NYC’s anti-Semitic spree

[Stanyon]

What does the skin color of the attacker have to do with why the attack occurred?

If the attacker were a White Nationalist ( or alleged to be one) or a neo-nazi I doubt very seriously you would have posted as you have. I may have to look up some of your old posts about that very subject, or maybe not.

 

[rosends]

Has any of this to do with the horrific behavior of the Israeli government, lately? No one seems to be willing to even ask that question for fear of being labeled an anti-Semite.

I think no one asks this because it is irrelevant. Why would the behavior of a foreign government be relevant to the actions of an American, against American Jews? If I got up tomorrow and attacked a bunch of Chinese people with a knife would it make sense to ask whether it is because of the behavior of the Chinese government? Or better yet, what if I walked into a church and attacked Christians because of the policies of the English government?

Trying to find a reason beyond "because people have been attacking Jews and getting away with it for thousands of years" and, even worse, trying to justify a rise in violence by linking it to unrelated events 6000 miles away simply makes no sense, but is exactly the kind of thinking which then emboldens the next attacker, knowing that people will try to find reasons to make the attack understandable.

Strange how you don't see Jews walking over to a random Arab and attacking them because of the last, oh, 1500 years.

 

[PureX]

Apparently, what you "have to" do is focus on anything but antisemitism.

And apparently, you can't broach the question that there could be something fueling it.

 

[PureX]

If the attacker were a White Nationalist ( or alleged to be one) or a neo-nazi I doubt very seriously you would have posted as you have. I may have to look up some of your old posts about that very subject, or maybe not.

White nationalists (bigots that traditionally hated the Jews, and others) would tend to be on the lookout for another excuse to 'hate on' the Jews, and it's possible that the recent behavior of the Israelis could have provided them with that excuse.

 

[Stanyon]

there could be something fueling it.

Yes, anger of ignorant people who need someone to blame for their plight and poor life choices besides themselves.

 

[Stanyon]

White nationalists (bigots that traditionally hated the Jews) would tend to be on the lookout for another excuse to 'hate on' the Jews, and it's possible that the recent behavior of the Israelis could have provided them with that excuse.

It was a black guy with a machete and many recent antisemetic attacks were done by people of colour.

 

[PureX]

Yes, anger of ignorant people who need someone to blame for their plight and poor life choices besides themselves.

So why are these people targeting Jews, now? It's not like ignorance and violent scapegoating has just come into being. And why are you working so hard at not looking for a reason?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

So why are these people targeting Jews, now? It's not like ignorance and violent scapegoating has just come into being. And why are you working so hard at not looking for a reason?

Still longingly searching for some way to blame the victim?

Why not do yourself a favor and give it a rest?

 

[rosends]

So why are these people targeting Jews, now? It's not like ignorance and violent scapegoating has just come into being. And why are you working so hard at not looking for a reason?

"Now"? "Now"?
This all didn't just start a week ago. It has gotten worse over the last short time but that has no relationship to any actions anywhere else. Why go looking for a reason? When a store was shot up a couple of weeks ago, in Jersey City, local residents were caught on camera blaming the Jews and their behavior for bringing the violence on themselves (yes, I can get you the video if you want). Did anyone mention Israel? No. There is, and always has been, anti-Semitism bubbling under, waiting for a moment to burst out. And because people keep trying to tie it to anything else other than pure, senseless hatred, the anti-Semites continue to thrive. Why don't we stop trying to connect it to something else and start condemning and acting against it for what it IS.

If I shot up a Christian camp, firebombed a Black church, or attacked a gay nightclub, would you try to find any reason other than hate of the people attacked? Why is it, that when Jews are attacked, there has to be some larger reason?

 

[Shaul]

Has any of this to do with the horrific behavior of the Israeli government, lately? No one seems to be willing to even ask that question for fear of being labeled an anti-Semite.

So do you think attacks on Mexicans are due to the horrific behavior of the Mexican government? What about the attacks on French people? Is that due to the policies of the French government? Then there are the attacks on Chinese people. Perhaps that is due to the horrific acts of the Chineses government.

Maybe we should not speculate on the motives of these criminals until they are stopped.

 

[Laika]

There is no "justification" for these acts of violence. But there is probably a motive of some sort. And the Israeli government has been behaving literally like nazi storm-troopers against the Palestinians, lately, and our own government and news media is staying determinedly silent about it. I have to wonder if this is fueling some of this anti-Jewish rage. Or perhaps some new conspiracy theories.

violence feels good if you're the perpetrator. You get to feel big and strong compared to the people you've hurt, that you're important and that people can't ignore you or look away. You get to take revenge on the world, as if you could shout and scream at all the people who made you feel small and insignificant. There is something comforting and reassuring about believing you are better than anyone else and the world revolves around you and you can hurt all the people who hurt you over the years.

The ideology changes its face, but the underlying emotional vulnerabilities and their rationalisation in to acts of aggression is basically the same.

As for "why now?" well, there are a lot of vulnerable, desperate people out there who are hurting. It only takes one to decide they want to fight back and this happens. Think of it like a forest fire: in a hot summer, where the conditions are right, it only takes one spark. It could be anything.

The stories, ideologies and circumstances may change but the theme is the same: scared people hurt each other in the illusion that violence gives them power and it's going to make them safer or feel stronger.

Trust me, this is not a part of the world you really want to understand.

 

[PureX]

Still longingly searching for some way to blame the victim?

Why not do yourself a favor and give it a rest?

I'm just ASKING. That's not a moral crime.

 

[PureX]

violence feels good if you're the perpetrator. You get to feel big and strong compared to the people you've hurt, that you're important and that people can't ignore you or look away. You get to take revenge on the world, as if you could shout and scream at all the people who made you feel small and insignificant. There is something comforting and reassuring about believing you are better than anyone else and the world revolves around you and you can hurt all the people who hurt you over the years.

The ideology changes its face, but the underlying emotional vulnerabilities and their rationalisation in to acts of aggression is basically the same.

As for "why now?" well, there are a lot of vulnerable, desperate people out there who are hurting. It only takes one to decide they want to fight back and this happens. Think of it like a forest fire: in a hot summer, where the conditions are right, it only takes one spark. It could be anything.

The stories, ideologies and circumstances may change but the theme is the same: scared people hurt each other in the illusion that violence gives them power and it's going to make them safer or feel stronger.

Trust me, this is not a part of the world you really want to understand.

None of this explains why we have been seeing such an uptick in attacks on Jews, specifically, around the world.

 

[PureX]

"Now"? "Now"?
This all didn't just start a week ago. It has gotten worse over the last short time but that has no relationship to any actions anywhere else. Why go looking for a reason? When a store was shot up a couple of weeks ago, in Jersey City, local residents were caught on camera blaming the Jews and their behavior for bringing the violence on themselves (yes, I can get you the video if you want). Did anyone mention Israel? No. There is, and always has been, anti-Semitism bubbling under, waiting for a moment to burst out. And because people keep trying to tie it to anything else other than pure, senseless hatred, the anti-Semites continue to thrive. Why don't we stop trying to connect it to something else and start condemning and acting against it for what it IS.

If I shot up a Christian camp, firebombed a Black church, or attacked a gay nightclub, would you try to find any reason other than hate of the people attacked? Why is it, that when Jews are attacked, there has to be some larger reason?

I would want to know what is fueling the bigotry to the point of violence. Because knowing that would be a requirement of figuring out how to stop it. But for some strange reason, when it comes to Jews, looking for the instigating factors is off the table. And that makes no sense to me at all.

 

[Rival]

None of this explains why we have been seeing such an uptick in attacks on Jews, specifically, around the world.

The economy is crappy.

The rise of populism and divisive politics.

The people feel insecure.

They take out their insecurities on traditional scapegoats.

 

[columbus]

Yes, anger of ignorant people who need someone to blame for their plight and poor life choices besides themselves.

Trying to come up with simple rational reasons for such behavior is going to be nearly impossible because the tiny percentage of the population who would do such heinous things aren't rational people. Same with people who cook meth or have sex with their 10 y/o step daughter. Not much rational thought goes into decisions like that.
Tom

 

[PureX]

So do you think attacks on Mexicans are due to the horrific behavior of the Mexican government? What about the attacks on French people? Is that due to the policies of the French government? Then there are the attacks on Chinese people. Perhaps that is due to the horrific acts of the Chineses government.

Maybe we should not speculate on the motives of these criminals until they are stopped.

That's just a bizarre response.

 

[Laika]

None of this explains why we have been seeing such an uptick in attacks on Jews, specifically, around the world.

Because they are perceived to be an easy target. Their is a long history of anti-semitism so it's easy to pick on the minority group with "weird" customs. Bullies and thugs get their kicks by picking on the little guy.

It is far easier to feel the intoxication of power by picking on a group you can easily single out and oppress than to fight those who actually have the power to hurt you. Bully those who can't or won't fight back. Most of it is cowardice really.

Take vulnerable people, give them weapons and a reason to hurt others and see what happens. Given the right circumstances, if we are scared enough, we'll do almost anything. It's not because we're inherently evil, it just that pain and fear hurts and we can rationalise ways to make it stop.

 

[rosends]

I would want to know what is fueling the bigotry to the point of violence. Because knowing that would be a requirement of figuring out how to stop it. But for some strange reason, when it comes to Jews, looking for the instigating factors is off the table. And that makes no sense to me at all.

For some strange reason, when it comes to any other group, no one looks for instigating factors and that makes no sense to me. Does the BLM movement want to think about what fuels bigotry? Maybe there is some other reason other then, well, hatred. Or if a woman runs over a Hispanic teenager, maybe there is a reason, other than that she hates Hispanic people. Understanding her thinking might be helpful, especially when an attack in New York could be tied to the behavior of a government a couple of thousand miles away. And yet no one seems to ask these questions. Almost like there is a conspiracy or something.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I'm just ASKING. That's not a moral crime.

No one is suggesting that agenda driven rhetorical questions be criminalized, simple that they be seen for what they are. That way we can truly learn from the question.