A New Explanation of Antisemitism (A Response to The Passion's Critics)

FreeRepublic ^ | March 10, 2004 | gobucks

[gobucks]

"But both of you provide good reason why we should abandon the use of the word, anti-semite, and say what we really mean: Jew-hater. "

This is an excellent point I agree with. It was never my intent to deny the original meaning of antisemitism. My intent was to expose how leftist antisemites have hijacked this word and how they are hoodwinking the general public.

[eddiespaghetti]

I've had many tell me that this was a kind of golden age

The "golden age" to which you refer dates from 711 until the final reconquista, and not to the period following 1492.

[Sam Cree]

Thanks for your thoughts :)

[gobucks]

As for the movie, I haven't seen it.

This "New Explanation" that someone posted, however, is nothing but hogwash.

Interesting. A newbie not a month old, slamming an essay about a movie he (can't be a she) has not (yet, we hope?) viewed.

Reminds me of leftist tactics ... but, maybe I'm wrong.

[Mamzelle]

Since the discussion included Isabella, I don't think so, at least for my context. There is a nice story about how she found financing for the exploration of the New World-- And the book I'm reading refers to no such grand era, but it's only the first I've perused.

[rogueleader]

I'm a newbie. What can I say?

The essay concerned itself with subjects far beyond the movie. It was those subjects I was addressing when I used the word "hogwash."

As for the movie, or that part of the essay strictly about the movie, I have no opinion as yet.

[gobucks]

The essay concerned itself with subjects far beyond the movie.

Oh. Well, if that's what you feel is hogwash, I'm cool with that.

I thought you were taking issue with my assertion that language was being used as a way to enforce the orthodoxy of 'truth is relative' here in the USA. I sincerely do look forward to your thoughts about the remainder of the essay and movie ... after you've seen it.

FWIW, I didn't write a thing about the Gospels in my essay.

[rogueleader]

The main thrust of my criticism of your essay is that when you say "Antisemitism is to be guilty of loving the truth" you would seem to have a hard time after that condemning Jew hatred. I agree with the general notion, though, that the criticism of the movie Passion does seem overwrought, particularly as it concerns the charge of anti-semitism. Since I haven't seen the movie, I don't feel like making that judgment.

I think your essay would become more persuasive if you did not attempt to redefine the word "anti-semitism." Just let that be and then make your points.

I'm not accusing you of Jew hatred. I just strongly resist every time someone tries to redefine a word.

[gobucks]

Please pardon this wordy reply. I'm glad you're not accusing me of Jew Hatred. If you were, I'd believe you were a troll for sure.

OTOH, your disturbing willingness to obey the 'rules' about who owns the definitions of words, and why you think its a bad idea to mess with those definitions ... well. I did write the essay, did mess with these 'definitions' and I have to now defend it.

The main thrust of my criticism of your essay is that when you say "Antisemitism is to be guilty of loving the truth" you would seem to have a hard time after that condemning Jew hatred.

Well .... let me be specific: I condemn Jew Hatred. Let me be more specific: I condemn Leftists who promote Jew Hatred through Orwellian tactics designed to frighten people and prevent them from thinking on their own two feet.

Jew haters are everywhere - but the reason so many exist is because Leftists have for a long, long time worked to make it that way.

I think hatred, black, white, Jew, or otherwise is what leftists most eagerly desire to promote. Why? To distract from just one thing .... the idea of absolute truth, to something, anything, else. The idea of Jew hatred is the idea they recognize is most effective to accomplish this objective.

I think they use the word antisemitism to promote Jew hatred in the specific.

How? Especially, as I asserted in my essay that they own the 'definition' rights to this word, and that on the surface it means 'Jew Hatred'? This is how: by preventing anyone from examining what antisemitism really means. By screeching at them, howling in rage, frightening them, questioning their sanity ... on and on ... just as long as the idea of absolute truth doesn't form, and if it does, is ridiculed into submission.

I'm not accusing you of Jew hatred. I just strongly resist every time someone tries to redefine a word.

Perhaps you're not aware of the history behind your resistance. Antisemitism, after all, did indeed have a meaning of something other than generic Jew Hatred long ago. It meant you belonged to a radical leftist revolutionary political party - that blamed Jews for the ills suffered by Germany post the 1873 depression.

But, you likely don't know the story of the journalist (surpise, shock, and awe!)) who created this word out of thin air.

"The Biography of Wilhelm Marr. [by Zimmerman, Oxford Univ Press] This book is the biography of the German revolutionary Wilhelm Marr. Marr was a radical revolutionary left wing intellectual who based his philosophy on that of the Left Hegelian Ludwig Feuerbach, advocating atheism and maintaining an anti-Christian and antiSemitic belief system....

He became known for his antiSemitism (and may have originated the term "antiSemitism") despite the fact that he was to have a series of Jewish wives after writing a book entitled _The Jewish Mirror_ (_Der Judenspiegel_)....

Later in his life after having several failed business dealings, Marr would come to criticize antiSemitism. He argued that antiSemites were fostering an environment harmful to the poor worker in the same manner that the Jews themselves were.

At this point, Marr renounced his antiSemitism as well as his previous reactionary leanings and returned to his original revolutionary beliefs. Marr died in relative obscurity, penniless.

However, he had made a name for himself as the instigator of antiSemitism and perhaps as the man who coined that very term. Marr generally comes across as a rather despicable individual despite the fact that he would later come to at least partially repent of some of his antiSemitic beliefs (though never of his atheism and anti-Christian beliefs). [excerpts from here].

You know, I didn't do all this searching to defend this essay before I wrote. I just wrote. It wasn't until after that I struggled with my confusion about why all I have received is the message 'don't touch that definition!' that I did this searching.

I didn't honestly expect that. I did expect more folks to agree with me than have. But, I go and find this biography of Marr ... and my essay makes more sense to me than ever.

Now, you want another puzzle? Why is Jew-hater NOT used in the American language? Especially because "Joseph Telushkin wrote: "...the word 'antisemitism' was created by an antisemite, Wilhelm Marr [in 1879].

Marr's intention was to replace the German word Judenhass (Jew-hatred) with a term that would make Jew-haters sound less vulgar and even somewhat scientific....". [source].

Funny, antisemitism, a german word, invented by a whacko leftist journalist is used constantly by leftists; why? Funny, judenhass, aka jewhater, a german word .... never has been heard from in our language. Why not? Oh, that's right, to 'make Jew-haters sound less vulgar and even somewhat scientific'. You can't disagree that our world has changed little, and learned next to nothing from the lessons of history.

In closing, I'll repeat again the sentence you didn't take issue with regarding how antisemitism should be redefined:

If you buy into the idea of absolute truth you're an antisemite, regardless of your faith or denomination.

This Christian philosemite rests his case.

[gobucks]

My unhappy discovery of the real story of W. Marr, the originator of the term 'antisemitism', is included in the post above.

I felt you folks would find this revealing regarding the current firestorm of 'controversy' over this word.

[SJackson]

My unhappy discovery of the real story of W. Marr, the originator of the term 'antisemitism', is included in the post above.

You should has asked :>)

Actually, Marr wasn't a journalist, rather a politician.

He coined the word as the name of his political party, the Antisemitischers, or League of Antisemites, since he didn't consider Judenhass as an acceptable name for the movement. Their plank encompassed the typical conspiracy theories, blaming Jews for Germany's economic woes and proposing their expulsion from Germany first, later from Europe. He met with some success in Germany and France, holding one bi-national convention, in the early 1890s I believe.

The term was also adopted by Otto Böckel for the name of his party, the Antisemitische Volks­partei. The third party of the same mindset run by Max von Sonnenberg stuck with the more traditional Deutsch-Soziale Partei.

To anticipate a question, while they had an impact on the social climate, there was no direct line between these organizations and National Socialism.

[rogueleader]

It may be the case that the word "anti-semitism" is now overcome with unnecessary drama and controversy. Using the words "Jew hatred" is clearer then using the word "anti-semitism." Since Arabs as well as Jews are Semites, and the primary instigator of Jew hatred is Arabs, it does seem to make more sense, especially today, to say "Jew hatred" instead of "anti-semitism."

About the history of the word "anti-semitism," I did not know about hardly any of the interesting facts you posted. One thing you didn't seem to mention, though, was that in reaction to how the word "anti-semite" was used as a badge of honor by those who proudly hated Jews, the word was used against the anti-semites. Jews took the word "anti-semite" and turned it into a despicable horror. Thus, the word has already gone through one convolution. Twisting the meaning again would seem to go too far.

To now try to redefine "anti-Semitism" yet again just doesn't appeal to me as something worthy of doing. If "Jew hatred" or some alternative is really superior to "anti-Semitism," then let's all switch to using that. Even as we do that, though, let's leave the word "anti-Semitism" alone.

As a Christian philosemite myself, I feel terribly aggrieved by the many Jewish critics of the movie who call it anti-Semitic, and then make no argument that it is anti-Semitic other than to say it dramatizes the story of the Gospels.

Many liberal Jews have long tried to convince Christians to turn our religion into a pluralistic one (AKA polytheistic) even though they would never do that for Judaism, the original monotheistic religion. For these critics, it is not enough that Christians accepts Jews and Judaism, Christians must also accept Islam, Hinduism, and so on.

I can understand Christians', especially philosemitic Christians' sense of rage and feelings of estrangement and ingratitude at those extremist critics of the Gibson movie who call it anti-Semitic for daring to portray the Gospels. I feel that way, too. What we need to remember, though, is that those extremist critics of Christianity do not speak for all Jews, and they do not speak for Judaism, either.

Personally, I have decided to move away from the term "anti-Semitism" and use the term "Jew hatred" in its place as much as possible. That does not lessen our responsibility to fight the evil of Jew hatred just as much as we fight the evil of terrorism and the evils of the hatred of Christianity and Western civilization.

As for blaming anti-Semitism or Jew hatred on the Left, you may have a point there.

It could have been improved in the area of organization, but it's a good, thought provoking essay.

[gobucks]

"It could have been improved in the area of organization..."

My wife would say, yes, and in all other aspects of this man's life, it could all be better organized.

She thinks I spend too much time fruitlessly typing away to strangers in cyberspace. LOL.

Bottom line, FR has so utterly helped re-orient me to so many things that confused me when I was younger. The idea that Hitler was a leftist ... I got that here. Talk about having to come a long, long way.

Anyway, thanks for the compliment about my essay.

As for the effort to retwist words as not being very useful, you have a good point of course. But, as someone raised in the leftist lifestyle, redefining everything was seen as a courageous act of 'creativity'.

So, though I knew the right thinking folks would not really take too well to my essay ... I knew leftist lurkers would likely read it ... and into their minds, my desire is to throw as much doubt as possible regarding their commitments to the faith system known as secularism. My feeling is that all parts of the Body serve their purpose in their own way ... I try to be faithful in mine ... too often fall short.

But, thank God for the example he set.

[gobucks]

Actually, Marr wasn't a journalist, rather a politician.

It could be the online resources are mistaken, but it doesn't look that way. His initial employments were dominated by jounalism. Granted, much of it was of a political literature type. I suppose you could say he used jounalism to launch his political career.

From 1847-1852 he edited the Mephistopheles political satire journal (though the Prussians did try to censor it once), and held several jounalist positions thereafter. He did serve in parliment a couple of times after this period. But mostly, it was by the pen he lived, even after his foray into organized politics.

To anticipate a question, while they had an impact on the social climate, there was no direct line between these organizations and National Socialism.

While traveling early in life in Switzerland, (Friedrich William Adolph Marr) creates the secret "Swiss worker federation" and publishes its organ, the "sheets of the presence for social life" at the same time. The Swiss workers federation ... boy, does that have a familiar ring.

So, a direct connection wasn't likely necessary ... given so many were on the same page in the incubators of the time for what followed.

[gobucks]

One last thing from the William Marr biography:

"He also involved himself in business deals in America where he may have participated in the slave trade and the ensuing debate over slavery."

This tidbit almost makes me want to read the whole biography. Why would an antichristian antisemite be involved in the American Slave Trade? What role did Germany play at all in American Slavery?

The internet can be a time killer.