דו טרײַבל

װוּ אַהין זאָל איך גײן

דזשים קראָ קראַנקײט

Jim Crow was a fictional character created by whites to disparage Blacks. The Jim Crow character was not only highly stereotypical, but created stereotypes that (before Jim Crow) never existed. Jim Crow-like characters would dress in a fashion whereas it would appear he was trying to “pass” for white, but obviously wasn’t accomplishing such a task. He stole chickens and ate watermelon. He was a misogynist and violent. He was dumber than dumb. Jim crow spoke poorly...the list goes on.
Real blacks were in fact never like the Jim crow character, but some of them, over the years, have ended up embracing a culture very similar to the white formulated “Jim Crow” ). Examples tend to come from the entertainment industry, as “Jim Crow” was actually a international hit as a song. They include Flava Flav, Uncle Murder, and Bert Williams among others.
These people, despite their talent (or lack there of...Uncle Murder), absorb stereotypes created by non-Blacks to express their “identity” and make a living.

This occurrence, which I will refer to as the “Jim Crow Disease” (the acceptance of negative stereotypes as a identity and culture), is not limited to the descendants of former slaves in America. I see this disease as an epidemic among all culturally/nationally disenfranchised youth in America.

(Polish Cover of the anti-Semitic bullshit rag, The Protocols of The Elders of Zion)

Jews, being a target of so much hate over the last couple thousand years, have amassed a trove of stereotypes manufactured by non-Jewish peoples. The stereotypical Jew (you might think of Shylock from the Merchants of Venice, or Fagin in Oliver Twist) is greedy, cheap, big-nosed, fat, stupid, rich, running the world, controlling the media, killing Christians, poisoning wells, etc.
Some Jews, just like some descendants of slaves, have taken to these stereotypes as an expression of their “identity” and “culture”. Some Jews in the entertainment industry embrace these stereotypes for a living. The first example that comes to mind for me is comedian Jackie Mason (“Money is not the most important thing in the world. Love is. Fortunately, I love money.”)
I have witnessed first hand its deplorable disease manifest itself within our youth! Jewish children embracing anti-Semitic stereotypes as an expression of what they think to be their “identity”; such is Jim Crow disease. From Middle School to today I often see fellow Jews doing such stupid things as making a spectacle out of themselves as they pick up a couple of cents off the ground, or making lame-ass jokes about lawyers and accountants. When such a phenomenon began in Middle School, it sometimes took the form of a repulsive race of sorts before gym class would start. In this race (which was organized by members of the Jewish youth), two Jews would line up as if on a starting line, while a third person would hold a nickel or dime. At the yell of “go”, the dime would be throw away from the starting line and the two Jews would run to get to the change first, sometimes wrestling over it. The Jews involved in this exercise thoroughly enjoyed themselves, as their non-Jewish classmates applauded there spectacle (back to the laughter/assimilation point).
Stereotypes constructed by our non-Jewish oppressors should never be the “identity” we find in Middle School and carry for the remainder in our lives. There is no need for such a disgrace of our people, especially when it is perpetrated by our own people.
Surely humanity in general is capable of putting an end to this current epidemic of self-degradation and public spectacle. It is not right for anyone to feel as if they have to embrace the negative stereotypes in order to outwardly express their identity. Our youth must once again realize what it is to be Jewish and have a Jewish identity. Degradation of Jewishness, by becoming our people’s Jim Crow has the potential only to hurt us.
WE MUST STOP THIS NOW.


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Also from my Journal The Jewish Mirror.