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[SD-Ness]

I am American.

I'm having a weird debate with my friend over AIM about opinions of Americans and Jews throughout the world. The conversation started when he got a phone call from a girl (she's Catholic, he's Jewish) he had been "friends" with over the summer. Relations between them are not stable. To paraphrase her: "What's the difference between Jews and bread in fire...bread doesn't scream!" That conversation ended quickly and nicely. :lol

Anyway, we got into a discussion on anti-Semitism. He claims that three out of every four people deny that the Holocaust occured. I do not believe him. Is he right?

I then continued to say that if one goes out of the U.S., foreigners are likely to hate Americans more than Jews. Am I right?

He disagreed and said that people hate Jews because they "corrupted U.S. foreign policy." To paraphrase him: " Wolfowitz...he sculpted the entire foreign policy...and that people think that Jews are behind the evils of America." He then talked about "African news transcripts" that support this.

When I disagreed with him again, he called me a Nazi. :lol

So who is correct here? Are we both wrong?

 

[DonasaurusRex]

Jews have got to be the most hated group of people in the world. If someones racist you can bet they dont like jews...sad really.

 

[UtadaBarkley]

What is the history behind this? I never really knew/cared, but I always hear people raggin on Jewish people. I guess i just never get caught up in it, or was never interested. WHY?

 

[bionic77]

Jews have got to be the most hated group of people in the world. If someones racist you can bet they dont like jews...sad really.

I think black people have it much worse.

But this is all just conjecture, I don't know how you can prove something like this.

 

[UtadaBarkley]

I think black people have it much worse.

But this is all just conjecture, I don't know how you can prove something like this.

I could agree on somepoints. From birth you are immediately stereotyped/looked down upon by many people. It's default.

 

[Pedigree Chum]

I don't hate either, and I'm muslim. Isn't it a prerequisite to hate jews if you're muslim (and vice versa)? Ah well, prejudice and racism are fucking retarded anyways.

 

[bionic77]

I don't hate either, and I'm muslim. Isn't it a prerequisite to hate jews if you're muslim (and vice versa)? Ah well, prejudice and racism are fucking retarded anyways.

It is a prerequisite of human beings to hate other people.

And I don't think this topic will lead to anything constructive.

 

[Chipopo]

And I don't think this topic will lead to anything constructive.

Probably not, but the thread title got a genuine :lol out of me!

 

[SD-Ness]

And I don't think this topic will lead to anything constructive.

Damn.

 

[NLB2]

He claims that three out of every four people deny that the Holocaust occured. I do not believe him. Is he right?
...
When I disagreed with him again, he called me a Nazi. :lol

Your friend sounds like an idiot.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

um how you would saying people dont deny the holocaust, make you a nazi?


:lol

 

[DonasaurusRex]

I think black people have it much worse.

But this is all just conjecture, I don't know how you can prove something like this.

well having it bad and being hated could be two different things. Yeah black people are stereotyped and hated..i should know. The avg jewish person may have it better than black people but man are they hated like no other. But you're right no way to really prove this every race has received their share of hate based pain.

 

[radioheadrule83]

I don't hate Americans or Jews.

I hate the current American administration's foreign policy (even though I was happy to see Saddam go, and wish it had been done 12 years ago), Israel's policy of settlement, and the UNs inability to ratify and enforce something it agreed over palastine decades ago. I only hate these things because I'm sick of the shit...

I hate religious states. I hate the non democratic, human rights abusing world... I don't care if it's someone elses culture/way, if I find it fucking stupid I naturally think it should go. Freedom rules... on that point America, Fuck Yeah! Some products of freedom suck though: For instance, I hate vociferous self righteous hippy students.

What I hate most though are moths, flies and bees/wasps. I seriously wish someone would get rid of them... even if it kills all life on earth a lá The Twelve Monkeys, just fucking do it already.

 

[RonaldoSan]

I have no hate for either americans or jews or any other group of people for that matter. No religion, color, sex or whatever defines what kinda person you are.

 

[Willco]

I hate American Jews.

 

[RiZ III]

I can see why people would hate America/Americans and Israel, but I don't get why people hate Jews. Cause theyre in high positions? Thats admirable.

 

[GaimeGuy]

"What's the difference between Jews and bread in fire...bread doesn't scream!"

Anyway, we got into a discussion on anti-Semitism. He claims that three out of every four people deny that the Holocaust occured. ?

I then continued to say that if one goes out of the U.S., foreigners are likely to hate Americans more than Jews. Am I right?

He disagreed and said that people hate Jews because they "corrupted U.S. foreign policy." To paraphrase him: " Wolfowitz...he sculpted the entire foreign policy...and that people think that Jews are behind the evils of America." He then talked about "African news transcripts" that support this.

First of all, the MAJORITY of the world doesn't hate Jews or Americans. Jews used to be looked down upon by the rest of the world, and there's still people who are anti-semetic,but to say that anywhere near a majority of people think it is bullshit.

And, contrary to what we Americans believe, the world doesn't hate Americans. They just hate our goverrnment's constant sticking its nose in other people's business. Most other cultures and countries actually look up to the average american, because we're so optimistic about life, are creative, and know how to have fun.



And I fucking hate idiots like this who act like Jews/Muslims/black people/homosexuals are the root of all evil.

 

[NLB2]

I can see why people would hate America/Americans and Israel, but I don't get why people hate Jews. Cause theyre in high positions? Thats admirable.

That's why people hate America.

 

[GaimeGuy]

I can see why people would hate America/Americans and Israel, but I don't get why people hate Jews. Cause theyre in high positions? Thats admirable.

ALL JEWS ARE RICH AM I RIGHT GUYS?!




This stereotype is based in the fact that a lot of banking jobs in Europe were held by people who happened to be Jewish for centures. Banks = Money. Jews work at banks. Therefore, Jews = Money.

Still today, a lot of the banking industry has Jews in it. The diamond industry located in New York is practically exclusively run by Orthodox Rabbis. :lol

But just because some rich people happen to be Jewish doesn't mean that all Jewish people happen to be rich.

 

[AntoneM]

3 of 4 people worldwide? even claiming that 3.5 billion people on earth are just ignorant of the holocaust from lack of education, that would still mean that 1 billion people are denying the holocaust ever happened and that's just bullshit.

It is true that people in some parts of the world, believe that the Jews control the U.S. and have corupted the government but I don't think it's a widely held belief. An article from Africa, if it's the northern region should be given the same weight as an article from Iran, Syria, or Saudi Arabia, in other words, the people in N. Africa are fed the same information as the people in the middle east. This is not to say that all people in N. Africa and the Middle East hate Jews. Basically, I think your friend is over-exaggerating the problem, but it doesn't mean that there isn't one.

As far as American v. Jews, it depends where you go.

 

[Firest0rm]

I don't hate either, and I'm muslim. Isn't it a prerequisite to hate jews if you're muslim (and vice versa)? Ah well, prejudice and racism are fucking retarded anyways.

Only if your born into a Wahhabi eviroment, do you have the prerequisite to hate Jews. Actually with Wahhabi's you have a prequisite to hate everyone other than your fellow Wahabbis.

As for the question, I don't hate either. Its all to do with administrations that try to "represent" them.

 

[AntoneM]

correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Jews rise in the banking industry becuase early Catholosism considered it a sin to, well, start a bank? This could be some myth and I by no means am going to defend it, it's just something I heard but never knew if it was true or not, it'd be nice to have an answer.

 

[demon]

5 out of every 6 people deny that 3 out of every 4 people believe the Holocaust never occurred.

 

[h4xor]

I heard that jew joke

except it was about a pizza


people are retarded

 

[Blackace]

Anyway, we got into a discussion on anti-Semitism. He claims that three out of every four people deny that the Holocaust occured. I do not believe him. Is he right?

Your friend is not right. He is making up numbers to support. It is true that some people don't believe the holocaust happened, some even believed it was staged by the Jews... but these people are in the minority not the majority.

 

[Nerevar]

I think black people have it much worse.

But this is all just conjecture, I don't know how you can prove something like this.

it's true, at least from my travels. In the undeveloped parts of the worlds I've been to (South America), they automatically assume that you're rich as a white American and are there to give them money somehow. They certainly don't hate you - unless you're black. Then not only are you probably not rich, but if you do have money they assume you got rich by stealing from white people (I'm not kidding - a kid actually told me this). Like I said - this was only in South America (Bolivia / Peru / some parts of Brazil). This is certainly not true of most of the rest of the world.

 

[Loki]

5 out of every 6 people deny that 3 out of every 4 people believe the Holocaust never occurred.

:lol

 

[NichM]

correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Jews rise in the banking industry becuase early Catholosism considered it a sin to, well, start a bank? This could be some myth and I by no means am going to defend it, it's just something I heard but never knew if it was true or not, it'd be nice to have an answer.

Close enough to the truth. The practice of usury, which means to give out a loan with interest terms rather than simply collect what was initially owed, was once considered a major sin, to the point where the Inferno has a section of Hell set aside just for usurers. (This is what Jesus was so angry about when he attacked the moneylenders in the temple, fwiw.) Since the entire profit model for banks is based on collecting interest on loans, Christians were prohibited from engaging in the practice, and it fell to Jews to run that part of the economy.

You can actually get a decent picture of the tensions between the minor Jewish financial community and the Christian mainstream's antipathy toward the practice in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice -- Shylock, the mostly sympathetic villain of the play, is a moneylending Jew who wants to claim his interest on Antonio's loan in blood. Any modern edition of the play will have plenty of annotations and notes on the historical background, if you want to read more about the subject.

 

[ghostface]

That's why people hate America.

No, the reason people hate the American administration, and to a certain extent, Israel (and NOT Jews as a whole), is not because of the power they have, but because of the way they use that power.

 

[Particle Physicist]

http://www.google.com/explanation.html

up until recently an anti-semetic site was the most google link when searching for 'jew' .. it really saddens me that there is still so much ingrained hate.

 

[hippie]

There are some people out there, not so much in Europe though, that believe the Halocaust never happened. A larger number believe the Halocaust happened but that it was greatly exaggerated in terms of Jewish deaths. With regards to Americans, the world as a whole DOES hate Americans, unless they are taking your tourist dollars. They view us as ignorant and dangerous. Not just our government, our people as a whole.

And the Jews have had it FAR worse throughout history than other ethnic groups. Africans, while yes looked down on, haven't gone through 1/20th of the crap the Jews have put up with through the centuries. I have alot of respect for those people. They tend to bounce back, not only bounce back, but bounce back into first place with little to no help from the outside. This is what tends to create them enemies, though. People assume they HAVE to be oppressing or manipulating non-Jews because how could they get there on their own??

 

[Doom_Bringer]

I don't understand why everyone hates Jews.

I personally don't like Americans especially that Lou Dobbs guy.

edit: on second thought I don't hate American. I like everyone.

Is true that much of the world hates Jews because in the early 1900's the Russian secret police spread newspapers about, “Protocols of the elders of Zion” or something like that? It basically said that Jews control all major organizations and banks etc. It is also one of the reasons why Hitler killed millions of Jews.

Fact or Fiction?

 

[Particle Physicist]

btw.. it sounds like your friend was being sarcastic. im mean, ive jokingly had similar conversations with my friends. the nazi line kinda gives it away.

 

[teh_pwn]

What about a newly wed gay interracial American jewish couple burning Euros?

If that made any sense (Family Guy reference).

 

[Nerevar]

There are some people out there, not so much in Europe though, that believe the Halocaust never happened. A larger number believe the Halocaust happened but that it was greatly exaggerated in terms of Jewish deaths. With regards to Americans, the world as a whole DOES hate Americans, unless they are taking your tourist dollars. They view us as ignorant and dangerous. Not just our government, our people as a whole.

I knew a guy at a major US university (top 15 in the nation) who was "open to other interpretations" for what happened during the holocaust. Of course, he was also a fundamentalist Christian. I've tended to notice the two go hand in hand (not excluding all the Jewish-hating Muslims).

And in regards to the rest of the world hating America, I'm pretty sure that's just the rest of the developed world. And outside of some fundamentalist issues, Americans as a whole aren't really more ignorant of world issues than any other nation (I recall a poll done in Britian for who should join the EU next, where one of the options was a fictional country. It received something like 10% of the vote, with none of the participants asking what the country was).

 

[ghostface]

And the Jews have had it FAR worse throughout history than other ethnic groups. Africans, while yes looked down on, haven't gone through 1/20th of the crap the Jews have put up with through the centuries. I have alot of respect for those people. They tend to bounce back, not only bounce back, but bounce back into first place with little to no help from the outside.

Who are you refering to?

 

[lexy]

I then continued to say that if one goes out of the U.S., foreigners are likely to hate Americans more than Jews. Am I right?

Good lord, no. You are both wrong but you are more wrong.

 

[Mejilan]

Interesting thread. I'm a Jew who's lived both in America and Israel. I've heard my people being slandered by fundamentalist christian "subway preachers" in NY, and I've seen my people die due to suicide attacks committed against civilians. I'm actually at a loss as to how to respond to this thread. :/

 

[Deleted member 1235]

Well I hate neither, however, The current American representitive to the world does give the impression that many Americans are dribbling retards, which concerns me.

 

[lexy]

There are some people out there, not so much in Europe though, that believe the Halocaust never happened. A larger number believe the Halocaust happened but that it was greatly exaggerated in terms of Jewish deaths. With regards to Americans, the world as a whole DOES hate Americans, unless they are taking your tourist dollars. They view us as ignorant and dangerous. Not just our government, our people as a whole.

And the Jews have had it FAR worse throughout history than other ethnic groups. Africans, while yes looked down on, haven't gone through 1/20th of the crap the Jews have put up with through the centuries. I have alot of respect for those people. They tend to bounce back, not only bounce back, but bounce back into first place with little to no help from the outside. This is what tends to create them enemies, though. People assume they HAVE to be oppressing or manipulating non-Jews because how could they get there on their own??

...

Spoiler

Nevermind. Not worth it.

 

[hippie]

...

Spoiler

Nevermind. Not worth it.

Meh, now you're going to drive me nuts. Let me have it. I won't even fight back. (unless you put words in my mouth). Honestly, I'm curious to hear other people's thoughts on the issue. I'm not necessarily correct, although this is how I see things.

 

[boutrosinit]

And, contrary to what we Americans believe, the world doesn't hate Americans. They just hate our government's constant sticking its nose in other people's business.

I would agree with this.

The US Government is like the interfering rich lady at the end of the road who sticks her fucking nose in everything, aligns herself with random people to acheive her goals, then once she gets what she wants out of them, pisses them off and wonders why they kick her arse thereafter.

Or something. My analogy is shit, but you'll probably get what I mean.

What's worse, is that FOX TV/The Bush PR channel has tricked even intelligent Americans into believing that everything's okay and Bush is great, despite the country being in hideous debt, losing a shitload of bodies in Iraq and being run by possibly some of the potentially worst human beings alive. I'lll bet most of the U.S public doesn't even know about the legislation that's about to pass that will criminalise VITAMINS and HEALTH SUPPLEMENTS so that the drug companies can broaden their market (if you catch my drift). Yes, as daft as it sounds, it's true and a some campaigns that will no doubt be futile are in the works. Sadly, this is looking to happn in Europe too

Anyway. Rant over. 3 of my dearest friends on Earth are yanks. I prefer em to most South Englanders (most of my closest English friends are born of the North), as they have bigger balls and are a lot more fun.

 

[GaimeGuy]

Well I hate neither, however, The current American representitive to the world does give the impression that many Americans are dribbling retards, which concerns me.

It's the damn southern states.

Hey, we here in Minnesota voted for Kerry. We're not part of Jesusland.

btw: another part of Americans that the rest of the world finds attractive: our work ethic.

We work our asses off, but we also have a shitload of fun. we live in extremes. :lol

 

[peedi]

I despise Israel -- the state, the idea, the fiery consequence of its illegitimate existence -- but I don't hate Jews. Racism is silly. *shrug*

 

[peedi]

There are some people out there, not so much in Europe though, that believe the Halocaust never happened. A larger number believe the Halocaust happened but that it was greatly exaggerated in terms of Jewish deaths. With regards to Americans, the world as a whole DOES hate Americans, unless they are taking your tourist dollars. They view us as ignorant and dangerous. Not just our government, our people as a whole.

And the Jews have had it FAR worse throughout history than other ethnic groups. Africans, while yes looked down on, haven't gone through 1/20th of the crap the Jews have put up with through the centuries. I have alot of respect for those people. They tend to bounce back, not only bounce back, but bounce back into first place with little to no help from the outside. This is what tends to create them enemies, though. People assume they HAVE to be oppressing or manipulating non-Jews because how could they get there on their own??

Yes, 400 years of institutional oppression is child's play, compared to the grievous injustices visited upon those poor Jews.

...

 

[FeedMeAStrayCat]

I just can't stand racism.. that's annoying as shit.

What's also quite annoying is hating on another country and/or it's people. I can understand if you dislike a country for some of it's policies or war efforts or whatever, but you don't even KNOW all the people in it, so shut up. But it's fun to generalize about 300 million people!! Right!?

Well it is fun, but not accurate.

 

[seanoff]

Mejilan,

have you also witnessed illegal settlements backed by the govt, extra judicial house destruction etc.

There's a lot wrong with that conflict on both sides and merely re-inforces my view that religous states of whatever religion, i don't care which one u name, are dangerous and evil and generally break all the rules set down by that religion.

People are people, what others tend to dislike is the govt of said people. ie GW Bush is pretty much detested worldwide and it is giving the US a bad name everywhere. The US in general is seen by many to be insular and ignorant but the people are not seen as doing that on purpose but merely as victims of circumstance. Even in Islamic states the people aren't the hated, just the govt. like in indonesia the people of the US are quite well liked, the govt is another matter altogether.

 

[hippie]

Yes, 400 years of institutional oppression is child's play, compared to the grievous injustices visited upon those poor Jews.

...

The Jews have been oppressed as far back as we can trace their existence. From slavery to genocide and back to Israel from where they came. The attacks and injustices they've dealt with, with the odds stacked against them (Six Day War?), and every single time manage to come out on top. A few hundred years is nothing compared to that.

Not that blacks haven't gone through "nothing". Honestly, take a look at our culture, though. Jews are not exactly looked up to. In a very short amount of time the mass media has spun the image of the black man from some primitive person, criminally inclined and good only for a life of servitude, into the alpha male of our society. Blacks are quicker rising through the ranks in every aspect of American business as well.

 

[Papi]

I don't know any Aussies that hate Jews but at least half the people here hate Americans. Cause they're stupid.

 

[hippie]

I don't know any Aussies that hate Jews but at least half the people here hate Americans. Cause they're stupid.

Elaborate on "stupid". Nobody hates someone simply because they're "stupid"....there's more to it than that.