Letters to the Editor
-
In My Humble Opinion - You own a lot of Boys Own annuals don't you
Lord that's a sad case of misinformed hero worship
Moe Berg : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_Berg
-
The good, the bad, and the ugly
First of all to Jonah-- thanks for an entertaining and well-researched piece. Although not Jewish myself, I found the list very interesting for the obvious reason that Jews are usually known for their impressive accomplishments in non-athletic fields, e.g. science, medicine, arts,etc.
What I found equally interesting was the reaction to it. I've noticed that nearly anything about Jews brings out a contingent of folks who seem unusually and generally inappropriately upset by anything which portrays them in a favorable light. It's impressive and even amusing to see the logical and literary contortions exercised in a labored attempt to find something ostensibly objectively offensive about such an innocent piece, and it's amazing how much effort some have put into these twisted syllogisms.
Given the lack of logic or cogent argument offered by any of the article's critics, I reluctantly have to conclude that the truth of the matter is that there remain a number of closet anti-Sems out there, who get their rocks off by going to nearly any length to convince others (and I suspect themselves) that there is something wrong with virtually any positive reference to Jews.
So for those folks, including the apparently self-hating Sugarman, and the courageous bigots like "Anonymous", I can only say: spend as much time examining your real motives as you do trying to find fault with a group which has probably contributed more per capital to American progress than any other-- and as a Gentile, I have to say that's the irrefutibe truth which deeply troubles these deeply troubled individuals. They need to get a life.
-
Today In Jewish History
In 1941, Charles Lindbergh, who achieved fame by being the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, delivered an anti-Semitic speech on the radio. Lindbergh became an outspoken supporter of Nazi Germany, even recommending in testimony before Congress that the U.S. negotiate a neutrality pact with Germany. At a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, he made an infamous speech claiming that Jews, "for reasons which are not American, wish to involve us in the war... We cannot allow the natural passions and prejudices of other people to lead our country to destruction." Lindbergh also made an implicit threat against Jews, stating: "Instead of agitating for war, the Jewish groups in this country should be opposing it in every possible way, for they will be among the first to feel its consequences."
He would be a Salon darling and Ron Paul running mate today.
-
Yet another pointless article
First Jewish leading men and now this? Maybe you might have some cred if you did the same take on some other religions and disciplines as some of the readers suggested but you don't. This is not a deal breaker for me because Salon is still one of the few publications willing to tell the truth BUT this only serves to alienate readers like me and that is really dissapointing.
-
How about
a list of the top ten Jewish neocons who advised Bush to invade Iraq? I dare you.
-
@jjppmd
That was a parody, right? You were making fun of people who have no arguments, so they sweepingly declare all opposing arguments to be so preposterous that they can't be bothered to refute a single one, and then pronounce anyone who disagrees with them to be motivated by hate (You're all anti-Semites!), and then top it off with a phony high-minded appeal to all the rest of us to go off and better ourselves? It must have been a parody, because otherwise that's one of the lamest postings imaginable.
-
Maybe next week you can feature The 18 best people in the world...Jewish ones of course.
Those Jews are just so amazingly clever. My Gosh, it's a good thing there is a self congratulatory feature story every other week reminding me of this. Otherwise I might forget!
-
Salon should not try to appease them
We know how you really feel. Try substituting "The Media", "The Banks" or "They killed Christ" for today's version of "They secretly pull the strings of US policy". See? It's easy. And it doesn't really fool anyone.
-
this article
Speaking as a (admittedly non-practicing) Jew, I found this article condescending and wonder why Salon would even consider running it. Are Jews ripe for ridicule or damnation by faint praise? Are we so stereotyped that it's inconceivable that we might excel in something other than medicine or law? Are we supposed to be so meek that athletics are anathema to us? Remember the 8 Day War? Remember Murder Incorporated? Yeah, we can be tough guys too. There have been MANY great Jewish athletes in all sports, including, if you happened to catch some recent US Open Tennis (Justin Gimblestob, who, just the other day, showed more class in defeat in his final career match than John Mcenroe ever did). There was a light heavyweight boxer in the late 70s, early 80s named Dana Rosenblatt, who was champion for at least a couple years, and with his nickname, The Jewish Destroyer, was one of the most powerful knockout artists in his sport. And why does having a Greek heritage somehow overshadow the fact that one might be Jewish? Much of our culture comes from Greece. Antioch (now part of Turkey, during the Bronze Age was a Greek city-state) was the area where the Maccabi's hid in their caves and kept their oil going for 8 days. You know, the historical basis for Channukah. This is an example of lazy journalism, a writer looking for a cheap shot and quick paycheck. This article was cheap stereotyping and race baiting and it's a 'shanda.' I'm surprised, as a longtime Salon subscriber, that you would consider running it. It is beneath your usual high standards. I, for one, was insulted. 'Bashin' boychicks' indeed; how cute of you.
-
Ever watch The Daily Show?
Yes, but they were funny!
-
re: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
jjpmd: First of all, thank you for a very cogent argument. I agree completely that a lot of these posts reveal an anti semitic bent, which is no surprise to this Jew. Antisemitisim is probably one of the most concealed ethnic biases in America today--perhaps the greatest it's been since the McCarthy era (thank you Twig and your cohorts). The thing that most angered me about this article was the nonchalant attitude of the author, that it was somehow 'quaint' that Jews could be athletes, and it was a point of humor. As others have remarked, what about the 18 best WASP athletes, or the best dwarf tossers (my favorite analogy, but, which, yes, insults the vertically challenged, but jeez, it was funny. Oh shit, I just insulted Christians by saying 'jeez.' Oh GOD, I just SAID 'SHIT!' OH SHIT! I JUST SAID GOD... Okay, my bad. I'm an evil person too). But the point is, when you marginalize a group of people, you do so at your own peril as it makes you appear petty, small, and afraid and all those posters who ranted about 'why the Jews should get so much attention,' (to sum up their argument), only reveal their own petty biases and lack of self respect. I guess we scare a lot of 'you goyim,' huh, 'boychick'? Like why does a guy drive a Hummer except to make up for his own 'shortcomings'?