Re: Palin's secret message

On Sat, 15 Jan 2011, Mike Findlay wrote:
> It does raise the question though that I believe I touched on in another 
> post.  Isn't it the blood libel itself that is offensive as opposed to 
> the term?  Do jews really own the term such that no one else can use it? 
> Is the term only limited to false accusations against jews?

The libel itself is offensive, yes; and not only offensive, but downright 
harmful, because it has historically encouraged people to commit acts of 
anti-Semitism (and not just in the medieval past, but today, too; if I'm 
not mistaken, a lot of people in the Muslim world, e.g. Palestine, have 
stoked anti-Semitic violence by spreading modern versions of those 
medieval lies).


**That's the same argument black use about their history (less so the modern
usages).  I get it, but at the same time, when do we get over it ahnd allow
it to heal?  How long does offense and butt hurt disable our society?


So when Palin says that she's the victim of a "blood libel", it does, for 
some people, bring her sense of proportion into question. 


**as a Christian are you likewise offended when someone claims to have been
crucified by the media (or similar)?


 Is she the 
victim of violent persecution?  


**do death threats count?


Has anyone accused her of killing children 
so that she can mix their blood in her food? 


**so the term can only have a single example, not be used metaphorically?
Really?  When did we decide we have to be so strict?  


The fact that Rep. Giffords is, herself, Jewish just makes Palin's "I'm a 
victim just like the Jews were" posture that much more distasteful.  And 
no, the fact that Palin might have been clueless about the term's meaning 
when she used it does not, in and of itself, make the faux pas any less 
distasteful.

**that wasn't her position.  She was complaining about herself only, any
reading of equivalency is yours.



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