Anti-Semitism and Racism from the Disingenuous Powerful

We need to be careful and very, very vigilant in these times. We are in the depths of an economic crisis, the likes of which we haven't seen in 80 years. We also have an African-American president, the first ever in the history of our country.

Any time you mix hard times with race or ethnicity, what you end up with is the potential for scapegoating. Somehow, in order to empower themselves, people blame, mock and attack others, simply because of the group they belong to.

Ironically, it has not been society's dis-empowered who have made the news recently. Instead, public individuals who hold considerable power have done or said things that have come into the racist/anti-Semitic spotlight. These acts have occurred all too regularly to be isolated incidents and must be considered scapegoating.

Typically, scapegoating comes from a sense of anger and frustration. Targeting scapegoats, using racist or anti-Semitic language or acts to take revenge upon the targeted group, ebbs and flows at the popular level. We have been in an era where educated and powerful in our society have increasingly repudiated such expression. However, if we are not careful and vigilant, we are seeing an increased amount of pointing at scapegoats, in a way that is often disguised through the strategy of "Innocent Ignorance" by those same educated and powerful individuals in our society.

For two months, Roman Catholic Bishop Richard Williamson has been in the news after Pope Benedict XVI lifted Williamson's excommunication. Williamson, it is crucial to note, is a holocaust denier. Somehow the Pope was simply hoping the world wouldn't notice. Jewish and other human rights organizations expressed their outrage at such a papal move. Then, suddenly, the Pope began to put pressure on the Bishop to recant his "research."

It took until today for the Bishop to make a formal apology. It is wonderful that Williamson finally apologized after many years of denying the holocaust. But, why did it take so long? And, why didn't the Pope vet Williamson before lifting the excommunication? Because the Jews are scapegoats. As Abe Foxman, Director of the Anti-Defamation League, stated, "One of the constant classics of anti-Semitism is Jews and money. When an economic crisis comes, you look for whom to blame." [Italics mine]

Two easily-targeted groups in America are Jews and African-Americans. If you followed the link for the Foxman ADL quote, you might say, "Well, that took place in Venezuela." Indeed, in her article, Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Trudy Rubin did focus initially on the attack on a synagogue in Caracas. It was trashed, defaced, and computers were stolen, with lists of Jewish members on the hard drives. Anti-Semite Hugo Chavez, of course, blamed it all on Israeli intelligence. By the end of her piece, Rubin warns her readers of the potential for broadening scapegoating.

Was that an over-reaction? No. Anti-Semitism in the United States is growing. An example occurred in the Klein, Texas High School newspaper, the Klein Bearchat. A person of power, a teacher, allowed an anti-semitic article and an editorial to be published on January 30th. How could this happen? There are only 10-15 Jews among the 3000 students in the school. The only answer can be scapegoating.

During an economic crisis, there is no need to be careful and to teach young people properly. It's easier to let things slide. No one will know, particularly since it's a minority of people who care. And the strategy of Innocent Ignorance can be used to explain away the whole incident.

Unfortunately, the pattern is growing for African Americans also being targeted. The infamous New York Post chimpanzee cartoon is the first example. Fortunately, the Post offered an apology. Unfortunately, it was couched in terms of Innocent Ignorance. The wording included, "It was meant to mock an ineptly written federal stimulus bill. Period. But it has been taken as something else - as a depiction of President Obama, as a thinly veiled expression of racism. This most certainly was not its intent; to those who were offended by the image, we apologize."

New York Times columnist Charles Blow wrote a blog piece today, "Not Yet Human," reminding us of the history of psychology in engraving racism into our social psyche. The Post and Sean Delonas, the cartoonist, pretended not to be aware of any of the stereotypically racist images from our past. How convenient, instead, to use Innocent Ignorance.

The mayor of Los Alamitos, California mayor, Dean Grose, sent out an email with a fake photo of the White House with watermelons on the front lawn. The caption read, "No Easter Egg hunt this year." Once the mayor was informed of the offensive, racist interpretation of the email, he suddenly apologized by saying, "“It was just poor judgment on my part and I am deeply sorry.” Ah, yes, Innocent Ignorance. Once again.

Unfortunately, racism does not always appear through such supposedly "vague" means. Diversity, Inc. documents public displays of nooses on its Noose Watch map. In the last two years, seventy-eight reported incidents have occurred in the U.S. The vicious symbol of the noose is still too freely used.

Barack Obama was elected with sixty-seven million votes, 53 percent of the voters. Yet, each day in the news, Republicans - including powerful Alabama Senator Richard Shelby - drop hints that Obama should not be President because he is not an American citizen. In this manner, they plug into xenophobic and racist tendencies in our society. Always next day, the Republican official, of course, backs away and feigns innocence. "Oh, no, that's not what I meant to day." Voila, no harm, no foul. Innocent Ignorance employed.

But the seed has been planted. The scapegoat has been identified. In the Germany of the 1930's, the same seeds of distrust and hatred sown during difficult economic times led to Kristallnacht.

It could never happen here! Right? I wish I could remain totally optimistic and say, "No, of course not." Yet, I can't because I see the use of scapegoating gradually increasing.

I worry most about the children. Children easily learn to follow what they see and hear around them. What I've learned, however, is that adults tend to follow, as well. They see what is and is not acceptable. And those in power are the ones who lead in positive ways and negative, in how to be racist and how to appear not to be.

In these very difficult economic times, we must call out anti-Semitism and racism wherever we see them. We must not accept the Ignorant Innocence from anyone, especially the disingenuous powerful. And, if we don't stand against racism and the scapegoating growing around us, we deserve the "cowards" moniker Eric Holder gave us -- as well as the dire consequences that may follow.