New Rule: No Jews, No News Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

[Sympthsical]

17. It's the adolescent contrarian to tankie to antisemite pipeline

And it's so banal and tedious, it's almost unremarkable in how normalized it's become.

It's interesting because antisemitism doesn't seem to work in the same way usual racism does. Generally, people are frequently raised racist. It's handed down from parents, or communities, or cultures. Racism is something many people have to educate themselves out of, to grow past, to put in an effort to get their heads and their hearts right.

Antisemitism isn't like that. It is increasingly something people grow into. It is taught, it is in academia, it is increasingly considered a progressive play somehow.

There are people in my life I see less and interact with less because over the past few years, they've just morphed into full-on antisemitic. I don't mean they criticize Israel or Netanyahu. I mean they demand American Jews explain themselves. See no problem with the harassment they endure. Think anything bad that happens to them is deserved and explainable.

I've seen people I liked well and admired who went from having an unremarkable if a bit dull and trite critical anti-West posture devolve into full on "If a Jew is involved, it's probably their fault." And they don't hear themselves. They don't see themselves. They do not realize that they've been indoctrinated into thinking patterns straight out of the 19th Century.

They don't see it, don't hear it, cannot be deprogrammed from it.

It's sad, but also bizarre. Because I often wrestle with that lack of self-awareness. I just do not get how they do not hear themselves. And these are people who are hypersensitive to racial offense when any other group is involved. But as soon as Jews are on the table, it's "Well, you have to understand why people want to harass, beat, or kill them . . ."

And they're here. Almost daily I see something on DU that's along this vein. And it's just kind of . . . there now. It's part of being a Democrat. These bigots are tolerated and part of our coalition apparently. "Because Israel!"

I'm watching the direction of the party on this. I watch as they flirt with letting the Hasan Pikers of the world in. And I'll say this simply without threat or ornament - when the Pikers are let in, I'll be out. And that's just how that will go.