Read on Twitter
So, about DeSean Jackson.
There are many American Jews, mostly of my parents' generation but some younger, who are currently struggling to reconcile both having white privilege *and* belonging to a group of historically oppressed and marginalized people.
There are many American Jews, mostly of my parents' generation but some younger, who are currently struggling to reconcile both having white privilege *and* belonging to a group of historically oppressed and marginalized people.
It can be hard to accept that privilege when your parents or grandparents escaped the hell of the Holocaust or pogroms to reach America, only to be treated as second-class citizens.
"How do *I* have privilege?"
It's a fair thing to ask — until you've done any self-reflection.
"How do *I* have privilege?"
It's a fair thing to ask — until you've done any self-reflection.
I hope the anger they likely feel about DeSean Jackson (mis)quoting Hitler — and I'm mad as hell about it — helps them better understand the anger Black Americans feel almost constantly.
I don't think Jackson thinks he's an anti-Semite. But he and others have perpetuated anti-Semitic rhetoric because our education system never taught them better. It's the same system that taught us that Columbus was a hero, or that didn't teach us about Tulsa at all.
Anti-Semitism is a scourge, but it is not an institutionalized evil like racism. I don't have to worry how my Judaism will affect how police view me. I have the luxury of hiding it from people who might harm me if they knew I was Jewish.
Anti-Semitism is REAL and Jackson (and so, so many others) need to do the work. But plenty of the same Jews admonishing him likely have some work to do as well.
