rowdyrodimus wrote:I'm going to own up to what my issues with Jews are about and it's a completely stupid thing, I know. But here goes. (And by problems with Jews I don't mean I hate them, remember that)
My grandpa was one of the troops that liberated a concentration camp (I'm not sure which one), he was shot several times but still kept fighting. Well, a decade later, he goes to a bank to get a small loan and notices the tattoo on the loan officers arm (the loan officer was the son in law of the banks owner) that the Nazi's used to brand the Jews with. My Grandpa mentions it and the loan officer says which camp he was at, it was the same one my Grandpa helped liberate, he gave dates and info that only the people there would know, so the banker would know he was telling the truth. So you'd think the guy would try hard to help one of the guys that risked their lives to save him, right? No, he just tells my Grandfather he can't get the loan. It was something like $1,000 but to the banker he might have been asking for $1,000,000. He said that he had missing years in his credit report or something and those years just happened to be the years he was overseas fighting in WWII. So because my Grandpa was risking his life to save the life of the people like and INCLUDING the banker, he couldn't get the loan he needed.
Now to most people that wouldn't mean much. But from things that certain people of a certain "Chosen" segment have done to me, also, it was just another sign of the stereotype of the "Greedy Jew" not being far from wrong. All he had to do is go to his FIL and tell him to OK it, our lives right now would be completely different (The money was to buy out my Great Grandfather's share in a limousine manufacturing business that would've kept it in our family).
Does it make me a bad person not to trust them after what I've been through? Probably. I'll admit that. But I don't believe they deserved what happened to them or for them to be wiped off the face of the earth, either. We all have our prejudices, I guess some of us are just more honest and will admit them than others.
Edit: The thing with being honest about prejudices is that when we admit we have them, things can be talked about, discussed and worked on. When we don't admit them, they just fester beneath the surface until they eventually become hate and the hate becomes rage and the rage becomes violence. I want to work on my prejudices, I really do and I try. I'm not perfect and I slip and say things that are considered slurs from time to time, but hopefully by talking about it and learning more, I will lose those prejudices. So please, any Jewish people reading this, please understand that I am trying to become more understanding and lose the prejudice I hold but also understand that even with those, I don't wish any group of people any harm.
I think it's a great thing to explore your deep seated beliefs and work on overcoming them.
We usually use the phrase "check your privilege" as a joke, but it has it's roots in a valid concept. The idea is, if you find yourself in a conflict with people dissimilar to yourself, so you do a mental check to make sure you aren't being motivated by your experience being privileged. For example, say you're a woman who grew up being conventionally pretty, white, relatively wealthy, and generally comfortable. In your college class there are some weird looking poor people that your friends keep mocking behind their back. That would be a situation where you should do a mental check to determine if these people are actually terrible or if your friends are prejudiced.
In order for this to happen, we have to acknowledge that we can be prejudiced. Most people are absolutely terrified of being considered racist or prejudiced, so they find it uncomfortable admit they have the capacity to hold these biases. This is bad. If you don't admit you're capable of being flawed, you have no chance of improvement.
Rowdyrodimus, I'm curious about one thing. I want to know what exactly is the target of your feelings about Jews. Is it their race? Religion? Culture? Some combination? Judaism is kind of complicated.