Steve QJ
2 min readMar 27, 2024

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Hmm, so you agree with everything I've said against victimhood except when it comes to the victimhood you like?

I (and my "milieu") am not trying to define antisemitism. I don't need to. Just as I don't need, for example, to define racism. Both words already have perfectly good definitions.

But some people have tried to redefine racism so that black people become immune from criticism. So that it requires "prejudice plus power" to be racist (whatever that's even supposed to mean), and so that criticising black people or pointing to facts about crime or single parenthood are racist. Not only is this stupid, it makes it harder to improve conditions for black people. And it dilutes the word for those times where it's vitally important that it retains its power.

Some people have also tried to redefine antisemitism so that it effectively means any criticism of Israeli foreign policy of the violations of international law that Israel has been committing for some time now. So that, when Israel behaves in ways that many people, including the Holocaust survivors it uses as justification, find monstrous, nobody is supposed to say anything. Not only is this stupid, it dilutes the word for those times when it's vital the word retains its power.

And what's especially annoying about that is that now is one of those times. Alongside the bogus cries of antisemitism from extremists and crybullies, there is absolutely a rise in (at least open) antisemitism.

Sadly, we're not going to do away with antisemitism any time soon. Just as we're not going to do away with racism. So of course, I completely oppose anybody who blames Jews in general for what Israeli politicians say (although, there are quite a few Jewish Americans saying similar things. They deserve criticism too). But again, the fact that these people are hiding behind the Holocaust and the claim of antisemitism while they say these things makes it harder to talk about these genuine cases, no?

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Steve QJ
Steve QJ

Written by Steve QJ

Race. Politics. Culture. Sometimes other things. Almost always polite. Find more at https://steveqj.substack.com

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