anti-Jews to be about 70%
envy and 30% resentment of clannishness.

The seventy percent comes from the evil kind
of envy (that at least in America, doesn't
seem to be found as often as, well, historically
in Europe). This is not the kind of "envy" where
one woman will say to another, "I just love your
new coat; I'm so envious!". No, that is sheer
admiration.

The evil kind of envy is that which has always
been associated with "the evil eye". Indeed, in
the Mediterranean, as I understand it, or at least
until recently, it's possible to see warnings of
the "evil eye", especially in Turkey and the Balkans.
This is when not only do you wish that you had
something someone else had, but you resent the
fact that they have it so much that you wish
evil unto them. (Bill Gates is probably in America,
or was, the figure most envied in this bad way.
Certain movie stars are probably those most envied
in the good way.)

So Jews, often very successful financially, and
sometimes conspicuously so, have for generations
aroused both the good kind of envy and the bad.
Again, America may very well have led the way in
replacing the bad kind of envy with the good.
Early on, Jewish people understood that discrimination
in America (though often definitely present) tended to
be milder than in other places, including Europe.

"Bad" envy of Jewish precociousness in the arts
and sciences contributes also to this (in America,
I claim, 70% component).

In their clannishness, Jews seem to be no different
than other small groups. E.g. Mormons, Armenians,
Irish, etc. You can be with a group of such people
and as soon as they find out that you are not
"one of them" you quickly sense an invisible curtain
rising that excludes you. (Of course, not in every
instance; no---by no means.)

One difference between some ethnic groups can be
seen in humor. The Irish, for example, cannot be
accused of taking themselves too seriously. If
you want a boatload of Irish jokes, you need (I
imagine) only go to an Irish-run website. Repeating
Jewish jokes, on the other hand, run you the risk of
being accused of being anti-Jewish. (Not to
belittle the Irish efforts at home rule, though,
what the Jews went through in the 20th century
might indeed preclude any humor.)

In comparison, for Germany 1900-1940, I'd guess it
was 90% envy and 10% resentment of clannishness,
and the total envy was mostly the wicked kind.

Lee