Racism in the repression of Jews, women, Gays, Trans, kids, Crazies, and Workers

The Jews, long ago, have stopped being the canary in the coalmine.

Let’s begin with a word of caution. We will see that the core of racism also exists in the oppression of White Jews, women, Gays, Trans, kids, Crazies, and Workers. Yet, they still had more arrogance and privilege as Whites. Unfortunately, there is a hierarchy of suppression. So, a White upper-middle-class Gay man isn’t in the same position as a Black Straight boy living in poverty. Please bear this in mind when reading the below.

On December 10, 1991, yesterday 30 years ago, the UN unanimously declared antisemitism a form of racism. Though, to this day, it hasn’t stopped its Israel bashing. But at least, it got the principle down. Never mind that the question if antisemitism is racism is a complex one.

That in itself was a far cry from its 1975 declaration that the national aspirations of the Jewish People, Zionism, was a form of racism. Every other nation in the world was allowed its own country but the Jews.

Not so Gay

But, even when the UN will actually treat the Jewish People fairly, so much work still will need to be done. I’m not so optimistic about how long it’ll take the UN to consider Gays’ Oppression a form of racism too.

After all, the essence of a Gay sexual orientation is the need to be intimate with people of the same sex. And, the crux of a Trans gender identity is the need to be seen for the gender one happens to have. Sexual orientation and gender identity are forever etched into the brain at a very young age, probably before birth. So, Gay and Trans people are neuro-physically different from the majority. To oppress them is racism.

(People may act as Jews, women, Gays, or Trans, and be oppressed for that, but that doesn’t make them into Jews, women, Gays, or Trans.)

(For those obsessed with skin color: that may be a frequent trigger and excuse for racism. Yet, the heart of this outrage is cultural. Kids and non-Caucasians are repressed because their minds are labeled primitive. And, bear with me, the discrimination of Trans women shows that the core of sexism is not their sex but gender. Sexism is a form of racism not because of female genitals, but of the supposed inferiority of the female mind.)

Global safety and dignity for the Jews is still a far cry from reality. But, safety, dignity, equality, and respect for Gay and Trans people are not even in sight. Especially, but not only, owing to religious bigotry. Secular people need to improve on humanism, and the religious must follow suit.

And Many Other Minorities and Majorities

And if Trans-oppression is about the mind and not the body, how much more so the denigration of those labeled crazy. Crazy says something only about the one who does the labeling—a lack of respect, time, patience, empathy, etc. Craziness is a normal reaction to a crazy life.

But the repression of blue-color workers is mental too. It has little to do with them being poor or stupid. They’re often the most flexible, which means smart. Many of them were often discouraged about being keen. They are despised because their language, culture, and mindset are labeled primitive and backward. No different from White racism.

Conclusion

So, most White people know racism from their own flesh. That should help them to understand how to be Allies to non-Caucasians.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1