naraburns nihil supernum
7mo ago
(text post)
29939 thread views
Israel-Gaza Megathread #2
This is a refreshed megathread for any posts on the conflict between (so far, and so far as I know) Hamas and the Israeli government, as well as related geopolitics. Culture War thread rules apply.
random bullshit: activist greta thunberg posted a picture of herself supporting gaza. sharp eyed observers noticed the subtle dogwhistle in the background of a blue octopus plushie, and she's been forced to delete it and apologize for this dangerous display of antisemitism.
On a similar note, a 2015-esque 4chan meme posted yesterday got 15 million view on Twitter. There seems to be a shift in the wind. Naysayers will say that Twitter isn't real life, I remember everybody saying that about the "Tumblr SJWs" in 2009.
On a similar note, a 2015-esque 4chan meme posted yesterday got 15 million view on Twitter.
I would be very interested in a high-effort response to the highly memeable reply, "Impressive, very nice. Now let's see the Muslims."
Jews (and, in particular, Ashkenazim) are certainly overrepresented in a lot of interesting places. But my impression is that this is surprisingly true of many minority ethnicities and religious groups--almost as though having a mainstream upbringing results in a milquetoast adulthood. Or, alternatively, that being heterogeneous to the modal citizen of your country is quite naturally going to result in placement at one of the bell's tails. Whatever the case, "look at all the Jews in high government office" is a classic cardiologist problem.
SecureSignals
Civilization is simply a geno-memetic-techno-capital machine
naraburns 6mo ago
There seem to always be a reaction like this that presumes the only relevant question is the cause of the overrepresentation rather than the meaning or impact of the overrepresentation. Even if what you are saying is true, that this overrepresentation of Jews in the highest policy positions is driven by merit with no other contributing factors that are less savory, like Jewish ethnocentrism, that doesn't allow us to dismiss the implications. Especially as it pertains to the relationship of the US with Israel as well as the identification and loyalty of these Jews to the state of Israel.
As Anthony Blinken told the Israel Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv "I come before you not only as the United States secretary of state but also as a Jew". There is goig to be a certain impact of this Clark Kent dual-identity when so much policy is controlled by people who identify this way.
Well, what is the meaning of overrepresentation? Trump’s admin only had one Jewish person in the cabinet - Mnuchin, unlikely to have had much influence on foreign policy - and their policy was at the very least not less pro-Israel.
SecureSignals
Civilization is simply a geno-memetic-techno-capital machine
Stefferi 6mo ago
Trump famously assigned arguably the most crucial policy position on Israel/Palestine to his Jewish son-in-law who has close ties to Israel. But I do think the difference in representation means something significant. Under the Trump administration, stopping immigration and closing the borders was a top priority although they largely failed due to all the pushback from the administrative state. Then Biden comes into office, the cabinet changes, Jews like Alejandro Mayorkas take over DHS, and what happens? Borders wide open to unprecedented levels of immigration, DHS and Biden Administration makes huge pushes to combat anti-Semitism. DHS/US Intelligence identifies White Supremacy as the greatest domestic threat.
Looking at the massive changes in policy priorities from the Trump Administration- building the wall and stopping illegal immigration, to the Biden Administration- identifying White Supremacy as the greatest domestic security threat, whole-of-society efforts to combat anti-Semitism, massively increasing DHS funding to Jewish NGOs, suggests that this does have meaning and impact on the policy priorities at the highest level of government.
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random bullshit: activist greta thunberg posted a picture of herself supporting gaza. sharp eyed observers noticed the subtle dogwhistle in the background of a blue octopus plushie, and she's been forced to delete it and apologize for this dangerous display of antisemitism.
Greta Thunberg deletes 'I stand with Gaza' social media post after critics claimed stuffed octopus in photo could be viewed as an 'anti-Semitic' symbol - as she says the toy helps with her autism
That's a headline I didn't have on my bingo card.
On a similar note, a 2015-esque 4chan meme posted yesterday got 15 million view on Twitter. There seems to be a shift in the wind. Naysayers will say that Twitter isn't real life, I remember everybody saying that about the "Tumblr SJWs" in 2009.
I would be very interested in a high-effort response to the highly memeable reply, "Impressive, very nice. Now let's see the Muslims."
Jews (and, in particular, Ashkenazim) are certainly overrepresented in a lot of interesting places. But my impression is that this is surprisingly true of many minority ethnicities and religious groups--almost as though having a mainstream upbringing results in a milquetoast adulthood. Or, alternatively, that being heterogeneous to the modal citizen of your country is quite naturally going to result in placement at one of the bell's tails. Whatever the case, "look at all the Jews in high government office" is a classic cardiologist problem.
There seem to always be a reaction like this that presumes the only relevant question is the cause of the overrepresentation rather than the meaning or impact of the overrepresentation. Even if what you are saying is true, that this overrepresentation of Jews in the highest policy positions is driven by merit with no other contributing factors that are less savory, like Jewish ethnocentrism, that doesn't allow us to dismiss the implications. Especially as it pertains to the relationship of the US with Israel as well as the identification and loyalty of these Jews to the state of Israel.
As Anthony Blinken told the Israel Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv "I come before you not only as the United States secretary of state but also as a Jew". There is goig to be a certain impact of this Clark Kent dual-identity when so much policy is controlled by people who identify this way.
Well, what is the meaning of overrepresentation? Trump’s admin only had one Jewish person in the cabinet - Mnuchin, unlikely to have had much influence on foreign policy - and their policy was at the very least not less pro-Israel.
Trump famously assigned arguably the most crucial policy position on Israel/Palestine to his Jewish son-in-law who has close ties to Israel. But I do think the difference in representation means something significant. Under the Trump administration, stopping immigration and closing the borders was a top priority although they largely failed due to all the pushback from the administrative state. Then Biden comes into office, the cabinet changes, Jews like Alejandro Mayorkas take over DHS, and what happens? Borders wide open to unprecedented levels of immigration, DHS and Biden Administration makes huge pushes to combat anti-Semitism. DHS/US Intelligence identifies White Supremacy as the greatest domestic threat.
The "big winners" of DHS grants under the Biden Administration have been the Jews, who saw funding for the NonProfit Security Grant Program balloon from $180 million to $305 million, and just now US Senators have proposed an increase to $500 million in funding.
Looking at the massive changes in policy priorities from the Trump Administration- building the wall and stopping illegal immigration, to the Biden Administration- identifying White Supremacy as the greatest domestic security threat, whole-of-society efforts to combat anti-Semitism, massively increasing DHS funding to Jewish NGOs, suggests that this does have meaning and impact on the policy priorities at the highest level of government.
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