I am extremely concerned about the uptick in violence against Jews, and the genocidal rhetoric that consumes dialogue about the Jewish people in large portions of the world. It has also been very disturbing to to see the return of old-style antisemitic paranoia on both the far right and far left. Many of my Jewish friends say they increasingly feel uneasy about a lot of the political rhetoric they're hearing, and the antisemitism that is becoming more common in politics and on campus.
There are new problems that are facing Jews in both Europe and America, and these problems are massively under-reported. Jews in Europe increasingly feel stuck between the horrifying extremes of the Jeremy Corbyn left (friend of Hamas and Hezbollah) and the Marine Le Pen right (daughter of a Holocaust denier). A terrifying, no win scenario.
PewDiePie's distasteful antics are juvenile, shock jock stunts. There is obviously no ideology or intention behind them whatsoever. He is simply trying to offend people as a gag. Clearly, he has succeeded. His corporate partners are obviously well within their rights to dissolve their relationship with him and not want his behavior to reflect on them, but the case for mass public outrage is considerably less convincing. All it does is make his followers feel (ironically enough) persecuted. Calling him a "literal Nazi" diminishes the power of a word that has recently been used much more liberally than it should be. The genocidal horrors of Nazism shouldn't be diminished by confusing them for mere taboo trampling tastelessness. PewDiePie is a frivolous individual, not a dangerous one.
People of all political stripes have serious work to do when it comes to rooting out genuine, deeply felt antisemitism within their own coalitions. The world is already full of people who despise Jews. The idea that PewDiePie's middle-school humor is going to radicalize people into real antisemitism is absurd. The "joke" only makes sense to people because they are already aware of the real world hate it is referencing. The world is full of actual Jew-hating radicals, and those who care to be informed will quickly get a sense of just what the real ideological origins of that hatred are.
These splashy, cosmetic internet controversies usually end with the ritual scapegoating and figurative stake-burning of some unlucky, incautious individual. The whole process is morally disturbing in its own right, and never does anything to address the root issues at stake.
Moral self-righteousness is no substitute for moral seriousness.
There are new problems that are facing Jews in both Europe and America, and these problems are massively under-reported. Jews in Europe increasingly feel stuck between the horrifying extremes of the Jeremy Corbyn left (friend of Hamas and Hezbollah) and the Marine Le Pen right (daughter of a Holocaust denier). A terrifying, no win scenario.
PewDiePie's distasteful antics are juvenile, shock jock stunts. There is obviously no ideology or intention behind them whatsoever. He is simply trying to offend people as a gag. Clearly, he has succeeded. His corporate partners are obviously well within their rights to dissolve their relationship with him and not want his behavior to reflect on them, but the case for mass public outrage is considerably less convincing. All it does is make his followers feel (ironically enough) persecuted. Calling him a "literal Nazi" diminishes the power of a word that has recently been used much more liberally than it should be. The genocidal horrors of Nazism shouldn't be diminished by confusing them for mere taboo trampling tastelessness. PewDiePie is a frivolous individual, not a dangerous one.
People of all political stripes have serious work to do when it comes to rooting out genuine, deeply felt antisemitism within their own coalitions. The world is already full of people who despise Jews. The idea that PewDiePie's middle-school humor is going to radicalize people into real antisemitism is absurd. The "joke" only makes sense to people because they are already aware of the real world hate it is referencing. The world is full of actual Jew-hating radicals, and those who care to be informed will quickly get a sense of just what the real ideological origins of that hatred are.
These splashy, cosmetic internet controversies usually end with the ritual scapegoating and figurative stake-burning of some unlucky, incautious individual. The whole process is morally disturbing in its own right, and never does anything to address the root issues at stake.
Moral self-righteousness is no substitute for moral seriousness.
