I am a lifelong student of history, so I was aware of the Dreyfus affair. I had also read Weiss' speech when she posted it on her "Free Press" website.
For the record, I am not Jewish, nor am I liberal (although I grew up that way). I am a redneck by heritage; my ancestry is English and Scots-Irish--my mother was a coal miner's daughter born near Hazard, KY in 1920. I am also on the autism spectrum, at the high-functioning end. While autism was not known of or discussed in the Nazi era of the 1930s and '40s, the eugenics enthusiasts targeted people like us for elimination too. Some went to the Nazi death camps along with the Jews--and Gypsies and other disfavored groups.
This is one more instance of the divisions in our country. I have been hearing talk about a civil war or division into separate countries for some years. But division is not viable. The real divide is not between states. It is mostly between the cities (and their universities) and the countryside. This map of the 2020 election, showing the vote by counties, makes it clear. https://brilliantmaps.com/2020-county-election-map/ This map uses five shades each of red and blue to show not only the vote, but the strength of the vote. There are only 3 completely blue states--Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Hawaii--and only two completely red ones--West Virginia and Oklahoma. There is no workable path to division.
Why did the British, with a powerful army and the world's strongest navy, lose the American Revolution? They lost because they could not control the countryside. They could take any city on the coast, but it was not enough. And if we do end up with a civil war, all those people in our modern cities will no longer be an asset, as they are in elections, but a liability: they will expect to have food, water, electricity, transportation fuel, and more--nearly all of which comes from outside the city limits.
We are on a dangerous path. I hope we can resolve this.
Thanks for another powerful history lesson with great insights. Thanks also for taking Ms. Weiss's exhortation to heart and following through on Step 4 with this essay.
Thank you for this post. Our family is dealing with a teenager who believes what he reads on Tik-Tok. Some days I wish the Internet had never been invented. I feel as though I’m losing the battle, but I will try harder to reach him.
Robert, this is what is meant by the term "stepping up to bat." As far as I am concerned, this is essential reading prior to listening or reading her speech. With all the sorrow, isn't it nice to have such a person being heard? She is a treasure.
Perhaps a closer analogy to today's moral cretins toward Hamas terrorists would be the useful idiots who condoned the mass terrorism of the CPSU in the 1920's and 1930's. Time has removed them from the scene but there still are people alive today who applauded the crimes of Mao Tse-Tung and condoned those of Pol Pot. Hollywood still supports many halfwit celebrities who admired Fidel Castro, including Steven Spielberg and Ed Asner. Oliver Stone: "(Castro) is “very selfless and moral. One of the world’s wisest men.” Chevy Chase: "Sometimes socialism works… Cuba might prove that." Harry Belafonte: "“If you believe in freedom, if you believe in justice, if you believe in democracy, you have no choice but to support Fidel Castro!”
About “Queers for Palestine” and the like in every leftist and DIE corner: there is no substitute for “This Is Not a Drill” by Abigail Shrier in the December 2023 Commentary Magazine.
“They aren’t stupid, and they aren’t suicidal.
“Here’s what they are.”
She says. It isn’t pretty. Even Bari Weiss (for whom I have tremendous respect) needs to read this.
Thank you for a well thought out piece. The history of hate doesn’t repeat exactly each time but close enough to know the ending. I have read and followed Bari for a while and I think that she would put me in the category of a non-ally of hers. I, to this day do not think the government should recognise same sex marriage but I never took a position that would have prevented her from living her fullest life with the one she loved and her child. I am very glad that she and many of my co- religionist are waking up to who the real enemy is. I recall that my high school history teacher drew two lines on the board. On was a straight line the other was almost a circle. He explained that most people believe that the “right” and the “left” are at opposite ends of the line but in fact they are at the ends of the almost circle. Very close to each other and separated by a small gap. Bari in her book about Antisemitism talks about the danger from both the right and the left. I would say that they are very close to each other. I was also surprised by a number of people I know who were surprised that there was any danger from the left. I suppose they have woken up.
The Jews are the tripwire on the way to societal collapse. When we are hounded and hunted it is a sign that the strings that hold society together are breaking. It is such because Jew Hated never goes away but it is not socially acceptable. When it becomes normative then there are no boundaries left. Look at the breakdown of the law in many cities. That breakdown is a symptom of the underlying social bonds breaking.
Zola, Weiss, and "J'Accuse...! 2023"
I am a lifelong student of history, so I was aware of the Dreyfus affair. I had also read Weiss' speech when she posted it on her "Free Press" website.
For the record, I am not Jewish, nor am I liberal (although I grew up that way). I am a redneck by heritage; my ancestry is English and Scots-Irish--my mother was a coal miner's daughter born near Hazard, KY in 1920. I am also on the autism spectrum, at the high-functioning end. While autism was not known of or discussed in the Nazi era of the 1930s and '40s, the eugenics enthusiasts targeted people like us for elimination too. Some went to the Nazi death camps along with the Jews--and Gypsies and other disfavored groups.
This is one more instance of the divisions in our country. I have been hearing talk about a civil war or division into separate countries for some years. But division is not viable. The real divide is not between states. It is mostly between the cities (and their universities) and the countryside. This map of the 2020 election, showing the vote by counties, makes it clear. https://brilliantmaps.com/2020-county-election-map/ This map uses five shades each of red and blue to show not only the vote, but the strength of the vote. There are only 3 completely blue states--Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Hawaii--and only two completely red ones--West Virginia and Oklahoma. There is no workable path to division.
Why did the British, with a powerful army and the world's strongest navy, lose the American Revolution? They lost because they could not control the countryside. They could take any city on the coast, but it was not enough. And if we do end up with a civil war, all those people in our modern cities will no longer be an asset, as they are in elections, but a liability: they will expect to have food, water, electricity, transportation fuel, and more--nearly all of which comes from outside the city limits.
We are on a dangerous path. I hope we can resolve this.
Thanks for another powerful history lesson with great insights. Thanks also for taking Ms. Weiss's exhortation to heart and following through on Step 4 with this essay.
Thank you for this post. Our family is dealing with a teenager who believes what he reads on Tik-Tok. Some days I wish the Internet had never been invented. I feel as though I’m losing the battle, but I will try harder to reach him.
Robert, this is what is meant by the term "stepping up to bat." As far as I am concerned, this is essential reading prior to listening or reading her speech. With all the sorrow, isn't it nice to have such a person being heard? She is a treasure.
Perhaps a closer analogy to today's moral cretins toward Hamas terrorists would be the useful idiots who condoned the mass terrorism of the CPSU in the 1920's and 1930's. Time has removed them from the scene but there still are people alive today who applauded the crimes of Mao Tse-Tung and condoned those of Pol Pot. Hollywood still supports many halfwit celebrities who admired Fidel Castro, including Steven Spielberg and Ed Asner. Oliver Stone: "(Castro) is “very selfless and moral. One of the world’s wisest men.” Chevy Chase: "Sometimes socialism works… Cuba might prove that." Harry Belafonte: "“If you believe in freedom, if you believe in justice, if you believe in democracy, you have no choice but to support Fidel Castro!”
About “Queers for Palestine” and the like in every leftist and DIE corner: there is no substitute for “This Is Not a Drill” by Abigail Shrier in the December 2023 Commentary Magazine.
“They aren’t stupid, and they aren’t suicidal.
“Here’s what they are.”
She says. It isn’t pretty. Even Bari Weiss (for whom I have tremendous respect) needs to read this.
Thank you for a well thought out piece. The history of hate doesn’t repeat exactly each time but close enough to know the ending. I have read and followed Bari for a while and I think that she would put me in the category of a non-ally of hers. I, to this day do not think the government should recognise same sex marriage but I never took a position that would have prevented her from living her fullest life with the one she loved and her child. I am very glad that she and many of my co- religionist are waking up to who the real enemy is. I recall that my high school history teacher drew two lines on the board. On was a straight line the other was almost a circle. He explained that most people believe that the “right” and the “left” are at opposite ends of the line but in fact they are at the ends of the almost circle. Very close to each other and separated by a small gap. Bari in her book about Antisemitism talks about the danger from both the right and the left. I would say that they are very close to each other. I was also surprised by a number of people I know who were surprised that there was any danger from the left. I suppose they have woken up.
The Jews are the tripwire on the way to societal collapse. When we are hounded and hunted it is a sign that the strings that hold society together are breaking. It is such because Jew Hated never goes away but it is not socially acceptable. When it becomes normative then there are no boundaries left. Look at the breakdown of the law in many cities. That breakdown is a symptom of the underlying social bonds breaking.
Let us hope we wake up before it’s too late.