[WikiEN-l] WHEELER's anti-Semitism

Thu Jul 1 19:09:27 UTC 2004

--- "Christopher Mahan" <chris_mahan at yahoo.com>  wrote

>Surely you are aware that he may be correct in stating that some jews
>may have been communists (it was popular in the Soviet Union between
>the wars) and that some of them may have been involved in, how shall
>I say this, "purging" certain "christian" elements out of the New
>Soviet Society.
>On the other hand, he may not be. But for you to say that this did
>not in fact happen means that your homework is rosk solid.
>Calling them concentration camps may stretch the meaning of the word,
>but in the very liberal sense, camps where people are concentrated
>may be called concentration camp. Of course, it's a poor choice of
>words, but it's not illegal.
>By the way, my grandfather was sent to a German labort camp. He was a
>captain in a french armor unit in 1940. So don't assume I don't know
>what I am talking about.
>Finally: calling for a ban does not foster wikilove, so please calm
>down before clicking send and review your email to make sure it is 
>constructive.
>=====
>Chris Mahan
>818.943.1850 cell
>chris_mahan at yahoo.com
>chris.mahan at gmail.com
>http://www.christophermahan.com/

First, Chris, I never claimed that you don't know what you are talking 
about.  Also, although it isn't always easy to tell from an e-mail, I 
believe I am pretty calm (pulse and bp seem about normal).

But I do think you misunderstand me, and WHEELER.  WHEELER was not arguing 
that some Jews were communists (indeed, many were), nor was he arguing that 
some of the people who established and ran Soviet prison camps were Jewish 
(certainly, some were).  He wasn't arguing these things, because these 
issues are not relevant to the article under discussion.  He was neither 
responding to anyone's argument that "no Jews were communists" nor was he 
suggesting that the fact that some Jews were communists (or, some 
communists were Jews) should be included in the article.  He made his 
assertions solely in the context of a personal attack against AndyL.

More importantly, he did not (as you suggest) claim that some Jews were 
communists, or some communists were Jews, or that communists persecuted 
Christians (I wouldn't take issue with any of these claims, and certainly 
don't think any of them are anti-Semitic).  Rather, he identified Jews with 
communists, thus repeating a Nazi slur.  He singled out "Jewish" communists 
as guilty for destroying the Russian Orthodox Church.  This is offensive 
for two reasons: first, for a very long time it is the Orthodox Russian 
Church who persecuted Jews and promoted anti-Semitism; secondly, after the 
Revolution the Communist Party as a whole was involved in persecuting the 
Church.  Why single out Jews?  It is such singling out that is 
offensive.  He also referred to "Jewish concentration camps," which I take 
to be anti-Semitic.  I have no objection to calling the gulags 
concentration camps; I do object to calling them "Jewish" concentration 
camps as if "Jews" in general are responsible.  This is offensive on its face.

If you still have trouble understanding the difference between 
anti-Semitism and a reasonable assertion of facts, let me try an 
analogy.  Some Nazis were brought up in the Catholic Church.  Yet it would 
be misleading and offensive for me to talk of "Catholic Nazis who 
persecuted Jews" (because non-Catholic Nazi's also persecuted Jews, and 
there were Catholics who helped Jews), or to talk of "Catholic 
concentration camps."  Yes, there is a complex relationship between the 
Catholic Church and the Nazis, as there is a complex relationship between 
the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Jews.  But to talk of 
"Catholic concentration camps" is just as offensive as talking about 
"Jewish concentration camps."

Perhaps you have never suffered from hate-speech, or are simply insensitive 
to the matter, Chris.  You certainly have a right to disagree with me and 
even to say this message is unconstructive.  But trust me, I am calm, I 
have thought about this, and I believe it is constructive.  What WHEELER 
wrote is not just a violation of wikicivility, it is an example of hate 
speech.  It served and serves absolutely no purpose at wikipedia, except to 
use this space as a vehicle for expressing hate speech.  I am against that.

Steve

Steven L. Rubenstein
Associate Professor
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Bentley Annex
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio 45701
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