Ah, Christmas: the candied canes; the last-minute presents; the carols on the radio;
and the anti-semitic literature on the front porch.
Tonight, my wife came home to find a bundle of anti-semitic literature by our front door. Placed there by a supporter of a group called National Vanguard, the bundle consisted of three sheets of paper containing printouts of the following stories:
Christ 'Offends' Jewish Woman (choice quote: "According to Jewish Talmudic scriptures, Jesus was a "false Messiah (Christ)" who was sent to hell where he is perpetually boiled in feces.")
Who's Ready for Jewish History Month? (choice quote: "Fresh off having the United Nations declare each January 27 "Holocaust Day" to solely recognize alleged Jewish suffering as unique in world history..." [emphasis added])
Menorah Raised on White House Lawn (choice quote: "While Jewish individuals and organized groups alike wage relentless war on the public celebration of Christmas...")
Stormfront.org, a white-supremicist organization that Atrios wrote about tonight, links to the equally white-supremicist National Vanguard (and strangely seems to be the only site that links to them -- perhaps they are the same organization). When I followed Atrios' links, I could not have imagined that materials from a similar group would end up on my front porch.
I took a quick walk around the neighborhood, hoping to find the people handing this stuff out. I didn't see anyone, but I noticed that the papers had been distributed throughout the neighborhood -- my family hadn't been singled out, at least. I wondered how my neighors, some of whom have reminded me over the years that I am Jewish, would react. Would they be surprised to get these papers? Would they think that it was no big deal? Would they nod to themselves as they read along?
When I got home, I called the police. After talking to a few officers, I decided not to file a report tonight (which would have entailed having a police officer come to my house), but instead to call back tomorrow to speak to the community relations officer in the department. Part of me thinks that it would be better to let this episode pass silently -- that it would be better not to write about this incident on Philly Future or to do anything else that might tangentially raise the profile of this organization. But I know that prejudice like this has to be confronted head-on in a public setting, lest it spread.
So I'll call the police tomorrow and take it from there. I hope that my neighbors will support my actions, but to be honest, I'm not sure that I know who my neighbors are anymore.
Thanks for sharing this
You'd like to think people would be upset about this even if they weren't Jewish, but the sad truth is we aren't as evolved socially as the surface of our society likes to suggest.
I've known people who've been harassed for various reasons, and often they don't stand up to it because they have no faith in the people around them to have the moral decency to stand up with them. If we were the people we sometimes dream we are, bigots like those who handed out this literature would be met with a groundswell of disdain.
Don't stay quiet
I'm glad you're not staying quiet Matt. Staying quiet is by default accepting of the actions. I hope your community rallies together against bigots.
No silence
Wow, it's so easy to forget that this kind of thinking is there in 2005. But it is...and in print on your porch. No possible way to stay quiet (we all know the Niemöller quote...but I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist). Matt, thanks for writing this piece and being vocal. it matters, and it matters to all of us to strike at the bigots. They probably won't be persuaded to change their tiny little minds, but they have to recognize that discrimination and intimidation don't go unnoticed or taken passively.
We're with you, my friend.
File a Report
Matt,
Yucky business anytime, but especially this time of year. Please do file a report. The police keep watch for repeat occurences and can track neighborhoods where it happens. Even if nothing happens immediately your information may help catch the folks eventually. We should all stand up and say it isn't right. In any event, sorry it happened to you.
ridiculous
Nobody deserves to feel like this in their own home or neighborhood. I hope your neighbors stand with you against this kind of garbage.
Obviously you need to do whatever is best for your family. Good luck, and don't let this ruin your holidays.
Not In Our Town
NOT IN OUR TOWN. We need this in our town.
thanks
thanks to everyone for your reponses -- your support means a lot to me.
Matt,
Matt,
You must hate Christmas or something.
In all seriousness, thanks for sharing. My feelings about anti-semitism today really go back and forth. Part of me sees the place that Jews have in America, and the entrenched safety and security that we enjoy, and it makes me want to just laugh these kinds of things off. Like, for example, I was in a bar a few weeks ago, and as I was buying a drink, a guy sneered at me and and said "You Jewish?" I promptly smiled broadly, picked up my drink, patted him on the arm and said, "You bet." He didn't know what to do. Part of me, of course, just wanted to punch him in the face. But looking back, I am happy with my decision.
Being a Jewish American is sort of an odd thing. It is impossible to say that in any systematic way, we are discriminated against. (As opposed to say, 75 years ago.) Yet, a current of anti semitism clearly still flows freely beneath the surface, as evidence by this crap. Hell, Google the word "Jew" and see what comes up number one.
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Sometimes holidays and celebrations are marred by visitors you least expect and then there are teachings that you do not believe in. However, there are many unusual gifts that you can have for Christmas these days so why ever even bother for what people have to say. The most important thing is that you and your family enjoy the festivities together.
Hatred in General
I know this is going to sound strange but I personally don't mind a little hatred. As a black man who grew up in an affluent white area as one of the first non-white families in the area it was made abundantly clear that some people were just not going to like me. As I've gotten older my encounters with hatred have asked me to look into myself and examine what kind of person I am. The actions I have taken and decided not to take have empowered me and defined me as a person. I think you should allow them to do the same for you. Besides the problem when it comes to hatred isn't the people who are bold enough to put fliers on your doorstep. The problem with hatred is the people who say hello to you and smile to your face but then turn around and put on a different face. Hatred out in the open makes itself ridiculous. Hidden hatred is far more insidious. JMO
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This time for Christmas I want nothing but the love of my family and happiness. Love these days remains a word we often use but rarely practice and this like hatred should remain out of the window. I just got a lovely bow and mallow and may be that's all I want as a Christmas present.
Kimberly.
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