Are You Toasting Marshmallows?                                #251 

By Hank Silverberg

Antisemitism! Just mentioning the word should send a chill up your spine. It is another form of racism, though many people would not label it as such.  

The rise in this type of hate aimed at Jews is not new. It's been around as long as Judaism itself. 

History records the destruction of the Hebrew temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and the destruction of the second temple by the Romans in 70 A.D.  

If you have been well educated you are aware of the Spanish Inquisition in Spain starting in the late 15th century aimed at purging Jews from the Spanish peninsula. 

And it went on, the pogroms in Russia in the 19th and early 20'th century, and then the worst of it all, the Holocaust between 1933 and 1945 which led to the murder of six million European Jews. 

Today it goes like this: the constant drone that Jews are the only people responsible for the plight of the Palestinians (it is much more complicated than that), or that Jews control the media and the banks in modern day America. 

In each case, the Jewish people have been singled out, partly because of their faith, and partly because of their long tradition of education and success. 

Rational people know better. But unfortunately, much of the world is not rational. 

We are, of course, not the only people to be marginalized, attacked and suffer from racism.  And lets be clear, I am not trying to negate the hatred and racism endured by people of color or any other group.

What I am trying to say is that hate breeds more hate, and those who seek power often use that hate for their own political or social gain. 

They divide people out by race, religion, gender orientation or ethnicity because it serves their quest for power over everyone who is not like them. 

I point all this out because of the recent high profile attacks on Jews in the United States.

How bad has it gotten? According to the Anti-Defamation League, 2021 reached an all time high with 2,717 incidents of assault, harassments and vandalism reported in the United States. If you read my blog last week you saw statistics from a survey of hiring managers indicating that 26% of them were less likely to move forward with a job offer to Jewish applicants, with 23% indicating their companies are trying to limit Jewish presence in the workplace. 

Right now, some on the radical left and the alt-right are trying to exploit racism in various forms in their effort to gain or keep power. 

You as a freedom loving American should reject that concept, and reject it loudly. 

Racism, its reasons and its cure, are very complex, but I try to keep it on a simple plane. 

The majority of people in the world have some sort of prejudice but keep it in check with rational thinking, faith based teachings, or simply obeying the law. But there's a substantial minority we all need to worry about. 

In the last few weeks many Republicans have had a chance to disassociate themselves from the racist comments made by Kanye West and others, but they chose not to. For that they should be challenged. I could run off a list of names here of those in public office who continue to ignore racism in all its forms, but I think you know who they are. 

When talking about this with friends, I often use this line inspired by the famous Sammy Davis Jr. cameo on "All in the Family" in 1972. It's from pop culture, but it makes sense:

Most politicians are not the kind of people who would burn a cross on your lawn, but they would use the fire to roast marshmallows.

In other words, many people will exploit division for their own personal gain. 

The bottom line, if you are not upset about racism, antisemitism, nativism, white nationalism or other forms of this disease, AND don't do anything about it, then you are part of the problem. If that accusation embarrasses you or angers you, then good, you are at least thinking.  

I can sum up the dilemma with a well known quote from Reverend Martin Niemoeller, who spent eight years in a Nazi concentration camp for trying to fight Hitler.        

"First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

—Martin Niemöller   1945

 Martin Niemöller: "First they came for the Socialists..." | Holocaust Encyclopedia (ushmm.org)

Antisemitic celebrities stoke fears of normalizing hate | AP News

Gravity

What goes up, must come down. That's the basic law of gravity. It doesn't apply, though, to the price of gasoline. But I note with interest that gas prices have been tumbling lately. President Biden was attacked by his opponents daily when the average price of gas went up above $4.00 a gallon earlier this year. But guess what--no one is giving him credit now that the national average for a gallon of regular has fallen back to $3.41 as of December 4th. That is just a few pennies more than a year ago ($3.36).  

As I have written before, Presidents or public policy in the short run, has very little impact on the price of gas. It's all about supply and demand. 

AAA Gas Prices  

In some parts of the country prices have dropped below $3.00 a gallon. The adjoining picture is of the pump I used to fill the tank here in Central Virginia on Friday, 12/2. 

Myth of the Lost Cause Rises Again!

It seems those Confederate statues just won't fade into history.  A small county in Virginia is trying a unique way to keep a Confederate monument in front of the county courthouse, despite requests to remove it. 

 The Mathews County Board of Supervisors will vote this week on a plan to deed the public land on which a statue stands over to a private preservation group in an effort to keep any future residents from taking it down. 

Communities across the south have been removing the statues, which many Black residents consider symbols of racism, since they were put up during the Jim Crow era. 

For example, a huge statue of Robert E. Lee was recently removed from a prominent area in downtown Richmond after several court hearings.   

But Mathews County, a small community of only 8,600 residents known mostly for community farms and fishing in the Chesapeake Bay, has been trying to keep the statue outside the county courthouse.

The plan is to transfer the 21x 22-foot plot of land

(Courtesy Mathews County)

on which it stands to a private group. 

Eighty percent of the towns residents voted in favor of leaving the statue in place in a referendum last year. The NAACP threatened a lawsuit over the latest plan and some residents have spoken out against giving public land to a private group. Stay tuned. 

So Much For Law And Order

A Virginia restaurant that became a symbol of defiance during the Covid-19 lockdown and gained the support of |Governor Glenn Youngkin when he ran for office last year, is now in trouble again. 

Gourmeltz on Route 1 in Spotsylvania County at one time was ordered to close for not adhering to health restrictions on the number of people who they could serve inside during the pandemic. 

Now, almost two years later,  after all those restrictions are gone, the Virginia ABC Authority raided the restaurant again, this time for continuing to serve alcohol after their licenses were suspended because of those previous health code violations.  

Spotsylvania restaurant served alcohol after license suspension, Virginia ABC says (msn.com)

The owner of the restaurant, Matt Strickland, has used both incidents as part of his campaign for the state senate. His homemade-looking signs featuring the phrase "Crush the establishment," have cropped up all over the newly redistricted 27th Senate  District  Issues | Matt Strickland (mattforva.com)  that now centers on Fredericksburg, and is radically different from the previously drawn 27th District,    

Strickland's politics appear to be aligned with Youngkin and conservative Republicans, though there is no emphasis on party affiliation on Strickland's website. 

But apparently his support for first responders and the police does not include obeying the liquor licensing laws. 

Dumbest Quote of The Week!

This one comes from the President of FIFA, the international sports organization that runs the World Cup tournament now underway in Qatar. Gianni Infantiono said in a letter to the BBC:  

• "We know football does not live in a vacuum and we are equally aware that there are many challenges and difficulties of a political nature all around the world, But please do not allow football to be dragged into every ideological or political battle that exists.”

He's got to be kidding. The tournament, being sponsored by Budweiser, is being held in a Muslim country that bans alcohol and executes gay people.  There is a war between Ukraine and Russia and massive street protests in Iran and China. How could he actually believe there would be no politics during an international competition in a sport where nationalism runs high?    

 (Your comments and suggestions are welcome) 

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